LIfe Skills & Core Skills

Q. What are the ways in which you can improve your team work, problem-solving and learning skills? Give three illustrations from your personal experience of being part of a team.

Ans: Andrew Carnegie says that team work is the ability to work together towards a common vision. It is the ability to direct individual accomplishments towards organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. In today’s world, employees have to work with groups to get desired results. But working with a team is easy to say but difficult to do it. Many things contribute to the smooth and efficient working of a team. First, people from different backgrounds and abilities come together for a common purpose. The key factor for the success of a team is proper communication. Secondly, the interaction among individuals creates a sense of togetherness. This will help improve teamwork. The team leader solves the differences of opinion among the team members. The team members will know that they are working for the common goal. Above all, everyone will get an opportunity to learn from others and improve her/his performance. In one of my classes, our English teacher gave us a task of making use of waste materials. We were formed into groups. The work was assigned and instructions were given. We decided to make use of old news papers and cardboard boxes to make decorative pieces. Initially, we had a problem on how to do it. While we were working on it, we learnt the technique of solving problems with cooperation and co-ordination. We developed learning skills. We finally came out with a model. We were appreciated for our collective collaboration. In another class, we were asked to plan a short class trip. Again we sat together and expressed among ourselves different views on how to go about the trip. All of us were quite enthusiastic and everyone was equally involved. We pooled up all the ideas and estimated the expenditure. We took into consideration everything that went into the trip. Finally we came out with our proposal. Each one of us was appreciated for our analytical thinking and adaptability to unforeseen situations. In one more class, we were tested on our integrity and motivation. We were given an opportunity to volunteer to help the young to teach them to help themselves. This was entirely a new one when compared to the two previous tasks. We took it as a challenge to make a huge difference to children by teaching them. We together went to the slums of the city and gathered a few young children. It was really a challenging and self satisfying job. This type of work gave everyone of us great satisfaction. I still remember that we need to give something back to the society honestly as being the part of it. All these activities have created great confidence in all of us and we realized the importance of life skills and core skills that could be developed through team work.

Q. Plan a short family trip to a nearby tourist spot keeping in mind the logistics involved.

Ans: Travelling is not just about visiting historical sites and clicking cameras. It is also about learning new things and sensitizing ourselves to the world around us. On one fine morning all my family members decided to go on a pleasure trip to Kochi in Kerala. Kerala, known as God’s own country, is a wonderful place to visit. As I had been to many tourist places, my family gave me the responsibility of planning for the trip to Kochi and the surrounding places. First, I started working on the logistics involved in the trip. I consulted a tourist agency at Kochi on phone. I inquired about the different places worth seeing. He sent an e-mail to me about various packages. I went through the brochure and estimated the cost for the trip. After I finalized the places of our proposed trip, I went on working the other expenses involved. Also, I took into account the modes of transport and hotel expenses. I estimated the expenditure keeping in mind the number of days of our stay. Going to different places is not a big problem. But communication with the local people is a more difficult one. I decided to understand the culture of the people who live in there before our journey. It would help us and make our stay more comfortable. Learning about cultures would enhance our understanding of humanity at large. I gathered a lot of information on this and I was ready with readymade conversations of that local language for a problem-free and enjoyable stay. I then focused my attention on the essential things to be carried. I wanted to make the luggage very light keeping in mind the comfortable journey and stay. All the essential things were arranged and neatly packed as the day was approaching fast. Since it was rainy season, I included rain coats. After inquiry, I came to know that hotel food would be very expensive and horrible. Then, I made the arrangements for carrying gas stove and the necessary utensils. I wanted to keep everything to the barest minimum. This was how I planned my family trip considering all the logistics involved.

Q. The Importance of Life Skills

Ans: In this modern world, we have opportunities galore, working with groups of people has become essential to achieve goals. Learning life skills will enhance the ability of a person to communicate easily with others. Life skills will let one know more about life and people in the society. These skills will improve a person’s relationship with others and thereby, increase success percentage. When compared to the past, people today are leading lonely lives in nuclear families. But in the past there were only joint families. The advantage was that there used to be people of all ages in a joint family. Youngsters used to learn problem-solving skills from their elders. Even without formal training, they displayed skills in their later life. As we all know, the situation is entirely different now. As a result of this, the present generation is not able to receive the required skills to understand others and get adjusted to the prevailing conditions. Life skills could be acquired through active social living, appropriate schooling, congenial family environment and the world around us. It is clearly understood that life skills teach us many things in life. Especially, those skills teach us how to deal with people in the society. We learn from our family members what is right and what is not acceptable. Things such as how to care for our clothes, how to shop correctly, personal hygiene and how to talk to people without being offensive are a part of life skills. Life skills are survival skills. Life Skills-based Education reveals that it is a means to empower the younger generation and assist them in facing the challenging situations in their lives. The life skills-based education caters to the acquisition of relevant knowledge and helps them the development of needed skills and attitudes for better career. For umpteen good reasons, life skills-acquisition can be a turning point in everyone’s life.

Q. Describe the place of importance that you visited recently — details of location, important places nearby etc.

Ans: Travelling can be a great source of worldly knowledge and wisdom. I love traveling for many reasons. First, it gives me an idea about different customs and traditions of the people of a particular place. Secondly, it delights me for its beauty in a number of ways. Very recently, I along with my family visited the Taj Majal on a moonlit night. The sight was a feast to our eyes. All of us were enthralled by its grandeur. The history of the monument enchants every visitor as it is a symbol of true love of Shah Jahan towards Mumtaz. It is located in Agra near Delhi. It is interesting to know the history of this monument. Thousands of workmen struggled for more than twenty years and created this tomb. Shah Jahan spent crores of rupees to raise this magnificent symbol of love. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond all description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of full moon. The king constructed many historical monuments around Agra but no other monument can compete with Taj Mahal. We paid a visit to other historical places around Agra as well. First, we went round the Agra Fort. It was built by the great Mughal emperor Akbar. It is a masterpiece in terms of design and construction. It has a crescent shape, flattened on the East facing the river. There are a number of exquisite buildings inside the premise of Agra Port. Also we went to Sikandara which is 13 kilometers away from Agra Fort. It attracts many tourists for its stunning looks. There is no doubt that it is a fine stoppage for those on Agra tour. Fatehpur Sikri is an epic monument built in red sandstone by Akbar. Actually, this is a ruined city but certain spots in it still entertain the visitors. All these places of great historical importance reflect the cultural heritage of India. I am very proud to be an Indian as I am a part of this great culture. Every one of us enjoyed watching all these places. Even my younger brother and sister took delight in it. It was a merry-making for them. The visit has left an indelible impression on our minds. On the whole, it has proved to be a meaningful visit and none of us forget the memories that this visit has left with us.

Q. Discuss the importance of communication skills.

Ans: With proper communication, anything is achievable. But miscommunication will invariably create chaos in one’s life. In a family, communication between wife and husband, parents and children and communication between other members of the family will either keep up or break their relationship. A subordinate with poor communication skills will never win the heart of his boss. Even friendship flourishes with proper communication skills. In every walk of life, communicative abilities bring in positive results. School is a place of learning. Unfortunately, we often do not get a chance to learn about the things that really matter to us in school. At the school level, though we learn morals and other primary skills, we are not receiving proper training in communication skills. Even at collegiate level, only formal education is taught but the importance of communication skills is neglected completely. In this modern age of language and communication, a technical student must possess English communication skills apart from his hard skills or technical skills. These skills are required since the whole world has become a global village and peoples of different countries come and work at single place. Owing to this, the gap between cultures has been reduced and people who can communicate effectively have an edge over others in matters of job opportunities and social status. Listening is an important quality of an effective communicator. One more point to remember is that one should catch the pulse of the target audience for greater success in communication. A good communicator responds to others sensibly and quickly and give appropriate responses. These points may prove to be useful while mastering communication skills. For all these reasons and many more, communication skills can be a key factor in achieving success in the life of every individual.

Q. Differentiate the nature of life skills and core skills.

Ans: In this modern world, we have opportunities galore. Working in groups of people has become the order of the day in every organizational establishment. This situation requires appropriate social behaviour, polite manners, apt and effective communicative abilities, and accommodating spirit on thethe part of any aspiring professional today. Life skills are a set of human skills acquired through teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life. Integrity, initiative, perseverance, sense of humour, flexibility, common sense and time sense are some of the most important life skills. These skills are not generally separate from one another but rather a synthesis. For example, the act of decision-making often involves logical thinking and timely discretion. The interplay between these skills produces excellent codes of conduct and personality traits essential for an organized human society. For this reason, life skills are a must for anyindividual. The definition of core skills according to the Babylon’s Dictionary is: “General and transferable skills. Employers’ greatest skills needs are in the non-technical area covering teamwork, business sense, flexibility, the ability to think creatively and solve problems, and the ability to learn fast and effectively”. Some standard sources have conveniently classified core skills into three main categories, viz., basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities. L-S-R-W Skills, basic arithmetic skills; visualizing, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; qualities like integrity, credibility, self-esteem, responsibility are some very important core skills. Life skills and Core Skills together make a person a complete and highly civilized human being. Hence, acquiring these skills should be of highest priority to any student.

Q. Describe the place of importance that you visited recently — details of location, important places nearby etc.

Ans: Travelling can be a great source of worldly knowledge and wisdom. I love traveling for many reasons. First, it gives me an idea about different customs and traditions of the people of a particular place. Secondly, it delights me for its beauty in a number of ways. Very recently, I along with my family visited the Taj Majal on a moonlit night. The sight was a feast to our eyes. All of us were enthralled by its grandeur. The history of the monument enchants every visitor as it is a symbol of true love of Shah Jahan towards Mumtaz. It is located in Agra near Delhi. It is interesting to know the history of this monument. Thousands of workmen struggled for more than twenty years and created this tomb. Shah Jahan spent crores of rupees to raise this magnificent symbol of love. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond all description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of full moon. The king constructed many historical monuments around Agra but no other monument can compete with Taj Mahal. We paid a visit to other historical places around Agra as well. First, we went round the Agra Fort. It was built by the great Mughal emperor Akbar. It is a masterpiece in terms of design and construction. It has a crescent shape, flattened on the East facing the river. There are a number of exquisite buildings inside the premise of Agra Port. Also we went to Sikandara which is 13 kilometers away from Agra Fort. It attracts many tourists for its stunning looks. There is no doubt that it is a fine stoppage for those on Agra tour. Fatehpur Sikri is an epic monument built in red sandstone by Akbar. Actually, this is a ruined city but certain spots in it still entertain the visitors. All these places of great historical importance reflect the cultural heritage of India. I am very proud to be an Indian as I am a part of this great culture. Every one of us enjoyed watching all these places. Even my younger brother and sister took delight in it. It was a merry-making for them. The visit has left an indelible impression on our minds. On the whole, it has proved to be a meaningful visit and none of us forget the memories that this visit has left with us.

Q. Plan a short family trip to a nearby tourist spot keeping in mind the logistics involved.

Ans: Travelling is not just about visiting historical sites and clicking cameras. It is also about learning new things and sensitizing ourselves to the world around us. On one fine morning all my family members decided to go on a pleasure trip to Kochi in Kerala. Kerala, known as God’s own country, is a wonderful place to visit. As I had been to many tourist places, my family gave me the responsibility of planning for the trip to Kochi and the surrounding places. First, I started working on the logistics involved in the trip. I consulted a tourist agency at Kochi on phone. I inquired about the different places worth seeing. He sent an e-mail to me about various packages. I went through the brochure and estimated the cost for the trip. After I finalized the places of our proposed trip, I went on working the other expenses involved. Also, I took into account the modes of transport and hotel expenses. I estimated the expenditure keeping in mind the number of days of our stay. Going to different places is not a big problem. But communication with the local people is a more difficult one. I decided to understand the culture of the people who live in there before our journey. It would help us and make our stay more comfortable. Learning about cultures would enhance our understanding of humanity at large. I gathered a lot of information on this and I was ready with readymade conversations of that local language for a problem-free and enjoyable stay. I then focused my attention on the essential things to be carried. I wanted to make the luggage very light keeping in mind the comfortable journey and stay. All the essential things were arranged and neatly packed as the day was approaching fast. Since it was rainy season, I included rain coats. After inquiry, I came to know that hotel food would be very expensive and horrible. Then, I made the arrangements for carrying gas stove and the necessary utensils. I wanted to keep everything to the barest minimum. This was how I planned my family trip considering all the logistics involved.

Q. An Essay on Physical Fitness

Ans:- A sound mind dwells in a healthy body. In this busy competitive world, people find no time to take care of their physical fitness. It doesn’t mean that they are not aware of the significance of healthy body. In olden days, people had enough physical work right from dawn to dusk. They had no motor vehicles and other conveyances to reach their offices and perform their regular tasks. They had to exert themselves physically to fulfill their duties. In that way, they had enough physical exercises to keep their body fit. So, they never faced any health problems. They had a natural and wonderful life even without the presence of sophisticated technology.

On the contrary, modern man has all the technology but no physical health. He has all the comforts and luxuries. But the technologically advanced man has all health problems right from chronic headaches to cancers and Aids. The present man and woman can keep good health by adopting good habits such as exercise and proper diet-control. The suggestions, made here, help them to stay fit.

Time to wake up:

Early to rise and early to bed is good for health. In spite of busyness, proper planning and scheduling will sustain physical health. Taking nutritious and light food at fixed timings will promote good health.

Kinds of exercises for different days:

Now-a-days, we can set up our own gym at home for perfect body care. There are a lot of exercises to take up. One can also practice aerobic exercises and basic yoga by watching fitness programmes on TV channels. Yoga, the time-honoured science of India, is a real boon for serious seekers of physical and mental health. Aerobic exercises will tone up the body muscles. Walking, jogging and swimming will be good options to maintain health. Since there are a variety of exercises, it is nice to follow each one of them per day in a week.

A diet chart indicating caloric content:

Along with exercises, a proper diet care is required. With improper diet and indulgent food habits, fat will accumulate in the body. For this, a diet chart indicating caloric content may be pasted on the wall as a constant reminder so that health consciousness will improve.

Relaxation techniques you can adopt:

In this busy world, people very often suffer from mental tension. To get relief from stress, the person who is suffering from it must try to know the root cause of this problem. Relaxation techniques will reduce the ill-effects of stress. If it is not identified from the very beginning, the problem will mount up. In that case, it is more difficult to find a remedy for that. So, prevention is always better than cure.

A scale to measure your progress and achievements:

For any success, careful monitoring is required. A book has to be maintained to assess the progress. This will help us keep on track. So, while taking exercise regularly, a careful watch on our progress will give fruitful results. Anyone can get good health for a life time by following this regimen.

Q. You are traveling to Sikkim with your parents and siblings. You have rented a car and your journey from the airport to Gangtok will take five hours. Two hours later, you are up in the mountains when it has started to rain heavily. Visibility is almost zero and it is difficult to drive. Suddenly up ahead you see an overturned car and your driver stops. It is an accident and there are possible survivors. How will you and your family help these people? Remember the attributes of the ‘ultimate team member’.

Answer:          I, along with my family, was going on a pleasure trip to Sikkim in our brand new Sedan last summer. It was a tough route to continue our journey further. There was thirty kilometers left to get to Gangtok. It was almost getting dark. Even, it started drizzling slowly. The journey in the mountain ghats was quite risky and I was not able to pick up the speed. I was driving as carefully as possible. I could see a sudden turn ahead of us. A car was coming in the opposite direction. The driver of that car could not identify our car and when he almost approached us, he applied the breaks suddenly and it slid off and overturned on that narrow road. To their great luck, it did not fall into the valley. I got off my car immediately with a torch light in my hand. I could barely see the car in the thick shroud of evening mist. The persons were screaming for help. They were unable to come out of the car because it was upside down. My family members were scared of the situation and tried to prevent me from helping them. Courage was the need of the hour and I had an element of it. I tried to open the front door of the car but it was completely flattened and got stuck up. I understood that all of them got injured and were struggling to come out of it. I took a big spanner and tried hard to open it. After persistent trials, somehow, I was able to open the back door. I saw four persons were in the car and were almost in an unconscious condition. Blood was dripping down from their wounds. Then, I sought the help of my father and brother to pull them out of the car. My father and brother tried to help me but they were terrified at the sight of badly injured persons. They went back without doing so. With great difficulty I was able to drag them out of the car. They were slowly coming to senses. Since, mine was a big car; I managed to take them in it. After three hour of our journey, I reached a hospital in Gangtok and they were given emergency treatment. In the mean time, I booked two hotel rooms for my family and advised them to order dinner. I left the hotel room for the hospital. I did not sleep all the night. By the next day morning, these injured persons came out of danger. When I went to see them, they thanked me profusely for my timely help. Their family members came hurriedly to the spot and I left the place happily.

Q. Brain Drain

Ans:- Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals. In terms of countries, the reasons may be social environment (in source countries: lack of opportunities, political instability, economic depression, health risks, etc.; in host countries: rich opportunities, political stability and freedom, developed economy, better living conditions, etc.). In terms of individual reasons, there are family influences (overseas relatives), and personal preference: preference for exploring, ambition for an improved career, etc. Although the term originally referred to technology workers leaving a nation, the meaning has broadened into: "the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions". Brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the fraction of value of their training sponsored by the government or other organizations. It is a parallel of capital flight, which refers to the same movement of financial capital. Brain drain is often associated with de-skilling of emigrants in their country of destination, while their country of emigration experiences the draining of skilled individuals.

Brain drain is common amongst developing nations, such as the former colonies of Africa, the island nations of the Caribbean, and particularly in centralized economies such as former East Germany and the Soviet Union, where marketable skills were not financially rewarded.

Preventative measures

Talents play important roles in helping a country develop. The economy of a country that has a large number of world-class scientists and technicians can be more innovative than the others that don't. Different areas and nations have distinct policies to retain skilled workers due to the different national or regional situation. For instance, in African countries, the health systems have been severely affected by brain drain, so various measures have been suggested and tried to limit the migration of health workers to rich countries. In Kuwait, people have argued the country should cultivate a sense of security and hope among the elite to curb brain drain because people are not so confident of their countries' future. China tries to create a normal and free atmosphere and mechanism that would help talents flourish. And in India, although suffering severe brain drain every year, the Indian government has not to adopt strict policies because they believe that the overseas talent will eventually contribute to the nation in the future. Germany established a government funded initiative called GAIN to assist Germans working abroad to return to their home country. Other countries (Switzerland, Austria, France) have similar initiatives.

Q. Personal Presentation Skills

In today’s highly competitive business environment, one of the key ways to succeed is the ability to communicate well. When presenting, it is often said that you are your best audio and visual aid and knowing how to exploit the use of your soft skills – the way you use your voice and body language, to communicate effectively will certainly help you to increase your overall impact.
In this article we’ll be looking at some techniques to help you achieve more in your next business presentation.

Your voice can make a big impact on your presentation

You probably rely on your voice as one of your main vehicles for clear communication. You may spend a large amount of your working life using your voice to make an impact – whether it is speaking in meetings, on the telephone or giving presentations. So it’s important to invest some time in developing your vocal skills in order to make the most of your voice in every opportunity. In doing so you will learn to:

• Convey greater confidence
• Sound more convincing
• Become more persuasive
• Assert greater influence
• Create more interest

Controlling nerves at the start of your presentation

For many – speaking in public in front of an audience is a daunting process. Nerves are one of the most common hurdles people face and they will inevitably kick in when you first start to speak. However, you can learn some simple vocal skills that help you to use the adrenalin created by nerves in a positive way to help you speak with more energy and clarity.

• Think Slow Motion when you first start to speak to avoid racing ahead and losing track of what you are saying. We tend to speak more quickly when we are nervous. But by consciously slowing down you will be more likely to speak at a controlled pace that your audience can easily follow.
• Make sure you start with a Strong Stance – with both feet firmly on the ground. Nerves can often cause us to fidget and shuffle our feet. But if you adopt a strong stance before you start to speak, you are less likely to fall into these traps. Instead, your strong posture will help to support you and help you to convey a more confident image in front of your audience.
• Start your opening with 3 Short Sentences. When we are nervous we have a tendency to speak in long winded sentences. These are much more difficult to deliver, especially when we are nervous and we often end up hesitant and using lots of ums and errs. If you plan your first three sentences, keeping them succinct and easy to say – you open strongly and quickly capture the attention of your audience at the start of your presentation.

Engaging with your audience through eye contact

The way in which you look will also have a strong impact on your audience. If you look impassive or you lack any interaction with your audience, they are unlikely to maintain their concentration or remember what you are saying. Confident use of eye contact will help you to engage with your audience and maintain their interest in you. If you don’t look at people when you are speaking to them you are losing a huge opportunity to build rapport with them. If you use eye contact in a confident way when you are presenting you are more likely to:

• Appear more personable and conversational
• Maintain the attention of all your audience
• Convey great enthusiasm
• Read your audience and adapt accordingly
• Project your message with greater conviction

Eye contact doesn’t always come naturally to us when we are standing in front of an audience. No matter how well we know our material, there is a stark contrast between talking informally and having to present in a formal situation. However the effective use of eye contact is a skill that can be developed through practice. To help you develop a more confident use of eye contact try the following:

• Share your eye contact around the audience. You can achieve this by imagining that you are giving individual members of the audience ‘nuggets’ of information as you speak. In this way you will feel as if you are having personal conversations with your audience and this will help you to engage more with them.
• Hold your eye contact for a few seconds. If we are too rapid with our use of eye contact or we flit from one person to another, we can look hesitant and uncomfortable. So once you have directed your eye contact to a specific member of the audience stay with them for a few moments before moving on to someone else. This will help you to look more authoritative and in control of your presentation.
• Maintain your eye contact at the end of your sentences. When we are feeling nervous we can have a tendency to look down particularly at the end of a sentence. This create a lack of conviction in what we are saying. If you look at the audience at the end of your sentence you will reinforce your message and deliver it with greater conviction.

Invest in yourself

There are no hidden secrets to looking and sounding confident and successful. Good communication skills can be developed through training and practice. It is worth the investment. By enhancing the ways in which you communicate you will develop a stronger influence on your audience and thus encourage them to respond to you in a positive way.

Disaster Management 

WHAT IS DISASTER?

Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and devastation to life and property. The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and varies with the geographical location, climate and the type of the earth surface/degree of vulnerability. This influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the affected area. Generally, disaster has the following effects in the concerned areas,

1.  It completely disrupts the normal day to day life

2.  It negatively influences the emergency systems

3.  Normal needs and processes like food, shelter, health, etc. are affected and deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.

It may also be termed as “a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.”

Thus, a disaster may have the following main features:-

Unpredictability, Unfamiliarity, Speed, Urgency, Uncertainty, Threat etc….

Thus, in simple terms we can define disaster as a hazard causing heavy loss to life, property and livelihood.

e.g. a cyclone killing 10,000 lives and a crop loss of one crore can be termed as disaster.

TYPES OF DISASTER

Generally, disasters are of two types –  Natural and Manmade. Based on the devastation, these are further classified into major/minor natural disaster and major/minor manmade disasters. Some of the disasters are listed below,

Major natural disasters:    ·          Flood  ·          Cyclone  ·          Drought  ·          Earthquake	Minor natural disasters:  ·          Cold wave  ·          Thunderstorms  ·          Heat waves  ·          Mud slides  ·          Storm
Major manmade disaster:  Setting of fires  Epidemic  Deforestation  Pollution due to prawn cultivation  Chemical pollution. Wars	Minor manmade disaster:  ·          Road / train accidents, riots  ·          Food poisoning  ·          Industrial disaster/ crisis  ·          Environmental pollution

Q. Major Skills for Disaster Management
Ans:-

1. Since disasters are unpredictable, they are difficult to manage. Not only must you be able to work well under pressure, but also utilize resources properly during that stressful time. Learning how best to respond to disasters and manage the aftermath is a skill that can be learned. Learning the major skills for best handling the situation will help you feel more prepared when disaster does strike.

 Plan

2. According to Paul Sanders, a disaster risk management consultant in Jamaica, having a detailed response plan in a disaster is fundamental. Immediate action is necessary in some situations, while in other situations, a detailed plan is integral. The plan should not be a static one. Make sure to update the plan regularly to avoid it becoming outdated and unhelpful.

 Nature and Scope

3. Another major skill for disaster management is that of understanding and being able to assess the disaster risk. This means being well versed in types of natural disasters, such as tsunamis, floods and earthquakes. Not only that, the skill of being able to ascertain the scope and nature of the disaster before taking action is also critical. It's better to be certain before taking action as it can't be taken back.

 Stress Management

4. Anyone that works in disaster management must be able to remain calm during stressful situations. If you freeze during those times, that is detrimental to the situation. The ability to feel competent in making decisions and taking action while being under stress is a major skill for disaster management. Handling long-term stress is part of it, as well.

 Communication

5. Another major skill for disaster management is exceptional written and oral communication skills. This is essential for building partnerships with other organizations. Further, good communication skills make it easier to instruct others as necessary, especially as most people tend to panic during a disaster. It's also important for personnel in this field to understand the commonly used acronyms and terms used in the field of disaster risk management.

 Q. What is stress?

Ans:- Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental unrest and that may be a factor in disease causation. Physical and chemical factors that can cause stress include trauma, infections, toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort. Emotional causes of stress and tension are numerous and varied. While many people associate the term "stress" with psychological stress, scientists and physicians use this term to denote any force that impairs the stability and balance of bodily functions.

If stress disrupts body balance and function, then is all stress bad? Not necessarily. A mild degree of stress and tension can sometimes be beneficial. For example, feeling mildly stressed when carrying out a project or assignment often compels us to do a good job, focus better, and work energetically.

Likewise, exercising can produce a temporary stress on some body functions, but its health benefits are indisputable. It is only when stress is overwhelming, or poorly managed, that its negative effects appear.

An important goal for those under stress is the management of life stresses. Elimination of stress is unrealistic, since stress is a part of normal life. It's impossible to completely eliminate stress, and it would not be advisable to do so. Instead, we can learn to manage stress so that we have control over our stress and its effects on our physical and mental health.

Who is most susceptible to stress?

Stress comes in all forms and affects people of all ages and all walks of life. No external standards can be applied to predict stress levels in individuals -- one need not have a traditionally stressful job to experience workplace stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more stress related to parenting than a parent of several children. The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual factors such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we carry, the degree of others' dependence upon and expectations of us, the amount of support we receive from others, and the number of changes or traumatic events that have recently occurred in our lives.

Some effective stress-management techniques

Exercise

Physical exercise not only promotes overall fitness, but it helps you to manage emotional stress and tension as well. For one thing, exercise can emotionally remove one temporarily from a stressful environment or situation. Being fit and healthy also increases your ability to deal with stress as it arises.

Relaxation and meditation

There are many ways to use structured relaxation and meditation techniques to help control stress and improve your physical and mental well-being. While some types of meditation and relaxation therapies are best learned in a class, it's also possible to learn meditation techniques on your own. 

Time management

Good time-management skills are critical for effective stress control. In particular, learning to prioritize tasks and avoid over-commitment are critical measures to make sure that you're not overscheduled. Always using a calendar or planner, and checking it faithfully before committing to anything, is one way to develop time-management skills. 

Organizational skills

If your physical surroundings (office, desk, kitchen, closet, car) are well-organized, you won't be faced with the stress of misplaced objects and clutter. Make it a habit to periodically clean out and sort through the messes of paperwork and clutter that accumulate over time.

Support systems

People with strong social support systems experience fewer physical and emotional symptoms of stress than their less-connected counterparts. Loved ones, friends, business associates, neighbors, and even pets are all part of our social networks. Cultivating and developing a social support network is healthy for both body and mind.

Essay on Gender Bias

Gender bias is commonly considered to be discrimination and/or hatred towards people based on their gender rather than their individual merits, but can also refer to any and all systemic differentiations based on the gender of the individuals.

Gender bias can refer to subtly different beliefs or attitudes:

1. The belief that one gender or sex is inferior to or more valuable than the other which is Female or male chauvinism.

2. The attitude of misogyny (hatred of females) or misandry (hatred of males); as well as the attitude of imposing a limited and/or false notion of masculinity on males and a limited and/or false notion of femininity on females, or vice versa.

3. A feeling of distrust towards the opposite or same sex as a whole.

Gender bassist's beliefs, as a part of essentialism, holds that individuals can be understood or judged based solely on the characteristics of the group to which they belong-in this case, their gender group, as males or females. Certain forms of gender discrimination are illegal in many countries, but nearly all countries have laws that give special rights, privileges, or responsibilities to one sex or two sexes.

The view that men are superior to women is one form of gender bias. This form is often called male chauvinism, chauvinism in a broader sense referring to any extreme and unreasonable partisanship that is accompanied by malice and hatred towards a rival group. A similar term is gynophobia, which refers to fears of females or feminity. Historically, in many patriarchal societies, females have been and are viewed as the "weaker sex". Women's lower status can be seen in cases in which females were not even recognized as persons under the law of the land.

The feminist movement promotes women's rights to end sexism against females by addressing issues such as equality under the law, political representation of females, access to education and employment, female victims of domestic violence. The view that women are superior to men is also a form of gender bias. Sexism against males has been referred to as "reverse sexism".

But as such worldwide, especially in 3rd world countries gender bias is used to describe discrimination against women. However countries like India are making huge efforts in combating this evil by passing and implementing new laws, and giving certain privileges to women. But if this evil has to be eliminated from society, men will have to make efforts from their side also, so that women can live in an equally paced world.