tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78046265459663124682024-03-20T14:02:49.880+05:30Manish Shrikhande's MusingsManish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-35012726836347356992018-11-05T13:12:00.003+05:302018-11-05T13:12:51.208+05:30Industry-Academia Relations: It Takes Two to Tango!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Article published in the special issue of KALEIDOSCOPE magazine of Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE). <a href="http://www.scopeonline.in/SCOPE-pdf/September-2018-Issue.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.scopeonline.in/SCOPE-pdf/September-2018-Issue.pdf</a></i> <br />
<br />
A developed society is characterized by the innovations it makes for improving the current status and challenging the status quo. There is no progress without innovations and striving to do it better. Innovations are key to economic development and prosperity and therefore the current emphasis on promoting innovations and research is a good long term strategy and every effort should be made by all stakeholders to ensure that it stays on course. The scientific and industrial establishment was very carefully designed by our founding fathers --- the universities and academic institutions were entrusted with the primary task of training skilled manpower and to generate new ideas for technological growth by research. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research laboratories -- there are 38 of those covering different fields of science and technology -- were supposed to undertake translational research for transforming basic research ideas coming out of academic institutions to prototypes for ready adoption of the industry. The industrial establishments were expected to scale up the processes and take the product to the market. Somehow things did not work out according to the plan and instead of working in tandem, all three entities found comfort in working in their own silos. <br />
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Prime reason for persistent lack of engagement between the industry and academic institutions is that both sides are not willing to step out of their comfort zones. Academicians love to pursue and philosophize about new ideas and the biggest reward for an academic is the recognition by his/her peers as an original thinker. The idea is soon abandoned in its nebulous state as the curious academician moves to explore new ideas. The industry obviously has little use for these ideas in nebulous state and can not realistically speaking explore each of such ideas for development of a prototype for industry use. Industry needs immediate access to innovations and market ready technologies to remain competitive in the market. Naturally, industry doesn't have time and money to tinker with the ideas in the hope of developing an indigenous technology which is at least five to ten years behind the global standards. Thus, the only way to bridge this gap and address the genuine concerns of all parties, it is essential for industry and academia to look into technology forecasting and start investing on developing on futuristic products which may be ready for market may be ten years down the line and start working from ground zero towards a working prototype by five years with close interactions between academic institutions for theoretical developments and in-house facilities for prototyping efforts. The Prime Minister Fellowship Scheme (http://www.primeministerfellowshipscheme.in) - a joint initiative by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST) is a very promising programme to identify research problems with active participation of the industry. Unfortunately, not many industrial houses are coming forward, or may be they are not aware of this programme which has been on since 2012. My personal experience is that the queries soliciting support from the industry often go unanswered! While the PM Fellowship is a very good initiative to bring the industry and academia closer, yet another cost-effective engagement would be to invest in the establishment of small start-ups by the students working on these innovative ideas during their graduation theses to take the next logical step and convert those ideas into reality of working prototypes which can then be adopted by the industry for scaling up. It is futile to expect that the academia can develop as well as transfer useful technologies on its own without any participation from the industry. Although the awareness about intellectual property rights is slowly improving, the academia still finds it extremely difficult to find users for the technologies developed in its laboratories. While the patent portfolio grows as more and more patent applications are filed, most of it remains as non-performing asset. There is no support system to facilitate technology transfer from the academic laboratories to the industry. Industrial houses are too heavily invested in the current technologies and processes and any adoption of new technology has cost implications which should be avoided unless the benefits of technology adoption outweigh the associated costs. This question of cost-benefit analysis does not arise if the industry has been involved in the technology development right from the inception of idea.<br />
<br />
This is the theory and almost everybody knows it. The trick is in finding ways to make it work. Allocating funds from Corporate Social Responsibility towards supporting start-ups and incubation programmes in academic institutions is the lowest hanging fruit and it also provides much needed mentoring and definite direction for the start-ups if the industry can participate in evaluating and help refine product line and business plans of the start-ups. Another important initiative by the Government of India is the support for industry oriented research through Uchchatar Avishkar Yojna (UAY) (http://www.pradhanmantriyojana.co.in/uchchatar-avishkar), wherein 75% of the total budget of project comes from the Government of India funds and the industry has to pitch in with 25% of the budget. The industry can have exclusive rights for use of the developed technology for a limited period with an option to secure full rights after additional payments. This is a very promising scheme to foster greater collaboration between the industry and academia but its success hinges solely on the choice of problem and the participation of the industry in its formulation and also to steer the progress of the project so that the end product is in the usable form. Several academic institutions have started Corporate Lecture Series to provide a platform for speakers from industry to interact with peers from academia in an informal setting to explore the avenues for partnerships. It is important to strengthen these mechanisms and leverage those with a long term view. It takes time and effort to nurture ideas and partnerships and it is necessary to have realistic expectations from both sides. But together, we shall overcome all obstacles and prejudices and work towards a common goal of nation building through development of indigenous technologies. It takes two to tango and both partners have to be in sync!<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-41122765124154290092017-02-14T23:57:00.004+05:302017-02-16T09:56:33.091+05:30Cruise to Lakshadweep: In the unmuddled waters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It started with a desire to explore new areas and seek out new experiences and adventures. The cruise package to Lakshadweep offered by SPORTS fitted the bill perfectly. Although the schedule of cruise meant Aditya had to miss his school for the entire one week. But we decided that the learning experience on a cruise was worth the pain. <br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Cruise to Lakshadweep </h2>
While almost everybody has plans on visiting Andamans, it is baffling to note almost complete ignorance about the Lakshadweep cruise and the unique experience it offers. A little search on the Google and one is presented <br />
with the fairly informative site of <a href="http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/" target="_blank">Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports (SPORTS)</a> which manages the tourist packages to Lakshadweep off Kochi in Kerala.<br />
<br />
A rather bureaucratic system of booking and minimal communication comes as a bit of shock in this day and age of instant communication and information overload. One has to first file a request to book a seat on the preferred tour package and then one is notified about the funds transfer for confirmation of booking. One needs to be a little persistent to extract the relevant information about where and when to report for boarding, things to know, things to carry with you, etc. Hopefully, this post will fill that gap in "Things to Know" about the cruise package. Pack adequate supplies of swim wear and accessories. The entire tour is designed around sea and water sports. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlJbrZpnC8E/WKCB4-L624I/AAAAAAAAICM/YQGSTO5DGu89qCp7OuikZspGYeR0xDAaACLcB/s1600/IMG_3146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlJbrZpnC8E/WKCB4-L624I/AAAAAAAAICM/YQGSTO5DGu89qCp7OuikZspGYeR0xDAaACLcB/s400/IMG_3146.JPG" width="400" /></a>Fast forward to the D-day, we embark on our journey from the cold climes of Roorkee on December 02, 2016 covered with heavy woollens. The 12688 Dehradun-Madurai Super Fast Express leaving Roorkee at 09:30 Hrs. <br />
seemed to be a safe bet for boarding the AI-048 flight to Kochi at 18:05 Hrs. However, one should never plan a connecting itinerary based on <br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TkzGXfbBdMs/WKCBkLA7XWI/AAAAAAAAICI/m38N34wo3kIqX7tN_EfTuXBPiyVNjbezACLcB/s1600/IMG_3145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TkzGXfbBdMs/WKCBkLA7XWI/AAAAAAAAICI/m38N34wo3kIqX7tN_EfTuXBPiyVNjbezACLcB/s400/IMG_3145.JPG" width="400" /></a>expected/normal operation timings of trains in the northern parts of India during winter season. The fog related delays are too frequent and are rather unpredictable. The train eventually reached Hazrat Nizamuddin <br />
station at 16:00 Hrs after covering a distance of about 200 km in 6 Hrs in daytime. At Hazrat Nizamuddin station, I was in for another shock. There is no pre-paid taxi counter and one is literally at the mercy of taxi operators. We were fortunate enough to get a good taxi (black and yellow (or, kaali-peeli)) and reached I.G.I. Airport Terminal 3 at around 17:00 Hrs. We were rushed through the check-in queue to allow for security check before boarding and managed to reach the designated Gate for boarding just in time for the scheduled departure (18:05 Hrs). However, just as we were getting ready for boarding, the departure schedule was revised to 19:15 and eventually the flight could take off at 20:30 Hrs -- you guessed it right -- due to bad weather and poor visibility earlier <br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8VBk1F6vE0g/WKCDolOQJxI/AAAAAAAAICg/F6nQW1f4O1MXJnLJCkphYakcsdNoZ7DuACLcB/s1600/IMG_3147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8VBk1F6vE0g/WKCDolOQJxI/AAAAAAAAICg/F6nQW1f4O1MXJnLJCkphYakcsdNoZ7DuACLcB/s320/IMG_3147.JPG" width="213" /></a>in the day, all flights had been affected.<br />
<br />
By the time we touched down at Kochi at 23:15 Hrs., we were all too tired and sleepy and not to mention, eager to get rid of the woollens! I patted myself for making the smart choice for arranging night stay in a hotel near Airport (<a href="http://www.qualityairporthotel.com/" target="_blank">Quality Airport Hotel, Nedumbassery, Kochi</a>). <br />
The only downside was that the Hotel staff did not pay heed to my request for Airport pickup and we had to request for a Uber cab to drop at the Hotel roughly 2 km from the airport. The check-in was a breeze and we retired for the day almost immediately. <br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Day 1: December 3, 2016</h3>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrW3jX_a4qE/WKCDmZtf12I/AAAAAAAAICk/XoC-j87AsiUo7_YQl8AwsbrIhAOFpfkNQCEw/s1600/IMG_3151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrW3jX_a4qE/WKCDmZtf12I/AAAAAAAAICk/XoC-j87AsiUo7_YQl8AwsbrIhAOFpfkNQCEw/s400/IMG_3151.JPG" width="266" /></a>The breakfast at the hotel restaurant was delightful and sumptuous with a blend of continental and south Indian preparations. One particular mention is a sweet ball called Sugiyan, which I had never tasted before. We were to report at the Lakshadweep wharf in Willingdon Island about 35 km from the hotel and once again UberGo came to our rescue and we reached the destination by 10:15 Hrs. and had to pay Rs. 775 in cash for the ride. A princely sum indeed in these times of currency crunch post demonetization! And a valuable lesson learned -- always cross-check the mode of payment before booking the ride! <br />
<br />
The scene at <br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FJ25UvXrDlo/WKCEMXIr7TI/AAAAAAAAIC4/rxUzZYojalUr4nTuZC1kJQtuoneBJCD5ACEw/s1600/IMG_3153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FJ25UvXrDlo/WKCEMXIr7TI/AAAAAAAAIC4/rxUzZYojalUr4nTuZC1kJQtuoneBJCD5ACEw/s320/IMG_3153.JPG" width="320" /></a>Lakshadweep wharf was chaotic at best and it took some time to make sense of it. It so turned out that the chaos on ground floor was because of the regular passengers between Kochi and Lakshadweep islands. The tourists' affairs were handled by the SPORTS office at the first floor. The staff at the desk enquired about the the identities and handed over the boarding pass for the ship M.V. Kavaratti along with a set of complimentary T-shirt and cap! After the standard security checks by CISF, we were then taken to Ernakulam wharf where M.V. Kavaratti was berthed. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99FZFlvCeHU/WKCFjMD-nDI/AAAAAAAAIDM/83DY7OyknngOy9aamigZgUxKvozoqncawCEw/s1600/IMG_3156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99FZFlvCeHU/WKCFjMD-nDI/AAAAAAAAIDM/83DY7OyknngOy9aamigZgUxKvozoqncawCEw/s400/IMG_3156.JPG" width="266" /></a>We were allotted cabin number 581 on the fifth deck (top most) of the ship. The first class (air conditioned) twin occupancy cabin had everything that one could ask for -- a two tier bunk bed, a writing desk (for typing this log), two cupboards, a hot water bath and the water closet. No eatables were allowed<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AsPu2KIX5xM/WKCGg3TUZGI/AAAAAAAAIDc/l8jCJPTZs5Q6Sz8qRfZWvSBowugEXRuDgCEw/s1600/IMG_3160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AsPu2KIX5xM/WKCGg3TUZGI/AAAAAAAAIDc/l8jCJPTZs5Q6Sz8qRfZWvSBowugEXRuDgCEw/s400/IMG_3160.JPG" width="266" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JCPnUKUGLCI/WKNA-WZ4DWI/AAAAAAAAIUE/pqYnjZ4BFSE2vfBrVTXxHF0b9nKpbc3UACEw/s1600/IMG_3356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JCPnUKUGLCI/WKNA-WZ4DWI/AAAAAAAAIUE/pqYnjZ4BFSE2vfBrVTXxHF0b9nKpbc3UACEw/s320/IMG_3356.JPG" width="320" /></a>inside the cabin and everybody had to follow the schedule of the ship for morning tea, breakfast, and dinner. Lunch and evening tea were arranged by the SPORTS at their resorts in different islands on different days with the exception of the first and last days of the cruise when the lunch and evening tea were also served on the ship. The food quality is nothing to write home about but it served the basic purpose of providing adequate nutrition and satiate hunger. <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4krdiz2pco/WKNBo1vhVZI/AAAAAAAAIUE/l3-INKaoT-4sghyvd1IUPWdtopSrJ-R_QCEw/s1600/IMG_3357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4krdiz2pco/WKNBo1vhVZI/AAAAAAAAIUE/l3-INKaoT-4sghyvd1IUPWdtopSrJ-R_QCEw/s320/IMG_3357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5_l7MGfo5s/WKNBJMGyb2I/AAAAAAAAIUE/8Pf17JDBKAEiJCmFUd3NSUhcv_-SdL-xgCEw/s1600/IMG_3358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5_l7MGfo5s/WKNBJMGyb2I/AAAAAAAAIUE/8Pf17JDBKAEiJCmFUd3NSUhcv_-SdL-xgCEw/s320/IMG_3358.JPG" width="320" /></a>Nevertheless, it is remarkable that the SPORTS provided decent vegetarian meals in a mostly non-vegetarian region. Shortly after lunch, there was a briefing by the programme manager from SPORTS about the SAMUDRAM package and dos and don'ts of living in a ship. M.V. Kavaratti is a small passenger ship with a total capacity of about 800 persons on board including 100 crew. The ship is also equipped with a functional hospital with a resident doctor on-board. The ship was to sail overnight for about 400 kms to reach Minicoy next day morning. <br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Day 2: December 4, 2016</h3>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-50ShFuzD-GA/WKCctsd9qUI/AAAAAAAAIFc/u6n9ENHtdN0wVCfVl3m1OhoRkuuRXpuFQCLcB/s1600/IMG_3189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-50ShFuzD-GA/WKCctsd9qUI/AAAAAAAAIFc/u6n9ENHtdN0wVCfVl3m1OhoRkuuRXpuFQCLcB/s400/IMG_3189.JPG" width="400" /></a>The day started early with morning tea served in the cafetaria/dining hall during 6:00-6:30 Hrs. followed by a simple breakfast of bread-butter-jam and tea/coffee and we were instructed to reach the embarkation gate on the first deck to disembark onto smaller boats for taking us to Minicoy shores. This business of going to embarkation gate to disembark reminded me of the most common idiosyncrasies of today's world -- click on "Start" tab to "Stop/Shutdown" the (M$-Window$) computer. From the jetty, we were taken to a tour of an old <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WpeLCv0DW8k/WKCeKQu_a4I/AAAAAAAAIGA/u8w_kV7WWMY6er40B9jTwaTpcIfMM6_zACEw/s1600/IMG_3195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WpeLCv0DW8k/WKCeKQu_a4I/AAAAAAAAIGA/u8w_kV7WWMY6er40B9jTwaTpcIfMM6_zACEw/s400/IMG_3195.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FsCwVXxoMng/WKFIoru_ceI/AAAAAAAAIGg/HMhYkZ9cXgwBQVXk80Qir3e3d5M1DwrYACLcB/s1600/IMG_3196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FsCwVXxoMng/WKFIoru_ceI/AAAAAAAAIGg/HMhYkZ9cXgwBQVXk80Qir3e3d5M1DwrYACLcB/s400/IMG_3196.JPG" width="400" /></a>light house of 1885 vintage which is still operational although the petroleum-vapour lamp has given way to elecric lamp powered by a huge battery bank. The complimentary welcome drink of coconut water was a pleasant surprise for us and a smart arrangement by the SPORTS given the abundance of coconut growing in the wild. It is indeed amazing that in spite of so much vegetation around, people in these parts are predominantly non-vegetarians. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking</td></tr>
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After the tour of lighthouse, the next stop was the SPORTS resort at Minicoy for a wonderful kayaking experience. Snorkeling and scuba diving were also available on additional payment. The lunch was arranged at the resort along the beach and then after a bit of lazying around in the Sun shade, we were taken through a round of the village life at Falissery village. The evening tea with masala wada and a sweet made of rice powder was arranged at the village madarsa. We were then shipped back to the <br />
M.V. Kavaratti at around 17:30 Hrs. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The snake boat ready for race</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Day 3: December 5, 2016</h3>
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The second day of the cruise took us to Kalpeni island with snorkeling, kayaking and swimming on offer as part of the standard package. We were taken to a small island in shallow waters for these activities. Sorkelling allows a view of the marine life from close quarters and it is spell-binding. Spent the entire day there till lunchtime. After lunch at the Tourist Centre, it was time for folk dance performance by the members of
Priyadarshini Club of Kalpeni using props similar to Dandia and also
something similar to a wooden sword and shield. Subsequently, a tour was organized through the village and cottage industry for coconut processing. The heaps of used coconut shells looked eerily similar to the <a href="https://infogr.am/Pol-pot-genocide" target="_blank">imagery of skull heap of Khmer Rouge era</a>. It is amazing to see how the subconscious mind relates geometrical shapes to dig old memories - Bayesian engine at work! The small scale coconut processing unit was doing a brisk business selling coconut oil, desiccated coconut powder, laddoos (sweet balls), etc. to the tourists eager to take home souvenirs from this island. We were taken back to the Tourist Centre for evening tea/coffee with light snacks. The beauty of the marine life and corals is to be seen to believe. Snorkeling is a must-have experience and I would consider it as one of the most memorable event of the trip. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zwb9IqnKapA/WKHwsiNShjI/AAAAAAAAIM4/tfrrgGgcxbM1wVbAJSrCgS-WMTRUtCuiACEw/s1600/IMG_3276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zwb9IqnKapA/WKHwsiNShjI/AAAAAAAAIM4/tfrrgGgcxbM1wVbAJSrCgS-WMTRUtCuiACEw/s400/IMG_3276.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lighthouse of Kalpeni island as seen from the ship M.V. Kavaratti</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O0GkbE9GmXM/WKKVliyISuI/AAAAAAAAIOY/fRh09jQL5bgC41a3RIUp9qn_6JJDH9NhwCLcB/s1600/IMG_3299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O0GkbE9GmXM/WKKVliyISuI/AAAAAAAAIOY/fRh09jQL5bgC41a3RIUp9qn_6JJDH9NhwCLcB/s400/IMG_3299.JPG" width="400" /></a>
Day 4: December 6, 2016</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wF6xW0x_uc0/WKKW4XstXlI/AAAAAAAAIOs/6UPBR3UvNIA9TmqnA1ntvxDZoykqjetxgCLcB/s1600/IMG_3306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wF6xW0x_uc0/WKKW4XstXlI/AAAAAAAAIOs/6UPBR3UvNIA9TmqnA1ntvxDZoykqjetxgCLcB/s400/IMG_3306.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temporary jetty for boarding glass bottom boat</td></tr>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S4rERTLb5NI/WKKU70E_nzI/AAAAAAAAIOU/u1kJ5uVWQl8G-3EUc_LdAtmNWivOZvFlgCLcB/s1600/IMG_3302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S4rERTLb5NI/WKKU70E_nzI/AAAAAAAAIOU/u1kJ5uVWQl8G-3EUc_LdAtmNWivOZvFlgCLcB/s400/IMG_3302.JPG" width="400" /></a>The last day of the tour was earmarked for the beautiful beach side resort at Kavaratti -- the administrative HQ of the union territory. The day's activities included a ride in the glass bottomed boat to look at the fishes and corals after a welcome coconut drink. Snorkeling and scuba diving was also available on additional payment. Its a beautiful beach with a lot of scope for fun and frolic and water sports. The lunch was arranged at the beach and after lazing in the beach, it was time to visit the Marine museum and aquarium and shark pool in the city. The museum has various specimen from marine life on display while the aquarium houses several fishes, lobsters and octopus in pools. A major attraction is a pair of big sharks in the shark pool in the annexe of the aquarium. It was back to the beach after the museum visit for a cup of hot tea/coffee with samosa. Yes! Samosa is served in Kavaratti as well! A couple of young girls from the village performed a few folk dances till the boats were ready to ferry us back to the ship - M.V. Kavaratti. This being the last night on the ship a small musical<br />
event was arranged at the deck after dinner for the tourists' farewell. We retired for the day with the news of Ms. J. Jaylalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu being ciritically ill and the dreadful news was confirmed during the breakfast next morning. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun and sands - the beach at Kavaratti</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whU533bGbXU/WKLSM9TgfoI/AAAAAAAAIRs/sheyn2zIW7UyC0pez3GtSRBnFTJlt13lACLcB/s1600/IMG_3339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whU533bGbXU/WKLSM9TgfoI/AAAAAAAAIRs/sheyn2zIW7UyC0pez3GtSRBnFTJlt13lACLcB/s400/IMG_3339.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corals colony as seen from the glass bottom boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iejjQ6dPa5A/WKM2O1pRAwI/AAAAAAAAISw/YprBNByVS3ACmjtDHflGz926fNS9lQjkACLcB/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iejjQ6dPa5A/WKM2O1pRAwI/AAAAAAAAISw/YprBNByVS3ACmjtDHflGz926fNS9lQjkACLcB/s400/IMG_3346.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dining area of the Tourist Centre</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxySvMgqVas/WKM4Zbegf3I/AAAAAAAAITM/IDAHOiH2aZ8YLAs9i_BpaFfhc9S9VlrqgCLcB/s1600/IMG_3353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxySvMgqVas/WKM4Zbegf3I/AAAAAAAAITM/IDAHOiH2aZ8YLAs9i_BpaFfhc9S9VlrqgCLcB/s400/IMG_3353.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crab getting into the hole!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WsD07zSXaz0/WKM5a0nX9nI/AAAAAAAAITU/3JacDbMSnqARw74wx5M2K1e0GGczi4RegCLcB/s1600/IMG_3354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WsD07zSXaz0/WKM5a0nX9nI/AAAAAAAAITU/3JacDbMSnqARw74wx5M2K1e0GGczi4RegCLcB/s400/IMG_3354.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kavaratti beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXqZZdjbJhI/WKM5cqiLjKI/AAAAAAAAITY/Zcy0HEmHk8QSrZFHXucsMn0096Z8dA-pwCLcB/s1600/IMG_3355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXqZZdjbJhI/WKM5cqiLjKI/AAAAAAAAITY/Zcy0HEmHk8QSrZFHXucsMn0096Z8dA-pwCLcB/s400/IMG_3355.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crab trying to come out of the shell</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Day 5: December 7, 2016</h3>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qC5HFYB6bPs/WKND7UG5aBI/AAAAAAAAIUc/SeA8vRWMyjItRKqqFPDIZ9w9K1Z1NJgcgCLcB/s1600/IMG_3368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qC5HFYB6bPs/WKND7UG5aBI/AAAAAAAAIUc/SeA8vRWMyjItRKqqFPDIZ9w9K1Z1NJgcgCLcB/s320/IMG_3368.JPG" width="320" /></a>The ship docked at the Ernakulam wharf at around 11:15 Hrs. and we collected our baggage and bid adieu to the Tour manager thanking him for a wonderful experience. We had a booking at the <a href="https://www.saraairporthotel.com/" target="_blank">Sara Hotels and Apartments</a> at the airport road about 35 km from the wharf and checked in to the hotel by 14:00 Hrs. It is a new hotel and the room is just adequate and furnished rather spartanly. We had our lunch in the restaurant downstairs and we encountered our first instance of language hurdle during the trip. The hotel staff had difficulty in communicating either in English or Hindi and none of us could speak Malayalam! The menu did not have much to choose from in the vegetarian section and we just made our way with the standard Dal-Roti-Sabzi staple and retired to catch up with the extended siesta. The evening was spent in taking a stroll in the neighbourhood followed by a delicious dinner at the Quality Airport Hotel, which is just a walking distance from Sara Hotels. Post-dinner walk towards the Airport road saw us looking at a wonderful collection of confectioneries at the <a href="http://www.ajfan.org/" target="_blank">AJFAN's</a>. <br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Day 6: December 8, 2016</h3>
The day set aside exclusively for shopping. We made our way to the<br />
main shopping area of M.G. Road about 30 km from the airport road and<br />
bought Kerala sarees and handicraft items. An amazing array of ethnic wear is available at <a href="http://www.kasavukadaonline.com/" target="_blank">KasavuKada</a> and we could also get some change for Rs. 2000 note in lower denomination notes. The 20th Kochi International Book Festival was also going on and we dropped in to have a look -- and the first sight greeting us was the mobile ATM van which was disbursing upto Rs. 1000/-. I immediately withdrew 10 x 100 Rs. notes without any fuss or queue. Another ATM on the M.G. road had a display of "Only 2000 Rs. notes" and there was no queue. I withdrew Rs. 2000 from that ATM as well - just to feel secure with a little real cash in the wallet. The lunch at Dwarka Hotel offered a taste of the authentic Kerala cuisine. Another round of souvenir hunting followed the lunch session before we retired to our cozy little room at Sara Hotels. <br />
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Day 7: December 9, 2016</h3>
The day started early - at 4:00 Hrs. to get ready to depart for the airport at 5:00 Hrs. The flight to Delhi was scheduled at 07:20 Hrs. The flight took off on time and reached Delhi on the scheduled time as well. We took the Airport Express Metro to reach New Delhi Railway station and checked into the IRCTC Lounge on the Ajmeri Gate side to relax and have lunch. Subsequently, we boarding the Jan Shatabdi Express at 15:15 Hrs. which eventually left Delhi at 17:00 Hrs. and we got down at Roorkee at 20:30 Hrs.<br />
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End of an interesting and refreshing trip! In the end I can say, "If alcohol and casinos are not on your agenda then Lakshadweep offers a much better deal than Goa!" </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-37822198505577729972015-10-20T15:51:00.001+05:302015-10-20T15:51:24.195+05:30Kizuna Project: the grand Japanese plan to revitalise the economy of 2011 tsunami affected area<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We were invited by the Japanese government to visit the area affected by tsunami in March 2011 under the banner of <a href="http://sv2.jice.org/kizuna/e/what/about/" target="_blank">Kizuna Project</a>. It is the Japanese version of rural employment guarantee scheme: to bring in about 10000 international visitors to visit the tsunami ravaged area, pumping in money in the aviation sector, hotel/hospitality sector, and boost tourism and help revive local economy from the sale of local souvenirs to the visitors and at the same time to convey the message to international community that it is safe to visit these areas - the <a href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/" target="_blank">Fukushima disaster</a> notwithstanding. Ours was the <a href="http://sv2.jice.org/kizuna/2013/03/invitation-projects-from-india-conducted-by-jice-3rd-batch-from-indiauniversity-student201324-1370-p.htm" target="_blank">third batch from India</a> comprising of students and faculty supervisors from IITs to visit Sendai, Onagawa and Minamisanriku during Feb. 4-13, 2013.<br />
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Apart from other obvious take aways, one lasting impression is that of taking due diligence to the extreme - the Japanese go into minute details on everything they do whether it is planning an excursion or going out to dinner! I post some of the pictures from the visit here. I'll add my notes as and when I can - have been postponing this post for that very reason!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yukata - the Japanese night dress</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prevention is better than cure! Most of the Japanese can be seen with such masks in public places.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bullet train station at Tokyo</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bullet train</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bullet train station at Tokyo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bullet train</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow fall at Sendai</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow fall at Sendai</td></tr>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-12959568110476644702015-10-17T21:17:00.002+05:302017-02-13T09:45:53.263+05:30In search of Shrikhande family roots: A trip to a remote village in Goa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu_65f5jwMA/ViJpA_Ax4-I/AAAAAAAAFhw/G3ujgOrX3HQ/s1600/IMG_1853-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu_65f5jwMA/ViJpA_Ax4-I/AAAAAAAAFhw/G3ujgOrX3HQ/s320/IMG_1853-1.JPG" width="320" /></a>One of the most enduring memories of my childhood is the story behind our family name: Shrikhande. I was told that the Shrikhande family tree had roots in Korgaon, a small village near Mapusa, North Goa. Our ancestor was a priest in the temple of Shri Kamleshwar Maharudra. It is said that this priest led the protest against <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Proselytisation" target="_blank">proselytisation</a> by Christian missionaries under Portuguese occupation and was beheaded for his resistance. His family took refuge in Kolhapur/Satara and subsequently the title of Shrikhande was conferred on them (Shrikhande = Shir + Khande = the beheaded).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Au-yoDaMhM/ViJqhZUh7PI/AAAAAAAAFh8/Bj0XpKI9NhE/s1600/IMG_1852-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Au-yoDaMhM/ViJqhZUh7PI/AAAAAAAAFh8/Bj0XpKI9NhE/s320/IMG_1852-1.JPG" width="320" /></a>We had an opportunity to visit the temple and site where the beheading had supposedly taken place and it is my pleasure to share the pictures from that visit (29 March 2013).<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com4Goa, India15.2993265 74.12399600000003414.319374499999999 72.833102500000038 16.2792785 75.414889500000029tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-36633195426456286412015-09-26T23:37:00.000+05:302015-09-27T19:41:34.469+05:30The PhD quality<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am told that IIT Roorkee is going to award about 235 Ph.D. degrees
in the forthcoming convocation on October 03, 2015. This marks an
increase of almost 100% on YoY basis. This upward trend of producing
PhDs is going to continue in foreseeable future, if the thinking of the
apex advisory council is of any guidance. The 100% rise is indeed eye
popping even if we take into account the fact that PhD is not exactly a
time bound programme. This increase in the PhDs can not be attributed to
the increased faculty strength in recent times as they have not been
around long enough, as yet. Since the good candidates are not exactly
queueing up to join our PhD programme, this extra-ordinary increase in
the PhDs produced calls for discussions and to re-examine our system of
checks and balances to maintain quality of our output and to assure that it is not being
compromised. <br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
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How should one define the quality of
students (doctorates, in particular, since there is no grading) that we
graduate? The process of the making of a doctorate is akin to the
manufacturing process wherein raw material is processed to produce a
finished product. So, the definition of quality from manufacturing
industry should be a good guidance:<br />
<br />
''In <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/manufacturer.html">manufacturing</a>, a <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/measure.html">measure</a> of excellence or a state of being <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/free.html">free</a> from <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/defect.html">defects</a>, <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/deficiency.html">deficiencies</a> and <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/significant.html">significant</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/variation.html">variations</a>. It is brought about by strict and <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/consistent.html">consistent</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/commitment.html">commitment</a> to certain standards that <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/achieve.html">achieve</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/uniformity.html">uniformity</a> of a <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/product.html">product</a> in <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/order.html">order</a> to satisfy specific <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/customer.html">customer</a> or <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/user.html">user</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/requirements.html">requirements</a>. ISO 8402-1986 <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/standard.html">standard</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/define.html">defines</a> quality as "the totality of <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/feature.html">features</a> and <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/characteristic.html">characteristics</a> of a product or <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/final-good-service.html">service</a> that <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/bear.html">bears</a> its <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ability.html">ability</a> to satisfy stated or implied <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/need.html">needs</a>." If an <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/automobile.html">automobile</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/company.html">company</a> finds a defect in one of their cars and makes a product <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recall.html">recall</a>, customer <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/reliability.html">reliability</a> and therefore <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/production.html">production</a> will decrease because <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/trust.html">trust</a> will be lost in the car's quality.''<i> Read more: <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quality.html#ixzz3mG9zEJIP" style="color: #003399;">http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quality.html#ixzz3mG9zEJIP</a> </i><br />
<br />
Every
milestone in the formal educational set-up is associated with the
development of well-defined set of skills. The undergraduate programmes
are aimed at "How to" skills whereas the post-graduate programmes should
aim at "Why" to encourage and develop critical thinking. In an ideal
situation, this would be construed to have been achieved if the
candidate gets a couple of peer reviewed publications under his/her belt
by the time of graduation. But it is not a fool proof system. The scholarly journals are only interested to see the novelty in the submission and have no mechanism to check how the work was actually carried out and reported. It is quite possible that the candidate worked like a robot carrying on the detailed instructions of the supervisor to produce the results and the supervisor wrote the majority of the manuscript with very little input coming from the student. Obviously, the candidate gets the credits in authorship but has learned little to progress on the path to developing an attitude of critical enquiry. Ideally, the candidate becomes eligible to be conferred a doctorate degree when he/she develops the faculty of critical enquiry to the extent that he/she can take up an independent career in research and to supervise/train other candidates in this process. There is, unfortunately, no way to gauge/ascertain this capability other than an honest assessment of the supervisor. If the supervisor, for whatever reasons, fails to perform this basic screening then it is a rather remote possibility that the candidate may not get the license to philosophize and supervise independent research and produce questionable PhDs in the process. It is not without reason that PhD is such a valued and respected academic accomplishment and it is our solemn duty to maintain its high esteem. I quote a paragraph in this context: <br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
"PhD
is hard. It is meant to be hard not because inflicting pain is
necessarily fun, nor because some scientists are 'dementors', and not
because your PhD is expected to solve the mysteries of the universe. It’s hard because it is an apprenticeship in science: a frustrating,
triumphant, exhausting, and ultimately Darwinian career that will require everything
you can muster. A PhD is essentially a
test. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you pass this test by passing your
PhD. Wrong. The fact is that passing a PhD is like getting a certificate of
participation. Why? Because <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2010/201021/">almost everyone who starts
a PhD and sticks around long enough ends up getting one.</a> No, the real test
is what happens <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> your PhD.
That’s when you’ll know whether you’ve really passed. Do well and it
will open the door to a career of unparalleled intellectual freedom." [from <i><a href="http://neurochambers.blogspot.in/2012/05/tough-love-insensitive-guide-to.html" target="_blank">Tough love: An insensitive guide to thriving in your PhD</a></i>]</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
Recently,
I had a chance to go through a PhD thesis on analytical modelling of
vibration of plates. I was quite amused to note that the main argument
of the thesis was in finding virtue in an approximate numerical solution
scheme that affects the computed frequency parameter in fourth or fifth
place of decimal in comparison with the benchmark case computed using a
different numerical approximation. As a practitioner of the vibration
theory, I can swear on oath that I would be more than happy to get a
reliable estimate of the natural frequency to unit's place or at most
one decimal place. Moreover, I wonder if it ever occurred to the
candidate that for all his singing praises for the adopted numerical
scheme, the difference could probably have been caused by the
standardization of the floating point operation since late 1980s
(because the benchmark result dates back to the time before the advent
of floating-point standard and hence the coding and platform of
computing made a lot of difference in the accuracy of numerical
computations). Probably, the candidate has never heard the golden
advice, "<i>The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers!</i>" This lack of appreciation of insight into the basic mechanics of the
problem is the biggest failing of our training process that is called
PhD and is worrisome. This fresh PhD now has the license to
supervise a PhD and will have a cascading effect on this academic lineage
of PhDs.<br />
<br />
While we are discussing the PhD students and their work, another issue that is worth debating is the authorship of the publications. Should the supervisor be a co-author? If he is a co-author of the research papers published prior to submission of thesis, then is it not a case of conflict of interest when the supervisor examines the PhD thesis of the candidate? In this scenario, will it be a better proposition to insist on at least one single author journal publication by the candidate before the thesis is submitted? This sole authorship in a journal article will also go a long way in helping the academic career of the student while ensuring that the candidate owns 100% responsibility for at least part of the work being examined. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
I am sure that I have done enough to stir the hornets' nest and welcome a healthy discussion/debate on this issue. Having said that I
am also sure that we all have some interesting anecdotes to share about
our days as graduate students that it'll make for an
interesting discussion. Let me share something that I had conjured up on the basis of
an empirical analysis of available data:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<b>The Supervisor's Law of Inertia</b>: </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
"A supervisor tends to produce graduate students who are his/her academic replicas, unless influenced by some external factors."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<i> </i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
A few links to recommend to your PhD students about the PhD process: </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<i><a href="http://neurochambers.blogspot.in/2012/05/tough-love-insensitive-guide-to.html" target="_blank">Tough love: An insensitive guide to thriving in your PhD</a></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
</div>
<i><a href="https://me.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/advice_paper_web.pdf" target="_blank">Some Important Things Most Students Never Ask About Graduate School </a></i></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-71464591989557293842015-03-28T23:39:00.000+05:302015-03-30T09:05:34.372+05:30The technical content of technical festival: The case of Cognizance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
The current
Cognizance season allows me to put things in perspective (my point of
view, in any case). You may or may not choose to look at the same
perspective view. Two years back when I was part of the coordinating
team for Cognizance, I was rather peeved at the repeated approvals being
sought by the students for purchase of ply boards for erection of
arenas for robotics events. The students were going by the estimate
provided by the carpenter and used to revise the estimates for boards
almost every alternate day. Since the same arenas are constructed year
after year for the same set of robotics events, I asked them to prepare
proper drawings of these arenas and estimate the required quantity
precisely. This could also be kept as a formal record for use as
guidelines for future. The entire event passed by but not a single piece
of drawing could be produced by the students -- and the team of
students involved in Cognizance are above average students with respect
to CGPA. Whenever I used to ask them about the drawings, they used to
look at me as if I had descended from Mars!<br />
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
Another
episode relates to the matter of quality checks for the T-shirts that
had been ordered for distribution to participants. More than 2000
T-shirts were ordered and the terms of purchase included one line about
random checks for ensuring quality. I asked one student (who was
pursuing B.Tech. Industrial Engineering) about the plan of random
checks. How many samples should drawn out for random checks and how do
we decide if the lot is acceptable or should be rejected. Again, a
complete blank!! It seemed that it had never occurred to him that
whatever was taught in Statistical Quality Control would be expected to
be applied in some real situation. So much for the technical competence
of our bright students. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
<br />
The
other issue that bothered me was the propensity of everyone to be
involved in the "organization" of the event and not actually participate
in technical events. Very few of IITR students actually participated in
the technical competitive events taking the plea that being part of
management team, they are not allowed to participate. I wonder of what
use is the organization of technical festival in campus if the students
are not going to take part? In the same vein, I am kind of perplexed
about how are song and dance events in tune with the aims and objectives
of the "technical festival" Cognizance? It seems to be just one more
opportunity for the students to vent off -- notwithstanding the fact
that they are not under any great academic pressure any way. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
I
hardly notice any intellectually challenging activity taking place
which could give some new ideas and directions to the students outside
of the classroom. Considering that the budget of this event is about Rs.
70-80 Lakhs and we have been hosting this for more than 10 years: what
is the tangible gain from an input of Rs. 7-8 Crore? Sooner or later as
this sum accumulates, questions will be asked and we better be prepared
with an answer. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
<br />
I
wonder if it would be worthwhile to turn this annual event into a sort
of annual problem solving challenge with a decent prize money for
proposing solutions to one or two challenging problems identified by the
faculty members of one or two departments (on rotation basis) and
invite the short-listed proposals to make a presentation on the campus.
Who knows, this kind of crowd sourcing may indeed throw up interesting
ideas and leads worth pursuing. After all, the scientific community got
the powerful technique of Fourier series through this kind of problem
solving challenge. </div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-72770624290110570372014-09-11T14:03:00.001+05:302014-09-11T14:50:34.546+05:30Multitude of M.Tech. programmes: a question of relevance!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent <a href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-22/news/53112783_1_ugc-iit-kharagpur-four-year-undergraduate-programme" target="_blank">turf war between UGC and IIT</a> has <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Z5xZNzFz0gd6VhUyHq91OI/IITs-need-UGC-nod-to-open-new-programmes.html" target="_blank">grabbed quite a few eyeballs</a> and <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/wrong-for-ugc-to-interfere-says-author-of-iit-reforms-roadmap/" target="_blank">commentaries</a>. While the power game is being played out at the upper echelons of the administrative set up governing higher education in India, it is worthwhile to have an inward view for a little introspection. Much has been said about the functional autonomy for IITs as being one of the prime reasons for the success of the IIT experiment --- one of the few success stories in independent India. The unstated assumption in this process is that the administrative setup within an IIT will have an objective assessment of the prevailing conditions and evolve suitably to address the needs. Of course, this freedom (or, autonomy) for self regulation comes with the rider that we act responsibly and do not abuse the trust reposed in the collective wisdom of the Senate.<br />
<br />
I have so far attended only a few meetings of the Senate and I am aghast, to put it mildly, at how casually the business is actually conducted there. There is hardly any meaningful discussion on the agenda and the resolutions are adopted almost as proposed --- more or less in the same way as the bills are being passed in Lok Sabha these days without any discussions (<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional-india/telangana-bill-passed-by-lok-sabha-amid-din-protests-and-unprecedented-blackout/" target="_blank">the passage of bill for creation of Telngana state</a> was the high point of this trend). Often we shy away from honest discussions and airing a divergent view on an issue for the fear of offending the sensibilities of our colleague(s) who had moved the proposal. The obvious problem is the inability to differentiate a professional matter from a personal one. This is a very alarming trend and without proper discussions the indifferent Senate risks the grave danger giving a shortchange to the objective assessment of an issue. Why is this trend worrisome? Sooner or later, if we don't put our house in order, our incapability (or, unwillingness) to do so will become apparent and then the day will not be far when an external regulator will be imposed as we had shown a lack of capacity (or, will) to regulate ourselves.<br />
<br />
Since the recent ongoing tussle between UGC and IIT is related to the starting of various academic programmes in IIT, I wish to highlight the issue of proliferation of M.Tech. programmes in recent times. Several new M.Tech. programmes have been started in last couple of years which take in engineering graduates (or science post-graduates) from almost any discipline in the name of an <i>inter-disciplinary programme</i>. Subsequently, the courses are taught by faculty members drawn from four or five (or, even more!) different disciplines --- again in the name of <i>inter-disciplinary programme</i>. Sometimes a single course in a semester is taught by four or five different people from different specializations --- again in the name of <i>inter-disciplinary programme</i>. In order to put the issue in proper perspective, we have graduates in Electronics Engineering registering for a course on <i>Repair and Retrofitting of Structures!</i> Needless to say that the student will be unable to make any head and tail of the proceedings in the classroom, and yet, the student miraculously passes the course and earns the requisite credits for core course. The quality and technical competence of these poor students after completing the <i>inter-disciplinary programme</i> is anybody's guess. Obviously, in such a scenario it is rather difficult to have a common thread weaving through the courses of study to develop a broad vision of the field of study to see and critically analyse the big picture. We all know how effective is the teaching in short-term refresher certificate courses conducted in Continuing Education Center where a reasonably good amount of information is disseminated by a number of persons often without any obvious link between different lectures. So effectively, we have reduced our post-graduate M.Tech. education to the level of extended short-term certificate programmes! I wonder what the Senators were doing when they approved such programmes in the first place. Obviously, nobody thought it through the entire process and the decisions were taken just on the basis of some absurd way to justify an absurd diktat from the MHRD mandarins about the faculty-student ratio! Some M.Tech. programmes exist only to keep the faculty-student ratio within the prescribed norms. This is yet another number game and much has been debated about the pitfalls of number games. The administrators love to have an easily quantifiable number (index) to assess the quality. Little do they realize that such an index has to be an unbiased one if it is to be used as a decision variable. And then we run into the biggest paradoxes of all times -- it is impossible to measure anything! One can't measure anything without observing it first with the help of a suitable probe. The moment a probe is deployed, the system is not the same as the one we were interested in measuring! A performance indicator ceases to be a valid measure of performance as soon as it is defined because everyone begins to target it and in the process the measure becomes a biased one and hence unsuitable for use as a performance indicator!<br />
<br />
It is high time that we took a rational view of the utility of so many M.Tech. programmes in the institute and not dilute the premium attached to the training received at an IIT. </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-43187389361875853472014-03-16T14:14:00.002+05:302014-03-18T08:48:29.601+05:30Student Evaluations and Statistical Hypothesis Testing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had been thinking about the impact of increase in class strengths in higher education on the quality of performance evaluations and eventually award of grade to a student in a course --- an important exercise in separating the wheat from the chaff --- which assumes greater significance in our attempt to stretch the bottom threshold just to fill the available seats in our academic programmes. At a first glance, it appears that we have decreased the rigour in evaluations (both in taught courses and also dissertations). Let us first talk about the taught courses, we shall take up the evaluation of dissertations later.<br />
<br />
The 50% across the board increase in student intake in all academic institutions has necessitated accommodating a large number of candidates with questionable academic preparation in our post-graduate courses. Some of these students find it extremely difficult to cope with the (somewhat watered down) rigours of the academic programme and perform rather poorly in some courses. However, it is surprising to find same candidates performing at "Above Average" level in other courses and also at times managing an "Excellent" grading in dissertation. This, despite a common refrain from all during tea-time discussions about the decreasing level of aptitude and commitment of the graduate students. I find it rather difficult to reconcile the two assessments: the informal assessment is very poor quality of work and yet the formal assessment on the grade sheet reflects an "Excellent" grade for the dissertation!<br />
<br />
The process of award of grade to a student is an exercise in making a decision whether a student has understood the subject, and if the answer is yes, then to what extent. The performance of the student is tracked through a variety of assessments throughout the semester leading to a final score for the award of a grade. This final score is referred to as "the test-statistic" in the parlance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_hypothesis_testing" target="_blank">statistical hypothesis testing</a>: a standard tool of decision making based on statistical inference. In its simplest form, the test involves formulating a "Null Hypothesis" (H0), which is considered to be the working rule until it can be established by way of some evidence that it is not true and should be abandoned in favour of the "Alternate Hypothesis", typically denoted by H1. The formulation of an appropriate null hypothesis is the most crucial part of the test and it is stated in a form which makes it easier to test for its falsity. The process of student's evaluation can be stated as:<br />
<br />
<i>The null hypothesis, H0: the student knows the subject and deserves a passing grade, </i><br />
<br />
<i>and</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The alternate hypothesis, H1: the student does not know the subject and consequently does not deserve a passing grade.</i><br />
<br />
So the process of evaluation begins with the assumption that the student knows the subject unless it can be proved to be otherwise. The variety of assessments are then aimed at trying to falsify this assumption. This has an important bearing on the way the examinations are set up --- it is important that the student's are examined thoroughly about the subject and the tests should be designed to falsify the null hypothesis. Since nothing in this world is perfect, the hypothesis testing too has its fair share of flaws and two types of errors are possible:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Type I error: reject the null hypothesis H0 when it is true --- the false alarm, and </li>
<li>Type II error: do not reject the null hypothesis H0 when it is false --- the missed alarm. </li>
</ol>
The probability of Type I error is related to the "significance level" of the test while the "power" of test refers to the probability of not committing Type II error. Obviously, eliminating both types of errors is impossible. The chances of Type I error can be reduced by expanding the range of "acceptable range" of the test-statistic but that increases the chances of Type-II error where the null hypothesis might not be rejected even when it is not true. The significance level, i.e., the probability of Type I error is decided beforehand and is kept at the largest tolerable level (typically 0.1, 0.05, or 0.01) consequently the "acceptable range" of test-statistic is established (larger the probability of Type I error smaller is the acceptable range for test-statistic and hence smaller chances of Type II error) . In the context of student evaluation this translates into designing an examination that is consistent with the choice of the probability of Type I error. An easy examination along with a small probability of Type I error, say, 0.01, makes it almost impossible to reject the null hypothesis of all students knowing the subject and thereby increase the probability of Type II error of a student getting a passing grade even if (s)he may not have a passing understanding of the subject. A study of the patterns of grades awarded in recent times indicates that we might have been committing Type II errors (missed alarm) in several cases by awarding passing grades to the undeserving candidates while trying to minimize the Type I errors (false alarm). While a possibility of Type I error might result in a temporary setback for a few candidates, it is good for the academic programme of the institute if it prevents a Type II error of awarding degrees to the undeserving which might have long term implications in hurting the academic standing of the institute. If we do not take care in minimizing Type II errors (even if it is at the cost of slightly increased chances of Type I error) then the doomsday may not be far off when the industry would cease to recognize the premium of an IIT degree. <br />
<br />
There has been a steady decline in the quality of M.Tech. dissertations with very few leading to scholarly publications which was the primary objective of increasing the duration of dissertation from one semester to two semesters. Year after year, we have a horde of students graduating with "Excellent" grade for their dissertations but not leading to any scholarly publication. This begs a little introspection --- probably there is a need to recalibrate our scales of grade and be a little more objective about these evaluations. It appears that quite a few of these students with "Excellent" grades in dissertations do not have a CGPA more than 7.0-7.5 after the two semesters of course work --- roughly mapping to "Average" performance. I agree that there could be some exceptional cases where the effort put in dissertation work might outshine that in a regular course work --- but such cases are rare and for all that it is worth, the CGPA at the end of two semesters of course work gives a fairly well indication of the student's potential at present. The "Excellent" grade in dissertation leads to artificial inflation of the CGPA at the end of the academic programme. It may be better to switch to a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading of dissertation to retain some objectivity of CGPA as a measure of students' academic performance. </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-91334142933194679822013-05-26T15:40:00.000+05:302013-05-29T16:25:51.895+05:30Declining Morals and Ethics in Higher Education <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently, one case of impersonation has been reported in the recently concluded final examinations of the Spring Semester, 2013. Apparently, a student of B.Tech. I Yr. had arranged to have someone else write the examination of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">EC-101A Computer Systems and Programming</span> on his behalf. The person who actually took the examination had forged the candidate's signatures on the attendance sheet. The matter was brought to light by some students raising questions about the sanctity of the examination and evaluation system. Some students have also alleged that the impersonation was not limited to this single case rather there were multiple instances of impersonation in the final examination of at least two more courses this semester. This kind of lack of oversight and supervisory control in the conduct of academic affairs is a direct fall-out of the steep increase in the student intake in recent years. It is now impossible to have a personal one-to-one interaction with the students which goes a long way in forging a teacher-student bond and encourage more engaging discussions in the classrooms. This was, probably, what <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/rasheeda-bhagat/pv-indiresan-an-endearing-teacher-passes-away/article4449135.ece">Late Prof. P.V. Indiresan (formerly of University of Roorkee, and later Director IIT Madras)</a> had in mind when he had filed a PIL in Supreme Court against the Ministry's decision to increase the student intake by 54%. It is an alarming disregard for the rule of the land that these students have shown. Impersonation is a criminal offense for cheating, forgery and fraud, punishable with 7 year jail term, under Indian Penal Code of 1860. It should make us all halt in our tracks and ponder about the purpose of education being imparted in our institutions of higher learning. Are we helping create a generation of cheats and slackers?<br />
<br />
It may be very easy and probably more convenient to brush this issue aside calling it an aberration. However, the long-term implications of such ostrich-like attitude are horrifying, to put it mildly. First, the concept of level-playing field for all can be thrown away. Students with strong management skills can always manage to get other to write their examinations for some <i>professional appearance fees</i>! In any case, we are producing more of managers than engineers/technocrats if the level and kind of participation of our students in the <i>Technical Festival</i> - Cognizance is any indication. We might as well forego evaluation of students' performance in examinations. The grades for the course can possibly be awarded on the basis of some demonstrable quality of "managing" examinations. After all, is that not what the managers are supposed to do and judged for --- the skill in getting the work done? Whatever may be means adopted for the purpose --- the ends always justify the means! Scoring well in examinations is just another kind of work which can be possibly outsourced to someone with real technical skill but probably lacking in management skills! Does it make any sense to evaluate the answer scripts of students which had been outsourced? Who is getting the reward (Grades) and for whose efforts? The entire edifice of higher education will crumble if this case is allowed to fall through the cracks within the system. Imagine, how convenient would be our life as course instructor if we did not have to bother about evaluating tutorials, answer scripts, etc. Even the classroom lectures can be dispensed with and a live streaming of recorded lectures can be fed into students' halls. The faculty members can then devote their time and energy to <i>more quantifiable metrics</i> of research projects and publications.<br />
<br />
I presume that most of us will agree that the scenario presented above can not be the way forward if we are serious about building our reputation as a force to reckon with in the field of technical education on the world stage. Therefore, this malaise has to be nipped in the bud. The first thing that we should do is to explore the possibility of roping in a Forensic Laboratory to collect random handwriting samples of all B.Tech. I Yr. students and have it cross-checked with the writing on the answer scripts of the final examination. This may be the only way to nab the culprits whose identities are not known. The culprits when caught should be handed an exemplary punishment including filing a formal police complaint for cheating, fraud and forgery so that no student in future will dare to cross the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable. Further, the students should be asked to put their thumb impressions in the attendance sheet as well as on the answer script. It should then be possible to cross check the authenticity of the candidate at a later date by using the thumb impression database available with JEE during admissions. These small measures will go a long way in preventing such acts of cheating and ensure better compliance. <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-66261653802312028692012-12-16T14:53:00.000+05:302013-01-25T21:02:49.753+05:30The State of Engineering Education in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://engineering.learnhub.com/lesson/21444-83-percent-of-indian-engineering-graduates-unfit-for-employment-survey-findings?id=21444-83-percent-of-indian-engineering-graduates-unfit-for-employment-survey-findings">A
recent survey</a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> has
concluded that more than 75% of the engineers graduating from a
myriad of technical institutes, engineering colleges and deemed
universities are not employable. </span></span></span><a href="http://education.oneindia.in/news/2012/11/28/nasscom-only-25percent-graduate-in-india-are-employable-003361.html">This
claim has been contested, quite understandably so, by the Chairman,
All India Council for Technical Education</a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">. The
Chairman, AICTE says that the NASSCOM survey is misleading and if
more than 75% were really unemployable than there would have been a
massive unrest on the streets. He, however, concedes that the
majority of engineering graduates are underemployed. Of course they
are underemployed, Mr. Chairman! One doesn't really need an
engineering degree for tele-marketing which is more or less what the
work in call centers involves. I am right now looking at a few
graduate engineers from CSE/IT background who have no idea of
algorithms and can't write a decent piece of functional code for
Gaussian elimination! Another post-graduate in Electronics and
Communications has no clue about the sampling theorem! No wonder then
that the industry finds such engineers unemployable. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Naturally, these people are content with desktop publishing/data entry jobs for a "salary" of Rs. 10000/- per month.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Most
of the young graduates have only one immediate aim: secure a job and
support the family to climb the social ladder. Unfortunately, it is
extremely demoralizing for the youth to find the hard way that the
promised job security of an engineering degree is a myth. The mad
rush for engineering degrees has led to mushrooming of technical
institutes of dubious quality often run by fly by night operators.
Many parents send their ward to study engineering in these institutes
after payment of hefty fees which often eats into their savings of
lifetime. These parents are taken in by the claims of 100% placement
of graduating students in reputed companies. What they don't realize
that a majority of these "hired" graduates are soon fired
following a dismal performance in the in-house test after the
induction programme in the firms that these unsuspecting souls join.
This failure statistic does not make it to any advertisement
brochure: for a failure is orphan. These fired graduate engineers
then take up jobs as desktop operators, etc. merely to avoid the
social stigma attached with a jobless engineer. How long can this
continue? Had it not been for the BPO industry, we would have had a
massive unrest on the streets. And I am not even referring to the unhealthy work hours of the so-called graveyard shift and its
long-term impact on the social fabric. A song by Gulzar in his 1971
film "Mere Apne" succinctly captures the emotion:</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
"<i>Haal-chaal theek thaak hai</i><br />
<i>Sab kuchchh theek thak hai</i><br />
<i>BA kiya hai, MA kiya</i><br />
<i>Lagta hai woh bhi ainvey kiya</i><br />
<i>Bas kaam nahi hai baki sab theek thaak hai!</i>"<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
1970s, there was
a proliferation of graduates and post-graduates thanks to the state
funded cheap college education. But these degrees were not even worth
the cost of paper on which those were printed as far as their job
potential was concerned. The situation today is similar, except that
we may now replace BA and MA with B.Tech. and M.Tech., respectively. However, these
professional qualifications come at a price: often a lifetime's
savings of ambitious parents. It is nothing short of a calamity for a
parent to discover after spending his hard earned money to buy a
professional degree for his ward that it has no market value. This
simmering discontent is a time-bomb waiting to explode unless urgent
corrective steps are taken by the powers that be. It is not that the decision makers are not aware of the problem. <a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/top-story/115438-ugc-checks-53-private-varsities-finds-only-five-in-order.html">The Minister for Human Resource Development is on record saying that about 90% of the privately funded universities do not meet the basic requirements for a university</a> (albeit this was in reference to non-technical courses). </span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2012/12/art-sci-students-getting-more-jobs-than-engineers/">Yet
another study has claimed that in 2012 the arts and science graduates
were offered more jobs than engineering graduates</a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.
May be this is a good trend as it will prevent a mad rush for cheap (not
inexpensive!) engineering degrees on offer and only those with an
aptitude for engineering will opt for a rigorous programme. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-11033091241939443892012-10-28T09:56:00.004+05:302012-10-28T09:56:46.656+05:30On the conviction of 7 Italian scientists by an Italian court for failing to predict earthquake.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It is interesting to see everyone getting worked up to defend the convicted scientists by a judiciary which probably lacks in scientific temperament and hence unable to interpret the disclaimers implicit in scientific research and publications. The examples abound, for example, "My results suggest that expected value of PGA (or, spectral acceleration at period T, for that matter) is X (but while I want this result to get published, I'll neither defend this result in any public scrutiny or discussion forum nor shall I take any stand on this matter on public policy matters)."</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is easy to plead innocence and take a detached view from the high pedestal of scientific study. But of what use is a scientific study (especially if undertaken on taxpayer's money) if the authors themselves are so noncommittal about the veracity of the results? I wonder if it has occurred to my learned colleagues that the scientists in question might have secured a huge amount of taxpayers' money as a research grant for predicting earthquakes? And the public there might be furious at having been cheated out of their money by the false promises held out by such seismologists. Earthquake prediction is a very interesting topic and never fails to touch a chord with the common population. Why, even our former president Dr. APJ Kalam was so fond of earthquake prediction that he made it a point to mention it in his convocation address at IIT Roorkee despite being advised against it. Little do people realize that earthquake prediction is not a tenable policy for earthquake disaster mitigation. Even if one were able to predict an earthquake with 100% accuracy, it does not help in protecting the investments in the region. Only a sound earthquake resistant design policy and compliance can ensure that. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is good that this conviction has provided an opportunity for public debate on the relevance of scientific research. About 10 years back after the 2001 Kutch earthquake, massive investments in setting up of network of seismological instruments were recommended by a committee of European/American experts invited by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. The primary reason for this was seismological instruments can record small earthquakes which occur frequently and we may not have to wait for indefinitely for recording strong motion data. Realizing the futility of the exercise, one of our colleagues had written to various stake holders about this enormous wastage. Fortunately, a moderate earthquake at Chamoli in 1999 had provided us with enough data to support our assertion that the characteristics of ground motions change significantly with the size of the earthquake. Whatever design recommendations may be inferred from the analysis of low-magnitude small earthquake data, may be widely off the mark for the case of strong earthquakes against which the protection is to be sought. But the decision makers who dole out public money for scientific research chose to ignore the hard facts and went ahead with massive procurement of seismological instruments from European/American manufacturers on the recommendations of European/American experts! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is time for the scientific community to pause and think about the relevance of the studies being undertaken in the name of scientific research!</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-48401921380429622152012-05-11T18:28:00.001+05:302013-10-05T08:12:13.720+05:30Higher Education: Aims and Objectives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In response to Mr. S.R. Durai Eswaran's letter published in Reader's<br />
Mail section of New Delhi edition of The Hindu dated November 07, 2005<br />
<br />
Reader's Mail (The Hindu)<br />
<a href="http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/07/stories/2005110705770300.htm">http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/07/stories/2005110705770300.htm</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
IIT Roorkee's ways<br />
<br />
I joined the M.Tech course in the Earthquake Department of IIT Roorkee in June 2004 after clearing GATE with a score of 92.85. GATE-qualified candidates are eligible for an MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) stipend of Rs.5,000 per month. Then I came to know that in the Earthquake Department during the previous year the professors had detained and sent out 50 per cent of the students registered with the department (including many with GATE scores above 99), wasting their one precious year. They were asked to pay back the total stipend to get their GATE score card back!<br />
<br />
As I was not ready to take the risk of wasting one precious year, I left that course and took another course in the Civil Department in the self-financing category. I thus lost my monthly stipend of Rs.5,000 because of the arbitrary policy of the Earthquake Department. How can they detain 50 per cent of the students thus?<br />
<br />
S. R. Durai Eswaran, <br />
F-105, Jawahar Bhawan, <br />
IIT Roorkee. </blockquote>
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It is indeed heartening to note that the students at IIT Roorkee feel<br />
free to voice their opinion publicly on issues pertaining to academic<br />
matters of the institute. This proves that I.I.T. Roorkee has<br />
succeeded in creating an open environment on the campus in line with<br />
Sri Rabindranath Tagore's dream (as envisioned in his celebrated<br />
poem--Gitanjali). Unfortunately, Mr. Durai Eswaran has chosen to<br />
imbibe only the freedom of expression and seems to have given the<br />
emphasis on knowledge and tireless striving a complete go by. Mr.<br />
Durai Eswaran has not presented the facts correctly and seems to have<br />
concluded hastily on the basis of inadequate/wrong data.<br />
<br />
We wish to put forward the following points to ponder in view of Mr.<br />
Durai Eswaran's comments.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Factual Errors:</h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The figure of 50% of the registered students being sent back is<br />
not correct. The academic programme of a total of 6 students<br />
out of 21 registered that year was terminated at the end of<br />
first semester on account of poor academic performance. The<br />
Grade Point Average of these students was in range 1.3-4.67 as<br />
against the institute requirement of a minimum of 5.00 (out of<br />
a maximum of 10.00) for continuation of programme. Such a low<br />
grade point average clearly indicates these students had<br />
serious difficulty in coping with the academic workload and had<br />
performed poorly across the board in all courses including one<br />
offered by the Department of Mathematics. This is particularly<br />
so when the evaluation for a course in I.I.T. is done<br />
continuously over the entire semester and is not based on the<br />
performance in just one final examination. Given the heavy<br />
subsidy that goes into funding of the higher education, the<br />
students are expected to earn their assistantships--not claim<br />
it as a matter of right!</div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Difference between Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education:</h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Each milestone in the process of learning is associated with a<br />
set of target skills and values. While the undergraduate<br />
education is all about development of problem solving skills<br />
with the application of existing knowledge, the emphasis of<br />
postgraduate education is on the development of analytical<br />
ability and capability to develop new knowledge and<br />
methods/techniques. Familiarity with the fundamental concepts<br />
in science and engineering is considered as a given in<br />
postgraduate education. It is the students' lack of<br />
appreciation of the objectives and aims of postgraduate<br />
education that leads to a miserable performance in postgraduate<br />
courses even though they had demonstrated excellent problem<br />
solving skills (a.k.a. high GATE scores).</div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
High GATE score: Is it a valid measure of intellect?</h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The GATE score is just an index for the purpose of admissions<br />
to academic programmes. It is--like any other objective measure<br />
of intellect--not without its limitations. Like the Joint<br />
Entrance Examination for admission to undergraduate programmes<br />
in I.I.T., several coaching centres provide intensive coaching<br />
to secure high score in GATE--an examination to test the<br />
problem solving skill achieved at the end of undergraduate<br />
programme. This does not necessarily imply that a person with<br />
high GATE score will have very good analytical skill.<br />
<br />
We are thankful to Mr. Durai Eswaran for giving us an opportunity to<br />
address our concern at root of this problem of non-performance of<br />
supposedly good students in some postgraduate programmes. The quality<br />
of undergraduate technical education in the country has been declining<br />
steadily over the past several years. Most of the students that we<br />
admit to our postgraduate courses are completely blank about the<br />
fundamental concepts. This complete lack of analytical ability is<br />
possibly caused due to encouragement of learning by rote in most of<br />
the universities and colleges in this country. The picture is rather<br />
gloomy as the academic performance of a student in most of the<br />
universities and colleges is measured on the basis of scores in final<br />
examination which encourages memory driven approach to taking<br />
examination--not quite sustainable in the long run!<br />
<br />
Finally, we would like to point out that mere securing admission to an<br />
institution of higher learning does not guarantee the award of a<br />
degree from that institute. The students have to earn their<br />
degrees/diplomas and having earned them they should feel proud of<br />
themselves!!<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-83532004131821250772012-05-11T18:19:00.001+05:302012-05-11T18:28:45.671+05:30Inequitable distribution of teaching responsibility: Follow up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some time back I had raised the issue of apparent disparity in the teaching load of faculty members in academic departments of the institute and the rules<span class="il"> for</span> sharing of teaching responsibilities amongst faculty colleagues. I did</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
not receive even a single response pointing to a regulation governing the</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
distribution of teaching load! Subsequently, I collected information about</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
the distribution of teaching load in a typical semester in various</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
departments and prepared a summary which is appended at the end of this</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
text. In working out these numbers, I have given a greater weightage to</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
the lecture hours followed by tutorial and practicals in that order to</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
decide the listing under Minimum/Maximum load. Further,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
the hours devoted to B.Tech./B.Arch. projects have not been counted in as</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
this information was not available <span class="il">for</span> all departments. While statistics such</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
as these provide some basis <span class="il">for</span> comparisons they donot protray the whole</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
picture. A major omission is the latent effort put in by the course instructors</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
in core courses with large under-graduate population. The massive effort that</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
goes in the evaluation of students registered <span class="il">for</span> these courses is not</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
reflected in these cold figures of weekly contact hours (L+T+P).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
As far as the total contact hours are concerned, the disparity is most<br />
glaring in the Architecture and Planning Department. The Professors put<br />
in about 8 Hours (L+T+P) per week on average while Asst. Professors put in<br />
about 18 Hours on average. Moreover, the Professors are primarily involved in<br />
teaching of Post-Graduate courses while the youngsters take up the bulk of<br />
under-graduate courses. Regarding practicals/tutorials in architecture, I<br />
can say from my limited exposure to architecture during my undergraduate<br />
training that these are not "canned" practical sessions based on<br />
experimentation, observation, data collection and interpretation. Each student<br />
needs to develop an independent solution <span class="il">for</span> a set of design constraints. In<br />
this respect the supervisory control and guidance to nurture the individual<br />
<span class="il">thought</span> process is very important leading to an increased involvement of the<br />
course instructor/tutor.<br />
<br />
<br />
In chemistry department, most of the senior colleagues engage only 1 or 2<br />
lectures per week. Their contact hours are beefed up by a corresponding<br />
increase in the practicals where---I am sure---they must be ably supported<br />
by their research/teaching assistants. The younger colleagues are required<br />
to put in more lecture/tutorial hours in comparison.<br />
<br />
The younger colleagues also put in relatively more teaching effort in<br />
Civil, Chemical, Mech. & Ind. Engg., Mathematics and Physics as the summary<br />
suggests, whereas the electrical and electronics and computer engineering<br />
departments appear to follow the policy of equal sharing amongst all faculty<br />
members. However, the senior colleagues in electrical engg. and mechanical<br />
& industrial engg. are primarily involved in postgraduate courses whereas<br />
the undergraduate courses are handled by the younger colleagues. This<br />
trend of senior colleagues distancing themselves from undergraduate<br />
teaching is unfortunate in my opinion. The young and impressionable minds<br />
of the undergraduates deserves the experienced handling of the senior<br />
colleagues.<br />
<br />
I hope that this summary and analysis will lead to an in-house discussions<br />
and rationalization of the sharing of teaching responsibility between faculty<br />
colleagues within a department.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Weekly contact hours (L-T-P) of faculty members in some departments</div>
<div id=":1d1">
</div>
<div id=":1d1">
Architecture and Planning<br />
-------------------------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 3-2-3 6-1-1 4.2-1-3<br />
Assoc. Professor 1-2-6 3-2-6 2.4-1.7-6.7<br />
Assistant Professor 2-5-9 4-6-6 2.7-3-11.4<br />
<br />
Civil Engineering<br />
-----------------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 0-3-2 4-3-0 2.3-2.2-1.9<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-0-6 4-7-0 3.1-4.2-2.7<br />
Assistant Professor 2.5-0-8 4-8-0 3.0-4.9-2.8<br />
<br />
Chemical Engineering<br />
--------------------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 3-0-3 3-0-6 3-0.5-4.8<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-0-9 6-3-4 4.4-1.6-6.2<br />
Assistant Professor 5-2-7 6-0-10 5.5-3.6-5.8<br />
<br />
Chemistry<br />
---------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 1-2-8 4-3-4 2-1.6-7.6<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-0-10 5-3-4 4-1.5-7<br />
Assistant Professor 2-4-10 5-5-6 3.4-7.6-7.7<br />
<br />
Electrical Engineering<br />
----------------------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 3-0-4 6-2-8 4-2-6<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-2-2 6-3-6 4-2-6<br />
Assistant Professor 3-0-8 5-6-4 3.1-2.2-8.2<br />
<br />
Electronics and Communication Engineering<br />
------------------------------<wbr></wbr>-----------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 3-1-5 6-0-5 4.7-1.2-3.4<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-4-2 6-2-3 4-3.3-2.7<br />
Assistant Professor 3-3-5 6-5-0 5-3.2-2.4<br />
<br />
Mathematics<br />
-----------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 5-2-0 6-2-0 5.8-2.2-0<br />
Assoc. Professor 6-3-0 6-3-0 6-3-0<br />
Assistant Professor 8-3-0 9-2-0 8.4-2.6-0<br />
<br />
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering<br />
------------------------------<wbr></wbr>-------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 3-1-4 6-2-2 3.3-2-4.2<br />
Assoc. Professor 3-2-6 6-3-6 4.4-3.4-4.8<br />
Assistant Professor 3-1-8 9-2-8 4.9-1.8-7.1<br />
<br />
Physics<br />
-------<br />
Minimum Maximum Average<br />
Professor 4-0-2 4-2-3 4-0.9-2.9<br />
Assoc. Professor 4-0-4 5-0-4 4.3-0-4.3<br />
Assistant Professor 5-0-6 6-1-4 5-1-5.5</div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-44517965533798877902012-01-27T10:03:00.002+05:302012-01-27T10:05:27.832+05:30Inequitable distribution of teaching responsibility at IIT Roorkee - why?More than a month has passed since the beginning of the new academic session<br />and I have been wondering about why some of my colleagues are saddled with a<br />teaching load of about 20 hours per week whereas other faculty members in the<br />same department have only 6 to 8 hours of teaching commitment. What is the<br />reason behind this disparity? I would greatly appreciate being enlightened on<br />this issue. Is there some kind of rule written somewhere that governs the<br />sharing of teaching responsibility? At least I am not aware of any such<br />rule/guideline nor is such a practice followed in other IITs. The number of<br />courses to be taught in a semester is a collective responsibility of the<br />department and should be shared equally amongst all faculty members.<br /><br />In these times when we complain of shortage of faculty members, a simple<br />gesture of being considerate would go a long way to attract and retain the<br />young talent. We should be more welcoming to the new comers and try and make<br />the process of their assilimilation into the IIT Roorkee fraternity as pleasant<br />as possible. There are so many problems that a person has to deal with when<br />he/she relocates to a new place that the mere <span class="il">thought</span> of teaching three<br />courses immediately on arrival is often enough to drive that prospective<br />talent miles away from Roorkee. Will it not be a more welcoming and caring<br />gesture if the concerned person is asked to teach just one course of<br />his/her preference? From the next semester onwards, the person can be<br />reasonably expected to share the collective teaching responsibility at par<br />with others. Similar consideration can possibly also be extended to the<br />retiring faculty. We can certainly afford to be little more considerate and<br />let him/her teach course of his/her choice in his last semester as a mark of our<br />gratitude <span class="il">for</span> his/her contributions to the department and institute. This<br />caring attitude would go a long way in improving the working environment and<br />inter-personal relationships in the department. After all a positive leadership<br />breeds a positive attitude.<br /><br />A good academic institute is known by the quality of the research output<br />that it generates and it is our duty to look beyond short-term personal<br />gains <span class="il">for</span> the greater common good of the institute to which we all owe our<br />identity. It seems ironical that we lay so much emphasis on the research<br />potential of candidates before hiring them and then refuse to give them<br />adequate time to pursue their research interests! An egalitarian basis <span class="il">for</span><br />sharing teaching responsibility would enable the younger colleagues to devote<br />more time to research <span class="il">for</span> which they have been hired in the first place! If we<br />continue putting too much burden on the younger colleagues, we may eventually<br />end up losing on both fronts: the younger colleagues will soon lose the spark<br />and zeal <span class="il">for</span> implementing their research ideas, and the quality of classroom<br />teaching will be below par. Enhancement of research activity is necessary <span class="il">for</span><br />improving the quality of teaching because of the new insights gained in the<br />process and this in turn makes the lectures more stimulating and worth<br />attending indeed!<br /><br />The above may be an utopian ideal and not all newcomers may be able to<br />realize their potential fully but then there would definitely be some who<br />would and that would make the difference between an average teaching<br />institute and a respected research institute. Let us all chip in and<br />contribute our bit to let IIT Roorkee be known <span class="il">for</span> its research output,<br />rigorous academic standards and not just <span class="il">for</span> the beautiful campus and great<br />hospitality!<br /><br />"Freedom is nothing else but the chance to do better."<br /> -- Albert Camus<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7804626545966312468.post-44143344824199200012007-08-21T11:31:00.000+05:302007-08-21T12:04:16.507+05:30The problem of earthquake safety and design basis earthquake.Since the times of A.M. Freudenthal, the problem of structural safety begins with the answer to the question, "What is an acceptable risk of failure?" The answer to this fundamental question is as elusive today as it was 50 years back. There have been several proposals and counter proposals (also proposals to counter the counter proposals) for estimating failure probabilities. The basic question of appropriating an acceptable risk of failure has not received the attention that it merits.<br /><br />A commonly used specification for pegging the design basis earthquake is 10% exceedence probability in 50 years (corresponds to a return period of roughly 500 years). The basic issue of acceptable risk is far from being settled. The fact that several non-engineering issues such as social, political, and economic aspects have a bearing on the definition of an accepted level of risk makes the task of engineers involved in framing design codes much more difficult.<br /><br />One of the proposals to resolve this issue takes the position that the probability of getting killed in any structure/facility during an earthquake should be equal to, or less than getting killed in an auto accident, or while working. Alternatively, the acceptable earthquake risk is related to risks that all of us are exposed to every day and have accepted in the past [Wiggins, 1972].<br /><br />Yet another proposal, which has formed the basis of many a building design codes is that the solution to be adopted should be that for which the total cost of construction (including the cost of repairs in the event of damage at present rates) is a minimum [Torroja, 1948].<br /><br />There are some obvious shortcomings in both the approaches - some engineering, and some philosophical/ethical difficulties as discussed by Grandori.<br /><br />What is your take on this issue? Let us initiate a debate on this fundamental question of earthquake safety.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">References</span><br />[Gandori, 1991] Grandori, G., Paradigms and falsification in Earthquake Engineering, Meccanica, Vol. 26, 17-21, 1991.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>[Torroja, 1948] Torroja, E., Load factors, Journal of the American Concrete Institute, Nov. 1948, 567-572.<br /><br />[Wiggins, 1972] Wiggins, J.H., The balanced risk concept, new approach to earthquake building codes, Civil Engineering, ASCE, August 1972, 55-59.<div class="blogger-post-footer">-----------------------------------------------------------
Please visit http://sites.google.com/site/mshrikhande
for educational resources on earthquake engineering and
computational structural dynamics.</div>Manish Shrikhandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243523495027091614noreply@blogger.com0