Month: December 2014

Categories
Learn

Who will employ the disabled?

Here’s inclusivity: the Community Business Membership Network recently launched a unique research initiative to find avenues for employing disabled persons in India.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

India has a staggering number of physically disabled persons, but the employment opportunities for them are not as many there should be.

Recently, to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, Community Business, a not-for-profit organisation focussing on corporate responsibility and a thought leader on Diversity and Inclusion,launched its latest research ‘Tapping A Pool of Disabled Talent in India: Focus on University Students’. This research is an initiative of Community Business’ unique membership network, the Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network for India (DIAN India), a group of leading companies committed to progressing Diversity and Inclusion in their organisations in India and driving positive change in the wider community.

According to the United Nations, there is an estimated 70 million people with disabilities in India, of which only an estimated 100,000 are in employment. The new Companies Bill, which includes a mandate that 2 per cent of corporate profits be devoted to Corporate Social Responsibility and proposed changes to the Disabilities Bill, are placing increased focus on people with disabilities.

Disabled person at Costa Coffee India“Many companies are looking to fulfill their obligations as a socially responsible employer.” explained Pooja Shahani, Country Manager, India, at Community Business. “However, the more enlightened companies are seeing it as an opportunity to explore how they can embrace those with disabilities, referred to by many in India as the ‘differently-abled’, as part of their overall talent management strategies. These companies recognise the potential of disabled individuals as a largely untapped talent pool and are keen to understand the needs of this target group so they can attract them to their organisations and support them to develop meaningful careers.”

The research is designed to increase understanding on the issues around recruiting people with disabilities in India and focusses particularly on university students with disabilities. In conducting the research, Community Business interviewed eight leading disability experts in India and engaged with over 100 university students with disabilities from 50 different universities in India through an online survey and face-to-face facilitated dialogues. Drawing on the findings and perspectives shared, the report highlights that when it comes to the recruitment of students with disabilities, companies should:

– View students with disabilities as an important talent pool. Recognise that students with disabilities – who have overcome the personal challenges they face and make it through to university – are likely to be well-educated, determined and committed individuals. As the research findings show, the majority have ambitions and aspirations – nearly all (94.9 per cent) expect to work when they graduate and over three quarters (78.3 per cent) are optimistic about their prospects.  They consider opportunities in both the private (60.3 per cent) and public (62.8 per cent) sectors while a role in a multinational company (69.2 per cent) is the most popular choice.

The top three most important factors for selecting a job are long-term career opportunities (75.6 per cent), salary and benefits (71.8 per cent) and nature and scope of work (66.7 per cent). Students with disabilities are no different from other ambitious graduates and their desire for long-term, well-paid and interesting work is the same as their peers.

– Go beyond social obligations and recognise the business case for hiring people with disabilities. Overcome the mindset that bringing candidates with disabilities into a team is something that a company ‘should’ or ‘needs’ to do or is merely part of some CSR initiative. Instead, fully acknowledge that if harnessed correctly, tapping into this pool of talent provides a potential source of competitive advantage.

– Develop a targeted approach. While students with disabilities look to a broad range of sources for information and advice when they think about applying for a job, most of them (60.3 per cent) rely on their personal network (including their friends, classmates and families) and very few (15.4 per cent) participate in mainstream graduate recruitment fairs. Companies relying on traditional, general channels alone may be unintentionally missing out on opportunities of reaching disabled talent.

– Work in partnership with universities and local disability-organisations. In considering how to attract, retain and develop disabled talent, companies are encouraged not to work alone but to work in partnership with both universities and local disability organisations. By working together, each party can leverage their unique strengths and resources to create meaningful and appropriate programmes that increase opportunities and prepare future employees to be effective in the workplace.

– Demonstrate commitment. The research highlights that when it comes to looking for an employer, the students’ biggest concern is the overall culture of the organisation and attitude of colleagues (71.8 per cent).  At the same time, their most important criteria for selecting an employer is whether a company can clearly state its commitment to diversity and inclusion and/or being an equal opportunities employer (82.6 per cent).

The study also showcases eight leading companies in India who are already positioning themselves as employers of choice for disabled talent. These companies include: Accenture, BNY Mellon, Capgemini, EY, Goldman Sachs, Tata Consulting Services, Thomson Reuters and Wipro.

Commenting on the research, Fern Ngai, CEO of Community Business, said:  “We hope that in sharing experiences and perspectives from a significant sample of students with disabilities in India and showcasing good practice by leading companies, this study will not only provide valuable insights to employers looking to market and differentiate their companies as an employer of choice for this talent pool, but also inspire more companies in India to open their doors to disabled talent.”

(Pictures courtesy www.thehindu.com, www.dailymail.co.uk. Images are used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

Maha Gov awards electronic limbs to accident victims

Mulund based social organisation Yuvak Pratishthan awards electronic limbs to 13 victims of train and road accidents in Mumbai city.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai and its people are increasingly at threat to life and limb owing to erratic and rash road driving, or worse, falling between the gaps in railway platforms and train coaches. After the Monica More train accident made headlines this year, many city-based organisations and individuals came forward to offer the girl’s family monetary help as well. However, what really helped Monica was receiving electronic prosthetic arms.

Another initiative in Mumbai recently witnessed the distribution of electronic limbs to 13 accident victims in Mumbai, at the hands of the Maharashtra State Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. The recipients were accident victims who had lost their limbs in train accident, road or other accidents. Electronic limbs are typically powered by batteries and they are operated by means of electronic signals sent by the brain to muscles in the area (where the prosthetic is attached) telling it how to move.

The distribution programme was organised by Yuvak Pratishthan, which is founded by Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya. Interestingly, Monika More was also present on the occasion. 

See some pics of the distribution ceremony below:

Categories
Watch

Watch: Vikalp@Prithvi presents a ‘Green Tiger’

This film captures a valiant effort to stop a Chinese dam project; screening precedes Q&A with Jaitapur activist Girish Raut.
by Medha Kulkarni | @VeryMedha on Twitter

Waking the Green Tiger – The Rise of a Green Movement in China is a powerful film directed by Gary Marcuse, which will be presented by Vikalp@Prithvi this evening, Friday, December 26.

Following the screening, viewers can engage in a Q&A session with Girish Raut, environmental activist and advocate who has played a major role in protests against the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, among other projects.

The film is told through the point of view of activists, farmers, and journalists and follows the incredible campaign to stop a huge dam project on the upper Yangtze river in southwestern China. The film features rare and astonishing footage that has previously never been viewed outside of the country, along with interviews with a Government insider and witnesses. The documentary also analysis Chairman Mao’s campaigns to conquer nature in the name of progress.

The film has received rave reviews and is a must-see for film lovers and environmentalists alike.

“In this lushly filmed documentary, (the producers) beautifully captured the spirit of this grassroots movement in China with stunning images, superb writing and excellent use of strong, compelling personal stories,” says Susanne Reber, Grantham Prize Juror, about the film. Adds Brett Kessler, WABC 7, “Waking the Green Tiger manages the perfect balance between information and entertainment, condensing several decades of history into a rousing portrait of China’s emerging green movement. It’s a portrait of people, from the humblest of farmers to some of China’s biggest government players, coming together to shape a new socially-and eco-conscious paradigm.”

Head to Prithvi House, opposite Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church road. The screening begins at 7 pm. Entry is free but on a first come-first-serve basis.

(Picture courtesy filmbalaya.com)

Categories
Bombay, bas

How a Mumbai housing society became a joint family this Christmas

A busy Mumbaikar describes how a simple act of putting together a Christmas celebration became a unifying labour of love.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

The title of this piece may not make much sense to people who live outside Mumbai, where the concept of housing societies has still not gained much popularity. But for us Mumbaikars, housing societies define our habitats. A few years ago, the building where I live formed a housing society and christened it the Blue Bell Housing Society. The formation of this society naturally brought its residents in close contact with each other, as meetings and agendas required frequent participation. Slowly, it gave way to bonding and many residents became friends.

Most families in Mumbai’s building societies are nuclear ones. It is not possible for people like us who live in nuclear families to always rush back home to near and dear ones in times of crisis and celebrations. Our fast lives leave us with no choice but to spend our free time within the confines of our homes – often leading to feelings of loneliness. The loneliness is pronounced at times of festivities. Fortunately, our building found a solution to this grave problem – by starting a small community Ganapati celebration, which later led us to organise many small scale celebrations like Children’s Day.

This year, our building decided to celebrate the spirit of Christmas in a big way. A few parents led the idea and religiously trained the building’s children and a few volunteer moms for almost a month in carol singing. Like all big things that start with a small idea, this celebration too started on a lighter note – but soon assumed the guise of a professionally-arranged event.

Celebrating as a joint familyEvery day, children of all ages from 2 to 13 years, regardless of their religion, gathered to learn carols. As they practiced the carols every day, we saw some unique transformations taking place among them. They started to share and support each other, a group feeling and discipline crept in among these children who hadn’t been socialising with each other that much prior to their practice.

As adults, we feel that we are the ones bogged down by daily pressures, but we don’t realise that changing times are also taking a toll on our children, and that they need stress-busters also. But we completely ignore the fact that with changing times even kids have started to experience stresses of all kinds and they need some stress busters too. In this case, music proved therapeutic for our children; it pepped them up and made them happier.

Even more pronounced was the effect that the entire activity was having on the mothers who were organising the event. Most of them were stay-at-home moms who previously had rewarding careers, which they had given up for raising families. These women proved to be storehouses of talent when it came to putting the event together.

On the day of the event, everyone was understandably nervous but excited. We had decided to do the event on a shoestring budget, and the costumes had been put together (creatively) at home. I must add that the children outdid their previous efforts and left all of us awestruck. The audience comprised the building’s residents and their friends and families. All of us had a merry time feasting, enjoying the music and taking part in the fun activities arranged.

But more than the actual event, what all of us enjoyed was the run-up to it – in just a few days, we learnt so much about each other as we worked together for a common goal. Most of us have been living next to each other for years. But it took one event to bring us all closer in the true sense of the word.

I feel all Mumbai housing societies should plan such activities periodically. There can be no better way to become secular than to act and behave like a large joint family. There is so much to learn from each other. Ever religion, every festival, every culture teaches us in its own unique way humanity, love and respect for all, and definitely makes us better individuals. We Mumbaikars are too pressed for time to fully inculcate family, cultural and ethical values in our children, but we can come together as a group and try to jointly teach our children all of that which we alone can’t.

Today, I am happy that my son has a large joint family in his building, and that he will have many wonderful childhood memories. As a parent, what more can I ask for?

Dr Pooja Birwatkar is currently pursuing post doctoral research and working in the area of science education. She has been associated with the field of education in the past as a teacher educator, and her area of interest is research in education. 

(Pictures courtesy Dr Pooja Birwatkar)

Categories
Eat

American fruit comes to Mumbai markets

For a month, Mumbai and six cities can enjoy fresh fruit from the US, along with sampling and cooking demonstrations.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai, and six Indian cities, are in for an American treat: the California Table Grape Commission, Pear Bureau Northwest, and Washington Apple Commission, in association with the Metro and Foodhall grocery chains, are celebrating a month-long US Fresh Fruit Festival in 16 stores across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Zirakpur, and Pune. The promotion includes a special in-store display of US fresh fruits, sampling, and cooking demonstrations.

As part of the festival, Adam Branson, Senior Agricultural Attaché within the US Consulate General, visited the Palladium Mall Foodhall outlet in Mumbai. Sumit Saran, Head-International Food Business of Future Retail Ltd., and Keith Sunderlal, Managing Director of The SCS Group, were also present at the store for this event. An interactive cooking demonstration and a health talk session were conducted at the event by Naini Setalvad, a well-known nutritionist and lifestyle diseases management consultant.

About the event, US Consul General in Mumbai Tom Vajda said, “This festival is a wonderful opportunity for Indian consumers to taste and experience a wide range of American fresh fruits. India is an important and growing market and we are glad to have a partnership with Foodhall, which makes delicious American fresh fruit available across India throughout the year.”

Saran remarked, “Fruits like grapes from California, American pears, and Washington apples are now part of the regular basket of fruits that Foodhall offers and are available across their seasons in all our outlets.” Sunderlal added, “India is one of the growing potential markets for imported US fruits like grapes, pears, and apples and we are pleased to showcase these products to Indian consumers. We hope to create a market which becomes a repository of culinary knowledge and understanding, right here in India.”

This promotion is taking place at Metro and Foodhall stores until January 5, 2015.

(Picture courtesy www.huffingtonpost.com)

Categories
Tech

Review: Nokia Lumia 830

The last Windows phone with the Nokia branding, the Lumia 830 is a solid buy at a Rs 24,000 price.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

The Lumia series has been gradually establishing itself in the low and mid-range segments, maybe a bit too slowly, but it is getting there. With the Lumia 5, 6 and 7 series, Nokia provided decent handsets, and now it has upgraded its old Lumia 820 to take on the likes of the Nexus 5 in the Rs 30k price range. So, let’s see if the Lumia 830 lives up to its name or not.

The looks. Nokia’s Lumia 830 follows a slightly different fabula design with a solid feel. The first thing you’ll notice is its metal frame around the body. On the front, apart from the 5-inch HD screen with Gorilla Glass 3 on top, are the capacitive touch keys – Back, Windows (and the primary mic below it), and Search, which don’t glow on being used, front-facing camera, sensors and speaker grill.

The right side panel houses the Power/Lock key as well as volume rockers and dedicated camera key, all three of these physical keys are made out of aluminium but aren’t very dependable for tactile feedback, while the left side panel is plain without any buttons or port. The microUSB port and 3.5 mm headset jack are located at the top and the bottom is plain.

At the back is the familiar polycarbonate cover that has a fairly large 10 MP camera sensor (reminds you of the Lumia 1020), the Nokia logo imprinted in the middle, and the loudspeaker grill near the bottom. You can remove this rear cover from the bottom to reveal the nano SIM card slot, battery unit and microSD card slot. The design and look part of the device scores well for me. Despite having a metallic frame and angular four edges, I liked its grip and didn’t have problems carrying it around.

Screen. The Lumia 830 boasts a 5-inch (1280 x 720) LCD screen powered by Nokia’s popular ClearBlack technology. The screen, as you would expect, has good deep black levels and is not a pain to use under sunlight. It has vibrant colours and videos appear quite sharp on it. The screen isn’t full HD, but it does the job fairly well, especially for how the Windows Phone OS has been designed.

Camera. Nokia has touted the Lumia 830 as a flagship camera device that isn’t priced as a high-end one. The phone boasts a 10 MP PureView camera (Carl Zeiss optics) with an LED flash and also features OIS. Here are a few sample images.

The camera can take a lot of good photos. Most of the time, photos come out sharp and detailed. There are a plenty of options to choose from while taking a photo – ISO, exposure, shutter speed, etc. You could say the low-light performance isn’t the best, but overall this camera is a really good performer. Other than the default camera app, there are three camera apps. The default app seems much quicker to capture shots than what I saw on earlier Lumia devices. Other camera apps include Nokia Camera, Lumia Selife and Lumia Refocus, most of which are mainly useful for post-shot use.

Audio. The device has solid audio quality – whether it is in-ear or through loudspeaker. The loudspeaker, though could have been placed better, is more than capable to produce good audio when playing games or a track. In-ear sound is top-notch, plus, there’s nothing to complain about network reception throughout our usage. Call quality seemed fine with no unusual call drops.

Battery. Equipped with a 2,200 mAh battery unit, the phone gave about a day’s use on a single charge. Even when used with 3G and not much of WiFi (with low screen brightness) for Outlook, Twitter, music and general calls and messages, it lasted about 23 hours. You can switch on the in-built battery saver mode if you need some more juice out of the phone. It charges from zero to full in about two and a half hours. Being able to charge wirelessly with a compatible rear plate is also an option.

Software and performance. Under the hood, this Windows Phone OS 8.1 Update 1 (with Denim Update) has Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 SoC (1l2 GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 305 GPU) with 1 GB of RAM. There’s also SensorCore in place, but I had Motion Data off during my usage.

The Lumia 830 performs and feels as smooth and fluid that you generally associate with the WP OS. Glance Screen is something I really like. Many previous Symbian users might remember having time, call and message notifications show right on the screen even when it is off, giving you useful information without taking a toll on battery life. You can double-tap to wake the entire screen and it works well.

The phone handles games and regular OS tasks quite well. Having said that, when it comes to the OS experience, Windows phones still have a lot of work to do besides having a clean and neat look. Every now and then, you still get to see the loading or resuming screen on pressing the back button, or going from one app to another even though you aren’t doing very intensive work on the phone.

There are a few noticeable improvements done by Microsoft (and Nokia). Live Tiles on the main Start screen are actually live – giving you a bit of current information without having to open the relevant app and refresh it. You can now make folders on the Start screen, apply wallpapers that follow your screen and tile patterns and also have the option to have different volume levels selected for your media and calls. The pull-down notification bar also gives you toggle buttons for WiFi, Location, and more, but for some reason, there’s still no data toggle button, which means you have to go into Settings and switch it on or off from there. Apparently, it is coming in the next update.

When it comes to apps and services, Windows Phone isn’t a half-baked OS any more. Most of your popular apps and services run on the OS, while a few of them only have third-party options. With Nokia’s HERE Maps, Outlook, OneDrive, good Twitter and Reddit apps, I didn’t have too many problems in this regard, but there’s surely something missing if you’re dependant on Gmail. The user gets about 14 GB of internal storage space, which can be expanded using a microSD card apart from 15 GB of free storage he/she gets from Microsoft’s OneDrive service. In my opinion, the OS has still a lot to cover and add (including a couple of points mentioned above), but seems to be doing so, but probably at a rate that could hinder its position in the smartphone market.

Concluding our review, the last Windows Phone with the Nokia branding, the Lumia 830, seems like a solid device. It has a great camera, good battery life, decent screen, high quality audio and premium design for this price, and an improved OS. With a price tag of about Rs 24,000, if you’re looking to try your first Windows Phone device, the Lumia 830 feels like a really worthy option for now.

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