Sociology Mains Preparation

Sorry guys for the delay in writing this post and though I would try my best to answer the various questions put forward by cse aspirants regarding sociology remember, I am only human....I did not make notes on every topic...nor did I cover every sub-topic in great detail...but what I made sure was that: 1.Before reading any notes or chaalu copy paste books I should be thorough with the original books (mentioned later) 2.Thinkers and Theories(say Theories of social change,of power etc.) should be done in great detail with elaborate notes,rest of the topics can be done via a single book(you could pull out/photocopy relevant chapters and put them alongwith your notes so that everything is in one place when you revise) or mere pointers can do (say for topics like Child Labour). Warning:No notes should be made before a third reading of the chapter/book/source material especially for those who were, till they decided to plunge into cse preparation completely alien to the subject and its nuances. 3.These notes/pointers were to be made in the format of: First Page-The Syllabus with the newly added topics (info for the newbeeies, the syllabus changed from 2008 Mains) highlighted (you can expect increased importance to be allotted to the newer topics in the exam)and sources referred to for the various sub-topics written alongwith a mention of whether you have written notes on it or not. This will help you in cross referring the source books when you feel that there is something missing in your notes when you revise after a long time,or to ask doubts/search for new material 'cos you would know what you don't know ...very important since this would guide you in selecting which questions to answer in the final exam hour ( no one is allowed to ask...is there a choice in the question paper or even worse...how will it guide one in question selection!) Second Page-All old questions including the 1980's ones(according to syllabus of course!)...if you notice some of the really old questions pertain to the newly added topics...bringing the changes made to a full circle! :) Also, its important to know which sub topic can be interlinked with which other sub topic , which sub-topic requires more elaborate reading and note-making and which topics you cant afford to miss(some questions have been repeatedly asked indirectly or directly...) All of this can only be gathered by a thorough analysis of the questions asked (preferably on your own) in the previous years so pay attention to the second page too ! Third Page- Now your note making starts...the elaborate notes and even pointers should follow this format : a.Theory/Concept-Who said,What was said and in Which context was it said b.Criticism-Every theoretician/perspective has a critique which points out the lacunae in the same and at the same time takes it forward...one should be very clear with this aspect. c.ApplicationIn paper 1: Emphasise on case studies usa,uk('cos many studies are available from there!) or any other foreign country if you have a relevant case study ...but , at the same time do not forget to connect it to Indian examples. In paper 2 : Emphasis should be placed on Indian Sociologists and application to Indian context, though here too works of important sociologists(from paper 1) can be applied . Hence, studying , note making and then answer writing (in the same chronological order for very obvious reasons!) should be done keeping in mind that paper 1 and paper 2 are not exclusive of each other but are in fact interlinked and at times even draw sustenance from each other. 4.The notes would be made preferably in the same format as the answer sheets given in the upsc mains exam ie A4 blank sheets with space left at both sides(instead of wasting time making margins with scale and pencil just fold the paper on both sides to give the impression of a margin) and punched to be put into well organised folders. 5.This organisation of notes may sound like a very very childlike suggestion but it has great bearing on your revision...remember you are not writing notes to publish them for the benefit of mankind (which is not a bad idea but

not your primary goal!) but to apply them in the examination, so please revise revise revise(this is not a typo error :) bad joke...still) 6.I would share resources like advice/coaching material/your own notes with another serious student...its a personal belief that petty competitiveness pulls you down as well. 7.Internet resources (some books have a few pages put out for reading online) and library(D School,Arts FacultyDelhi University) resources (through a student) would be used appropriately. Note :If you get hold of an amazing book for a very small sub-topic and don't have time to go through it just read the Introduction+Preface...it usually encapsulates the whole argument This was the "how to read" bit... now lets come down now to the "what to read" part : The "How to start" dilemna plagues most of the cse aspirants esp those who did not have a humanities background....The solution is simpleStart with NCERT XI and XII (old and new editions both) Then for : Paper 1- Refer (in accordance with the syllabus...if time permits you could read the whole book as well...if nothing else it may help you in the essay or later on in the interview stage): Anthony Giddens-Sociology(I believe the 5th edition is available in India in a paperback format...expensive book but its usefulness justifies its expense) MacIonis-Sociology(brought to India by Pearsons publications) These books give a basic understanding and at the same time an analysis of more contemporary topics. Now you could go onto the basic book for Thinkers which is: Francis Abraham and John Henry Morgan-Sociological Thought You should also elaborate upon Thinkers by referring to Ritzer selectively(a must) Some of my friends picked up tit-bits from Lewis Coser and some referred to Raymond Aron too(optional) For Paper 2- Start with IGNOU BA course material and stick to it! Take care to mention the case studies considered in the IGNOU booklets in your examination. You should also read: M.N.Srinivas-Social Change in India Yogendra Singh-Modernisation of Indian Tradition Handbook of Indian Sociology-edited by Veena Das (selective reading of the book ) J.C.Verma (a NBT publication on Tribals) for the portion on problems faced by tribals... I found books like Madan and Mazumdar- Social Anthropology and Horton and Hunt relevant for prelims only Though one could pick up meaning of terms like culture etc from the Horton and Hunt book to understand its usage and maybe, apply it in the Essay paper (if it so demands) Now the question arises how to supplement this basic material ? In paper 2 the theory portion should be connected to/updated by egs drawn from real life /recent case studies covered in magazines like Yojana and Economic and Political Weekly . You could become an online member of these magazines and avail the benefit of browsing through their archives. I was too lazy to do this and consequently suffered(thankfully not too badly!) in paper 2.

In paper 1 there is an excellent reference book by the name of Haralombos and Halborn,its detailed,comprehensive and contemporary....unfortunately, reading it is a time consuming exercise so do it only as a last resort and/or to add value to selective topics(to avoid meandering away from relevant topics always keep the syllabus by your side) These are the books/resources which I found relevant ..if I later on recall more(not that you would want me to, once you see the content of some of these books!) I would add on to this post... Hopefully all of you would come to enjoy Sociology as much as I did (and also get good marks...very imp! )

A smart Adam to chart new territory

Adam? To quote one of its creators: It is a smartpad, small enough to be carried anywhere and big enough to do anything The device will be among the first to feature Pixel Qi display, a low-cost, power-saving screen that can operate in three modes. Besides the LCD mode, it can run in a low-power, basic colour trans-reflective mode and a very low-power, sunlight-readable e-paper mode that mounts no pressure on the eye. The screen comes with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic (oil repelling) and anti-glare coating

Squeezed into Adam are water, ambient light and proximity sensors, accelerometer, assisted GPS, digital compass, built-in speakers and microphone. However, it will be loaded only with Flash memory (16 or 32 GB) augmented by Secure Digital (SD) card support. It will have three interfaces: the touch screen, an on-screen virtual keyboard and a track pad located behind the screen, allowing users to manoeuvre the cursor from the front or the rear. A rotatable three megapixel camera at the top can effortlessly take pictures or videos within a 180 degree angle. The developers were assisted by the National Institute of Design (Research and Development campus, Bangalore) in elements of next generation operating system (OS), user interfaces, usability issues and product concepts. For starters The Wave is the first of Samsung's smartphones to be launched on its proprietary OS, Bada. The Bada platform gives users the option to download a variety of apps from Samsung apps. The handset claims to have the worlds first Super AMOLED display, at 3.3-inches wide, with less reflection and high-res WVGA screen. The high-speed CPU makes multitasking a breeze, and the Wave comes with an Integrated Social Hub that directly integrates email and SNS into the phone. Other features include a tactile touchscreen, multiwidgets, pinch and zoom and a quick notification panel. Add on up to 15 hours talktime, 2GB internal memory expandable up to

32GB and a 5-meg camera with LED flash, and youve got a handset thats a multimedia magnet.
COLOURS OF NATURE: Scene inside a newly developed aquarium, Ganga, set up by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in Lucknow. It is described as the largest aquarium in North India with exotic ornamental fish

Then Nirupama visits Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Jaffna

visited Mahilankulam near Omanthai, a site where the Horizon (ex-servicemen) Group of India is conducting demining operations in a heavily mined area that constituted the no-man's land between the former Forward Defence Lines of the Army and the LTTE. India is funding seven demining teams HQ of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland: Police say the gunman burst into the building about 1 p.m. and took hostages in the lobby on the first floor

As another of the many measures initiated to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability through access to drinking water and sanitation, UNHabitat and Google.org launched the h2.0 initiative (http://www.h20initiative.org) at the recently concluded World Water Week in Stockholm. The initiative provides a common, real-time, online platform for data collected by groups around the world, presenting them in the form of interactive maps (using Google Earth), while providing an opportunity for community participation in data collection.
The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), a project funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was first conceived in 1999 to pave the way for introducing multimedia and web technology to enhance learning of basic science and engineering concepts. Significant infrastructure has been set up earlier for production of video-based teaching material by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Technical Teacher Training Institutes (TTTI). In the first phase of the NPTEL project (June 2003-June 2007), seven IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have worked together to develop web and video based material for basic undergraduate science and engineering courses in order to enhance the reach and quality of technical education in the country.The NPTEL project, receives its funding support through the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) since the year 2009. Internet Reliable Transaction Protocol IRTP is a full duplex, transaction oriented, host to host protocol which provides reliable sequenced delivery of packets of data, called transaction packets UK India Education and Research Initiative ( UKIERI ) UK India Education and Research Initiative ( UKIERI ) is a five year programme which aims to substantially improve educational links between India and the UK so that in the long term we become each other's partner of choice in education. It has been recognised as the programme that is playing an important role in fostering contacts across the UK and India in the field of Higher Education The UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh recently announced the extension of the successful UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI

RASHTRIYA KRISHI BIMA YOJANA (RKBY) OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the RKBY are as under: -

1. To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases. 2. To encourage the farmers to adopt progressive farming practices, high value in-puts and higher technology in Agriculture. 3. To help stabilise farm incomes, particularly in disaster years.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME: 1. CROPS COVERED: The Crops in the following broad groups in respect of which 1) the fast yield data based on Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) is available for adequate number of years, and 2) requisite number of CCEs are conducted for estimating the yield during the proposed season: a. Food crops (Cereals, Millets & Pulses) b. Oilseeds c. Sugarcane, Cotton & Potato (Annual Commercial / Annual Horticultural crops). Other Annual Commercial / Annual Horticultural crops subject to availability of past yield data will be covered in a period of three years. However, the crops, which will be covered next year, will have to be spelt before the close of proceeding year.

2. STATES AND AREAS TO BE COVERED: The Scheme extends to all States and Union Territories. The States / UTs opting for the Scheme, would be required to take up all the crops identified for coverage in a given

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF is therefore a 'policy-making body' that works to generate the necessary political will to bring about legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas. The FATF has published 40 + 9 Recommendations in order to meet this objectiveThe FATF does not have a tightly defined constitution or an unlimited life span. The Task Force reviews its mission every five years. The FATF has been in existence since 1989. In 2004, Ministry representatives from the 35 FATF members agreed to extend the mandate of the Task Force until 2012. This 8-year mandate demonstrates that members of the FATF

remain united in their commitment to combat terrorism and international crime, and is a sign of their confidence in the FATF as an important instrument in that fight Solar Tsunami is a towering wave of hot plasma racing across the sun's surface. It has suddenly grabbed the attention of the inhabitants of the third planet from the sun as the news of the waves heading towards earth hit the headlines on Tuesday, Aug 3.

However, there is nothing to worry about as the consequences and effects of solar tsunami would just be limited to blackouts, disruption in communication systems and a rather desirable effect of brighter auroras or the northern lights.

Facts

- Solar tsunami is a tsunami-like shock wave that forms on the Sun

- These waves generally roll across the hot surface of the Sun destroying or sweeping away filamentary material

- These waves are infrequent yet very powerful

- Technical name 'fast-mode magnetohydrodynamical wave'. It is also referred to as 'MHD wave'

- It is also called Moreton wave

The Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) is a Central Sector Plan Scheme which is being implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj since 2005-06. The scheme had an allocation of Rs.5.00 crore for 2005-06, which was raised to Rs.10.00 crore for the subsequent years. Funds released to the State Governments/UTs on 100% grant basis, after assessing their devolution of the 3Fs (Funds, Functions and Functionaries). The Scheme has continued in the 11th Five Year Plan period with annual allocation of Rs.10.00 crore.

From 2006-07 onwards the criteria for eligibility were derived on the basis of devolution of 3Fs, which was developed by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. During 2007-08, the index was revised to include a fourth dimension of Framework, which specifically tests if the State has met the four mandatory Constitutional requirements viz. establishing the State Election Commission, holding PRI Election every five years, establishing State Finance Commission and setting up of District Planning Committees. For 2008-09 NCAER, New Delhi was engaged by the Ministry for compiling the information on the parameters constituting the DI and processes the same. NCAER submitted the final Report titled An Index of Devolution for Assessing Environment for PRIs in the States-Empirical Assessment-2008. An Evaluation of the States under the PEAIS for 2008-09 was based on a two stage assessment. The first stage was called the Framework Criteria, which was based on the following 4 fundamental Constitutional requirements: IPFonline (IPF), one of Indias trade information and service provider of industrial and engineering products, had recently launched the Renewable Energy India Forum (REIF) during the Solar 2010 conference in New Delhi. The REIF forum is aimed at promoting renewable energy in India. The vision behind REIF is to provide a platform for showcasing the latest products and processes in area of renewable energy. The forum also aims to develop the biggest online cluster for this sector in the world.
PURSE INITIATIVE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE (PURSE INTIATIVE - SPECIAL SUPPORT SCHEME UNDER SERC) In appreciation of the R&D contributions of the performing universities, PURSE initiative is taken by Department of Science & Technology, Government of India to initiate value added proactive measures through introduction of R&D Incentive Grant. PURSE scheme provides substantive research grant to 14 universities on scientific publications in Science Citation Indexed Journals through SCOPUS Database INS KONDUL/INS CANKARSO These two Fast Attack Craft (FACs) built by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Named INS Cankaso and INS Kondul, two island territories of India, these would be the fifth and sixth Fast Attack Craft (FACs) under the Car Nicobar class of craft that India manufacturing began in last 2007 year. The Indian Navy has already commissioned four Fast Attack Craft\ ACES Automation of Central Excise & Service Tax. It is a web based software for assesses & the department which make automatic different processes of CENTRAL EXCISE & THESERVICE TAX Department like filing the return, claims & intimation & tracking the status. There are two parts of ACES, one is central excise and the second is service tax. One needs to register separately for both these parts Dhanush Dhanush (Sanskrit: Bow) is a naval variant of the Prithvi missile.[25] It can fire either the 250 km or the 350 km range missiles Indian Navy's K-15 Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missile is reported to be a variant of the Dhanush missile.[26] Svapnavasavadatta (Sanskrit: , Svapnavsavadatt) (English: The dream of Vasavadatta) is a Sanskrit play in six

acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhasa. It is probably the best known of Bhsa's works. The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the Vatsa king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination CDMA2000 1x is a standard that aims to bring high data rate capabilities to wireless communication products. It supports both voice and 153 Kbps of data using the same bandwidth configuration as legacy IS-95A1 CDMA networks (i.e., 1.25 megahertz (MHz) channel bandwidth

SPIRULINA

Spirulina is a microscopic blue-green alga in the shape of a spiral coil, living both in sea and fresh water. Spirulina is the common name for human and animal food produced primarily from two species of cyanobacteria
HYOGO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is the key instrument for implementing disaster risk reduction, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations. Its overarching goal is to build resilience of nations and communities to disasters, by achieving substantive reduction of disaster losses by 2015 - in lives, and in the social, economic, and environmental assets of communities and countries. The HFA offers five areas of priorities for action, guiding principles and practical means for achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable communities in the context of sustainable development The United Nations World Food Conference in 1974 lauded spirulina as the 'best food for the future'. Recognizing the inherent potential of spirulina in the sustainable development agenda, several Member States of the United Nations came together to form an intergovernmental organization named the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM).[32] IIMSAM GAHIRMATHA Gahirmatha Beach is a beach in the Indian state of Orissa. The beach separates the Bhitarkanika mangroves from the Bay of Bengal, is the world's most important nesting beach for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles ANTARCTIC TREATY The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty Systemor ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60S latitude. The treaty, entering into force in 1961 and eventually signed by 47

COLOMBO PLAN The Colombo Plan is a regional organization that embodies the concept of collective inter-governmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. The primary focus of all Colombo Plan activities is on human resources development.

Originally conceived as lasting for a period of six years, the Colombo Plan was extended several times until 1980, when it was extended indefinitely. Initially it was called the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia. It has grown from a group of seven Commonwealth nations - Australia, Britain, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand and Pakistan - into an international organization of 26, including non-Commonwealth countries. When it adopted a new constitution in 1977, its name was changed to "The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific" to reflect the expanded composition of its enhanced membership and the scope of its activities. Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Rustom The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has developed the 1800-kg unmanned aircraft, announced that Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Rustom had a test flight at a height of 3000 feet for half an hour, successfully doing what it was commanded to by Ground Control. It taxied, took off and landed (among the most challenging maneuvers for a UAV Methylhexaneamine (Forthan, Forthane, Floradrene, Geranamine), also known asdimethylamylamine (DMAA), is a drug and simple aliphatic amine used as a nasal decongestant, as well as treatment for hypertrophied or hyperplasic oral tissues[1], and as an active ingredient in party pills in New Zealand[2].

In 2009, the World Anti-Doping Agency added methylhexanamine to the 2010 prohibited list NUBRA VALLEY

Nubra valley is the northern-most corner of India. Bound by the Karakorams to the North, the Siachen Glacier to the West, China to the East and the world's highest motorable pass Khardung La to the South. It's a valley of pretty villages and people with Central Asian features and with a heavy Army presence. The IndIGO consortium comprises 26 scientists that include researchers drawn from nine leading Indian institutions, as well as Indian scientists who are actively engaged in the field at major gravitational astronomy research centres of the world such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) at Caltech, United States, and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Potsdam, Germany. The consortium is chaired by Bala Iyer of the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore. Indian gravitational astronomy researchers towards building a four-km class Indian Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (IndIGO) by the year 2020 Gulzarilal Nanda who looked after the Congress interests in the organi-sation announced the formation of the Hindustan Mazdur Sevak Sangh with the concurrence of Gandhiji. Vallabhbhai Patel was to be the Presi-dent.
XSS Worm became active on Twitter. When an account user held the mouse cursor over blacked out parts of a tweet, the worm within the script would automatically open links and re-post itself on the reader's account.[91] The exploit was then re-used to post pop-up ads and links to pornographic sites. The bug on the Twitter website caused pop-up messages to appear or opened third-party websites when users just hovered the cursor over a link.

MAVI MARMARA

The ship was purchased in 2010 by an Turkish charity IHH (nsani

Yardm Vakf), the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief. It joined a flotilla of ships operated by activist groups from 37 different countries with the intention of directly confronting the Gaza blockade and bringing in humanitarian aid and supplies.