Back to unsupervised online tests for university students

 Back to unsupervised online tests for university students

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Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

23.01.2022

Chennai: Universities in Tamil Nadu will return to unsupervised online exams from February1, the higher education department decided on on Friday.

This also shows that state universities are yet to come out with credible online tests despite the pandemic being on for nearly two years. The online exams can only be called written assignments as there is no monitoring or supervision, say academicians.

They want proctored online exams where each student would receive a different set of questions to prevent malpractices such as mass copying.

Professors want the government to come out with a mechanism for monitoring exams through apps such as Google Meet or MS Teams. They also want centralised  evaluation to make it neutral. Some suggest conducting viva along with theory exams to help distinguish hard working students from others.

“Downloading question papers and writing answers in pen and paper mode at home and sending photos or posting answer sheets is not an online exam. Online exams should be conducted without pen and paper,” said E Balagurusamy, former vicechancellor of Anna University.

Only Anna University conducted a proctored online exam last year. Citing withholding of results for a large number of students, the state government ordered a re-exam for engineering students.

“The engineering colleges which had less than 10% pass percentage also have 95% pass in unsupervised online exam. The overall pass percentage is 98%. The uni- versities should conduct proctored tests,” he said.

In Madras University, more than 99% of students cleared exams in the previous semester, against 70% during the offline mode.

Autonomous colleges like Loyola are monitoring exams through apps such as Google Meet with three layers of supervision.

Universities say proctored online tests are not possible due to poor internet connectivity.

Madras University vice chancellor S Gowri said students from rural areas may not be able to attend proctored online tests due to poor network connectivity.

“The proctored objective exam could have been modified with a descriptive type exam. However, we have to follow the government's decision,” Anna University vice chancellor R Velraj said.

Firm told to pay ₹8 lakh to kin of ex-employee

 Firm told to pay ₹8 lakh to kin of ex-employee

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23.01.2022

Chennai: A labour court in Kancheepuram has directed a manufacturing firm in SIPCOT, Sriperumbudur, to compensate a sum of ₹8 lakh to the family of an employee, after the court ruled in favour of the company in the case as the employee died while the case was underway.

The petitioner, R Rajkumar who was working as a machine operator in the steel manufacturing company was dismissed in November2011 for continued absenteeism, against which he moved the labour court and sought salary arrears.

The court noted that the petitioner could not prove that the management ha d acted out of vendetta. Further, it was established by the management that there was continued absenteeism by the petitioner without providing valid reasons, and being a manufacturing company, the absenteeism of the employee affected production, the court noted. However, while the case was underway, the petitioner died due to ill health after which his wife was arrayed in the case.

The court noted that on compassionate grounds, the family be a warded compensation and since the management too agreed, the court arrived at an amount of ₹8 lakh. TNN

Relaxing is a learned skill. Here’s how to correctly master the art

 Relaxing is a learned skill. Here’s how to correctly master the art

Deliberate muscle relaxation immediately reduces stress, fatigue and anxiety. And the best part: The more you do it, the more effective it is

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23.01.2022

Most of us go through life not knowing that there is a particular technique to relaxing — deliberate muscle relaxation — that immediately reduces fatigue, anxiety and and creates a kind of all-over refreshed feeling that can be attained nearly anywhere.

Loosen up

One of the most widely used methods is progressive muscle relaxation, which was developed by Edmund Jacobson, a medical doctor who pioneered research into the connection between physical tension and mental well-being.

Jacobson’s insight was that a moderately tense muscle is indistinct — that is, one often does not notice, in ordinary life, that certain muscles are in a state of tension. His method for relaxation is thus a two-step process. First, learn to recognise what a particular muscle feels like when it is flexed. Then, focusing on that muscle in the f lexed state, do the o pposit e o f f le xi ng : Re l a x.

When you’re starting out wit h muscle r el a xa t io n , i t c an be helpful to set aside time and s p ac e t o d o i t . F i n d 1 0 t o 1 5 m i n utes in the day when you’re unlikely to be disturbed. Look for a quiet spot where you can lie down on a bed or sit on a couch. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths.

Now begin: Start at your extremities — say, your hands. Clench them and focus on what that feels like. What is the physical sensation of a clenched fist? Which muscles are activated, and what does their activation feel like? After you have spent a few seconds focusing on the clench, do the opposite. As you exhale, gently unclench your fist. Let go of the tension. Feel your hand loosening, becoming heavy, falling into relaxation.

Repeat this with other parts. Your arms: Flex your biceps, feel the f lex and then let go. Your shoulders: Shrug, then unshrug. Your mouth: Smile wide and feel the pull of your smile muscles, then let your smile go limp.

Quieten the body

Muscle relaxation is related to meditation — quieting thebody is an important part of quieting the mind — but it is much easier to get into and a lot more portable. With practice, you’ll learn to achieve mastery over your tension, to sense how you’re unconsciously tightening parts of your body during the course of a day. Once you begin to recognise that feeling, muscle relaxation can become an all-over, all-the-time activity.

— THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

What is ‘white coat hypertension’?

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23.01.2022

White coat hypertension’ is characterized by shooting up of blood pressure and/or heart rate when in a hospital, because of the nervousness of being in front of a doctor.

For a recent experiment, 18 people with hypertension were monitored using blood pressure measurements, in the presence and absence of a doctor. It came as no surprise that when a doctor was present, the blood pressure and heart rates were higher.

Experts recommend measuring BP thrice and taking an average of those readings.

— DAILY MIRROR

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