Towards safe boats and joyful picnics Essay Example

Towards safe boats and joyful picnics Essay Last week, coffee mug in hand, I idly stretched for the morning newspaper. The Thursday morning headlines on the local daily screamed at me† Fifteen kids, three teachers perish in boating tragedy at Thattekkad, Ernakulam†. God Lord, this couldn’t be happening in my own backyard, Kerala, with its tropical green cover, popular in tourist parlance as â€Å" God’s own country†, with its languid lakes, verdant backwaters! Little did I realize that my own state, my idyllic paradise, had a rather abysmal track record in observing even basic safety norms, in surface and water transport.In hindsight, all accidents leave us with scarred, benumbing thoughts on how it could all have   been avoided. As one read intently through the report, it struck me that a totally callous disregard for simple, straightforward safety norms, had invited the tragedy.On a pleasant Wednesday evening, what started off as a simple,merry ride down Periyar river, swiftly turned in to a nightmarish experience. About 100 schoolchildren and 12 staff members,were packed like sardines hurriedly on board three boats, which were floating contraptions, an apology for safe cruise vessels. Even though the vessels had a permit for cruising on river, the boat that met with the accident, lacked a mandatory certificate of safety. While the permitted capacity of the boat was around 15, it carried 37 passengers. The cruise extended well beyond the permitted time limit of 6’oclock. As and when the tragedy unfolded, late in to the evening, with poor lighting, rescue and relief operations became increasingly difficult. The unkindest cut was in the shocking absence of proper onboard safety equipment like liferaft, dinghy or buoys, which would have aided survival! For the picnic party, it was the final leg of a joyous one-day picnic. Mid stream, as the first sign of a leak developed, panic set in and the boat sank in no time in to a deep trench, a grim reminder of illegal san d- mining on the riverbed. It is a cruel irony that man and nature collectively conspired to provide a watery grave to 18 innocent, precious lives, that fateful day.This tragedy leaves more questions unanswered for me, as a professional associated with the safety department of   a transport organization. The booming tourism industry in my state has mushroomed in to many unorganized sub sectors in the hospitality   business, spawning in its wake, many unprofessional players who cut corners, while complying with basic safety norms. At the policy level, the need of the hour is for a   Surface and water tourism safety board, which would frame   comprehensive legislation for all river and lake bound vessels. All drivers should possess a competency certificate, besides emergency troubleshooting skills certificate. Perhaps it is time for the state authorities also to frame safety guidelines to be observed during school picnics and excursions, involving an extra risk dimension, say, ride on a boat or trekking in the woods etc. Otherwise, the heart-rending sight of a disconsolate dad, weeping over his dear departed twin daughters, a poignant photograph that brought a lump in every throat and a tear in every eye , would continue to haunt us for long. In any business, as in hospitality and tourism, it is safety first and foremost, forever.

12 Terms for Tests and Related Expressions

12 Terms for Tests and Related Expressions 12 Terms for Tests and Related Expressions 12 Terms for Tests and Related Expressions By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between an acid test and a litmus test? Can you test-drive something that can’t be driven, or test-fire something that can’t be fired? Here are literal and figurative definitions of some phrases that include the word test. 1. Acid test: a chemical test used to distinguish gold from other metals; by analogy, a very important or intense test of character or performance 2. Alpha test: a test of an early version of a company’s software or hardware by company employees or by consultants 3. Beta test: a test of a beta, or revised, version of a company’s software or hardware by people outside the company (often, a sample of prospective customers) before it is finalized and generally released for sale 4. Litmus test: a test for acidity using litmus, an organic dye absorbed onto a medium called litmus paper that changes color when exposed to chemicals; by analogy, a test in which one component or factor determines the outcome, or the posing of a question whose answer indicates the respondent’s suitability, or lack thereof, for a position, or an action whose result determines whether one or more other actions should be taken 5. Test ban: a self-imposed prohibition of nuclear weapons testing by mutual agreement between two or more countries 6. Test bed: a vehicle used to test equipment; by analogy, any thing, place, or method for testing a product or an idea 7. Test board: a sample piece of cardboard or other packing material for testing strength or resistance to damage, or a console for testing electronics (also, an organization that administers academic examinations) 8. Test case: a legal or similar case pursued with the intent of establishing a precedent for similar decisions; by analogy, an action undertaken to determine the likely outcome for such actions 9. Test check: auditing of sample data (also, as a verb, test-check, to audit sample data) 10. Test drive: use of a vehicle to evaluate its performance; by analogy, evaluation of any device or of implementation of a policy or procedure (also, as a verb, test-drive, to test a vehicle or other device, or a policy or procedure) 11. Test fire: testing of a weapon to evaluate its performance (also called a firing test); by analogy, to introduce or launch a policy or product to determine how it will be received (as a verb, test-fire, to test a weapon or launch a policy or product) 12. Test market: a region or group selected for limited release of a product (also, as a verb, test-market, to make a product available on a limited basis to evaluate its appeal) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Cost-Effective vs. Cost-EfficientEnglish Grammar 101: Verb Mood20 Slang Terms for Law Enforcement Personnel

Gender Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender Studies - Essay Example Individuals at present have fashioned and shaped their lives based on their computer and social media activities. For the most part, their work, social life, and sometimes family life is connected and in some ways disconnected through the social media. This was discussed by Turkle, admitting how individuals often find themselves actively engaging in the social media and still being disconnected from each other from the most basic units of communication. Turkle points out that connectivity is useful, however, it also affects people’s attachments to elements or things which have always sustained individuals. She narrates a story involving her daughter Rebecca and her experience of bringing her to Ireland, helping her get settled into a dorm room as she was starting school in New England. Even with the distance, constant communication is still made possible with her daughter. Video chats have also allowed for actual conversations to be carried out with her daughter. Still, the au thor finds herself looking into old boxes looking for letters from her mother in the days when she herself went off to college. After finding the letters, holding these in her hands, she feels as connected to her mother as ever. Still, regular contact with her own daughter has been sustained through the internet. At times, there is a feeling of being constrained to be brief and still be charming during multiple video chats. Still, with the transition of technology, the author also realizes that in maybe 40 years from now, her daughter may not find the same connectivity to her as she has had with her mother. The digital footprints and records may have been faded erased and replaced with newer models which push the old information and communique out of the way. The story narrated by Turkle does show how lives are reshaped on the screen. People’s identity is ever mobile and ever changing, especially with the active use of the social media. More than ever, the transition has been seen in terms of digital settings where the digital technologies present the best usage for such settings. The shift from the digital world has been very quick and innovative and transitioning towards a specific convergence. Within the last decade, mobile technologies were not widespread in use, however, they have become more widespread. They have also provided us with an energetic process relating to service delivery which can be evaluated anytime and anywhere. Such omnipresent possibility for the social media has helped provide the connectivity and social media identity which has been discussed by Turkle. Such connectivity has supported the individual identity individuals seek to support. Mostly it is an identity which is digitally based. Under these conditions, it is possible to carry out transactions online, to call customer representatives and request assistance, to pay bills using credit cards from mobile phones, and even to receive goods with SMS confirmation upon delivery. Within this digital setting, the social media has become an omnipresent phenomenon. It has been imposed into the consciousness of people and their identity as well, enticing their participation in its active use. The lives and identity of individuals in the current age of social media is now inundated with text messages, phone calls, e-mails,