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New course structure proposed for FYUP students

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There has been yet another scope of change for the course structure for the FYUP batch of 2013-14. The Committee of Principals has proposed a structure to the Committee of Courses in an open letter sent on 10th of July. While the structure has only been put forward, the Committee of Courses will have to decide the number of subjects in each semester on its basis.

According to the structure for BA/ B.Sc./B.Com/BMS Honors courses, the students will have to study three main subjects’ papers and one allied course paper in the third and fourth semester each. However for the fifth and sixth semester there will be only four main course papers. The Committee of Courses is now required to organize the remaining fourteen papers for the main subject (DC1) excluding the two research methodology papers in proper sequence.

However, no clarity has been provided for the two Allied Courses (DC 2) papers. It is just asked in the letter that the papers should be picked from the existing DC 2 papers of other subject.

For the courses of B.Tech in Computer Sciences, Electronics, Polymer Sciences, Food Technology and Instrumentation, the third to sixth semester will have three Core Discipline Papers along with one paper of Basic/Allied Engineering Sciences. The seventh and eight semesters will have two projects with the same allied papers.

A closer look at this structure, and we can see that though it’s a fair attempt to divide the papers and assimilate the supposed three year course in the two years, the students will either way have to deal with the increased burden of main course papers and DC 2 courses. The future of these Allied Courses is yet to be decided.

Alokita Verma, an English Honors student of Miranda House says, “Whatever the new course structure turns out to be, this will leave the current batch with extra burden and doubts on the credibility of their degrees. The batch will have a rather strange academic background having done papers that any other batch has not done.” Regarding the DC 2 subjects, she says, “The structure at least gives the illusion of fulfilling the promises if FYUP by including DC 2 papers.”

Another FYUP student, Ishaan Gambhir from CVS, who has been closely analyzing the issue says, “It is wrongly being said and echoed that the FYUP batch is being migrated to DU’s three year course. The new structure clearly indicates that we will still be studying what we would have been under FYUP, just in lesser time. The 2013-14 batch would be the only one to have studied fewer number of discipline subjects than all other batches – 18 to be precise, whereas TYUP has 23 to 30 of them. It poses a great risk at our employability.”

According to Dr. Abha Dev Habib, assistant professor of Physics in Miranda House, the new course structure has some positive sides to look at.

“The number of DC 2 papers has been reduced from six to two. The restructuring will bring back the focus on the main discipline course.”

Opinions of students and teachers have been varying on this topic since the alternative structures first started getting proposed. Though the makers of the course structure believe that reducing DC 2 papers will lighten the burden on the students, most of the FYUP batch students still believe that it is yet another unanalyzed attempt to play with their future.

 

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Uncategorized

Movie review: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

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Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Shukla, Ashutosh Rana

Direction: Shashank Khaitan

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Duration: 2 hours 13 minutes

Undoubtedly, HSKD is a very light movie, but surely it’s a tribute to the classic ‘DDLJ’. The plot is quite simple and predictable. Yet, due to the star cast as well as the ‘punjabi dhols’ the movie is funny and fast-paced. The KJo touch is definitely prevalent with songs for each and every celebration.

Humpty Sharma aka Rakesh Sharma (Varun Dhawan) is a typical Delhi college boy, who meets Kavya Singh (Alia Bhatt) by accident. Smitten with love, Humpty keeps meeting Kavya and doesn’t miss a chance to woo her. He also promises to fulfill the Ambala girl’s wish to get her the exorbitantly expensive designer ‘lehnga’ for her marriage. The typical Punjabi language of ‘Oh jis’ and ’beejis’ keeps the humour alive. A few dialogues are extremely hysterical and spontaneous. Well, no romantic bollywood movie is complete without a third person in the mix. Angad (Sidharth Shukla) an NRI and Kavya’s fiancé comes to Ambala to get married. Humpty tries several ways to get back the love of her life but, all in vain. Singh Sir aka Bauji (Ashutosh Rana) beats Rakesh for trying to get close to his daughter. Finally, Kavya pleases her father and demands for a peaceful meeting with Humpty. The angry father lays down a condition to Humpty, to prove his love for her daughter. Humpty struggles to make ‘Achaar’, cook food, jog in the morning to keep a close watch on Angad and find one fault to get back his love. But to break the ‘tailor-made’ wedding and get back his ‘Dulhaniya’, Humpty must point out a major flaw in Angad. Does he succeed? Does he finally win his ‘dulhaniya’?

The original plot doesn’t grow beyond expectations, but the warm dialogues, hugs and superb shots keep the story alive. Alia Bhatt has once again proved her acting skills by portraying the typical Punjabi ‘Kudi’, spontaneous, lively and warm. On the other hand, Varun Dhawan has played it quite energetic, frolic and a cute ‘senti’ boy. This ‘feel-good’ movie doesn’t have much intensity but brings a smile on the face of the audience. A must watch for all the KJo fans and for anyone who loves ‘DDLJ’.

 

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DUB Speak

What is life like, being a paying guest in Delhi?

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PG, the fancy abbreviation for the word paying guest, rather I’d say it isn’t merely a word for a large segment of the Delhi University crowd. Being a paying guest in this mega city for job, college or CA/ IAS/ PMT coaching, it has become more of a fashion now, a lifestyle.  The lifestyle which is a perfect blend of self reliance, great independence, little adventure and loads of fun however, not to forget the risks of being at your own in times like today in the city that is famous for more than few bad reasons.

For tons of youngsters who come to Delhi each year with a dream in their eyes to study at the most prestigious university of the nation, a real challenge is to find a good accommodation. Those students who are not very lucky to get a hostel or do not have any other place to stay, the option of living as a paying guest comes handy.

With the boom of career and educational opportunities in Delhi there is also an emergence of paying guest facilities in almost every street and locality of the city. These places serve as a new home to many dreamers who flock across the city. Living as a paying guest under a good landlord and with some good roommates helps all the newbies in to swim along with the tides in Delhi. Initial adjustments on living as a paying guest away from home and family is a new experience for many as it’s totally a new phase of life where we enter. It’s a place where new friends and their silly tantrums replace fights and tussles with siblings, where you realise the true value of mom’s incessant screaming over to have a cup of milk or persistent calling by her to clean our wardrobes.

It’s a place where we learn to cater for our needs in our own way. Obviously the care and comfort of home is irreplaceable but we definitely learn how to make ourselves home in the new surroundings with new people. To be on our own is a hard task in the beginning especially when you need your mom to iron your clothes or your dad to give a ride to college every day. Residing as a P.G is a fun filled task when you find pleasure to wake up late without the elders coming to check up upon you at midnight or to watch your favourite television show with nobody to fight for the TV remote.

Staying as a paying guest has many pros when you compare life in a hostel or private rentals. It provides you freedom and independence from the cruel eyes and strictness of hostel wardens and gives the advantage of many basic facilities like food, laundry, refrigerator, television etc. by landlords and maids which one finds hard to cater on our own. Another advantage is that you get much needed social security in a new city when your parents are always worried about your well-being back home and get an opportunity to share your expenses with others which often isn’t available when we stay alone. Though there are pleasures of it, there are often times when we face struggles with roommates who are always not your type or to face an irresponsible landlord who doesn’t care much for its so called ‘guests’. However to live as a paying guest in Delhi when you’re studying or working is a great option for many people who come here. It’s a place where we learn to cross the rivers on our own.

Although mom’s lovely handmade ‘dal-chawal’ is missed yet there is a delight to share the Dominos pizza with your friends to celebrate an occasion. Sharing the stories of college with your brother or sister is truly missed but we always get to find one true pal to narrate all the crazy things that happen in college. Dad is missed when you need some advice in some serious matters or need some more pocket money to buy a new watch which you just checked out on the store but the blessing in disguise is we learn how to deal with the important things and save money to buy the next thing on our bucket-list.

Of course, with the perks offered, there are endless problems such as the inflated charges, bad quality food and accommodation, non co-operative roommates,safety concerns and what not. However, PGs continue to be the most preferred way out by the youth as it provides the right exposure at the right age to make you self dependent. It teaches you prioritizing, concentrating despite of distractions, understanding people, managing routine activities. It gives the learning curve a new direction.

So to all the new and old students living as PGs in Delhi, here’s wishing you all the very best, keep in line with your goal, work for it, keep safe and enjoy the wonderful three years to come!

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DUB Speak

For Germany did not rape Brazil nor was this worse than the holocaust

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Since the time we recognized non consensual sex as a crime, rape has been seen a class apart from any other kind of crime. Deep rooted in classist, racist, sexist perceptions, the society sees rape as the only crime that takes away a person’s “honor”.

Honor. Another controversial term. What is honor? My breasts? My genitalia? For you see, THAT is the extent of trivialization of a term that could be (should be) associated with far more productive things, such as intellectual property or artistic creations or human happiness. But no, of all the things that honor could have been associated with, we chose to associate it with gender, religion, caste, nationality and many such arbitrarily defined concepts that have till now done little to encourage liberal thinking and a questioning attitude. From raping the women of a particular community to shame the community, to consolidating in female figures the burden of protecting “traditional values” by valorizing roles of the mother and the wife and imposing a moral code of conduct upon them seldom applied on men in the same degree; we’ve come a long way in perpetuating and further aggravating misogynist attitudes.

Simply put, rape is the sexual violation of a person/animal without their consent. Any other connotation surrounding this term originates only from stereotypical communal(in the sense of community, not religion) attitudes that seek to “dishonor” some one/thing by making a situation analogous to a rape.

Dishonoring women has been a favorite job of the past, present, and unfortunately by the looks of it, also the future. Assuming women as the inferior sex and extending that logic forward, any kind of domination or victory over another automatically becomes analogous to rape; the sexual domination over a socially weaker being, resulting in a crushing, humiliating defeat. What we’re doing with this analogy is extremely disturbing. We’re describing rape as a category of crime that puts the onus of preservation of “honor” not on the perpetrator, but the victim. It becomes prey to the capitalist construction of competition where there is literally a fight TO WIN. Rape then becomes not a crime per say, but a win/lose situation that culminates with onse side gaining complete mastery over another by virtue of its strength. Unlike murder or theft, which are comparatively less socially misconstrued, rape with all its deep set misogynist ideals, becomes an ideal and befitting example to draw analogies of win/lose, humiliation-subordination and communal victory.

Comments on the rape of Brazil by Germany are just another small drop in the huge wave of misogyny that seems to be spilling all over. It is descriptive of the spectacle like nature of rape, in the sense that it is a social event put up for jeering and leering by the society (against the victim). The weakness of the victim, combined with discriminating perceptions highlight more of the victim than the perpetrator that leads to sensitive event being reduced to a public ridicule. Let us not trivialize life altering events such as rape into a mass spectacle that seek to ridicule the defeated at a public platform and keep the spirit of sport intact. It is high time we try to remove connotations of sexism away from judgments we make in public events

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Sex Amma

Sex Amma: She likes to call out her favourite footballer’s name instead of mine!

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Amma, all is good when my girlfriend and I are doing it until she moans her favourite footballer’s name. It’s a major turn off and has made me hate that player even though he’s one of my favourites.
She feels guilty and tries to make up for it by giving head, which she normally does not do. I don’t know what to feel. Should I continue guilt-tripping her or should I be sterner?

Oh! Another FIFA-fevered machhi! Dear little (or not) rava masala dosa of mine, football makes people do crazy stuff. You should be relieved it’s not a cricketer, Amma can never stand cricket or its fans.

However, your girl might be one of those people who watch football, not just for the love of the game, but also because some of the players..oh, they look absolutely delectable! Can’t blame a girl for imagining the naughty with them hotties. You could scream the player’s name too, that’d confuse her and you both might end up having a good time while you’re, well, having a good time. And hey, maybe you could pretend to be a star footballer, while she acts as a die hard fan. What an inspired idea for role play! Amma is a genius!

I’d suggest you let things be as they are. As soon as FIFA is over, she’ll be back to screaming your name. Take it easy, it’s not so bad. And hey, free and willing head! Win-win!

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Admissions 2014

Delhi University Fourth cut off list: South Campus and off campus colleges

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Delhi University releases fourth cut off list. Many colleges have closed admission for the General category. BCom remains open in Gargi College for General category. The list is valid upto July,12 till 1:00pm

Gargi College: Fourth cut off list

Shaheed Bhagat Singh college: Fourth cut off list

Kamala Nehru College: Fourth cut off list

Deshbandhu college: Fourth cut off list

Zakhir Hussain College: Fourth cut off list

College of Vocational studies: Fourth cut off list

P.G.D.A.V college: Fourth cut off list

Off Campus Colleges:

Aditi Mahavidyalaya: Fourth cut off list

Shyam Lal College: Fourth cut off list

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Admissions 2014

Delhi University Fourth cut off list: North campus colleges

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Delhi University has released the fourth cut off list for admission into colleges. SRCC has admissions open only for the General category.  The following colleges are the ones which have released the cut off as of yet:

Shri Ram College of Commerce: Fourth cut off list

Daulat Ram College: Fourth cut off list

Ramjas College: Fourth cut off list

Hindu college: Fourth cut off list

 

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QWERTY

ASUS Zenfones comes to India : The greatest budget phones

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With a new smartphone launching every other day, you may start believing it’s getting hard to maintain their distinctiveness. Nope! There are a lot of phones around, but some phones are special… Announced earlier this year at CES 2014 by the Taiwanese consumer electronics giant ASUS, the Zenfone series was destined to up the ante & further intensify the competition. The Zenfone triad features Zenfone 4, Zenfone 5 & Zenfone 6, the suffixed digits are based on the screen size!      And, they are here! ASUS launched these smartphones in India this week.

Zenfone 4

Zenfone 4 has two variants, a 4-inch (A400CG) model priced at Rs. 5,999, and a 4.5-inch (A450CG) model for Rs. 6,999. Both feature a dual core 1.2GHz Intel® AtomZ2520 processor (with Quad-Thread Hyper-Threading Technology), making them highly competent. There are two cameras – a full-HD 5MP rear shooter & a basic secondary camera. Apart from the 8 GB internal storage, they support microSD cards upto 64 GB. They are available in five vivacious colors — Pearl White, Charcoal Black,Cherry Red, Sky Blue, Solar Yellow. The 4 inch model comes packs a 1600 mAh battery with a WVGA (480 x 800 Pixels) screen, while the 4.5 incher has a 1750 mAh battery with a FWVGA (854 x 480 Pixels) screen. The battery life should be decent considering the power efficiency of Intel’s processors

ZenFone 5

ZenFone 5 comes with a large 5-inch IPS screen with an excellent resolution of 1280 x 720-pixel (294 ppi). ZenFone 5 has a snappy, energy-efficient Intel Atom Z2580 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, coupled with a 2 GB RAM and sports a brilliant 8-megapixel camera at the back. Its 2-megapixel front camera should yield great selfies! Features like PenTouch, GloveTouch, PixelMaster, etc (refer to Zen-Tastic features below).

Like Zenfone 4, the 8 GB internal storage can be extended using microSD.  The 2110mAh battery makes the runtime decent. Priced at Rs. 9999, Zenfone 5 is a jackpot for sure! It also has a 16 GB variant priced at 12,999 (sweet!)

ZenFone 5 is available in four attractive colors — Charcoal Black, Pearl White, Cherry Red, and Champagne Gold.

Zenfone 6

And now for the biggie! Zenfone 6 boasts a humungous 6 inch screen which is vivid & vibrant, but a screen resolution of 1280×720 pixels for a 6 incher (245 ppi) is nothing exceptional.  At its heart lies a dual core Intel Atom Z2580 generously clocked at 2 GHz topped with 2 gigs of RAM making the device powerful & robust.  The 13 megapixel PixelMaster camera & a front facing 2 MP camera make the device an excellent camera phone! With a capacious battery of 3300mAH the phone shall last long enough. The 16 GB device with expandable storage is power packed with features like ASUS PenTouch, GloveTouch, PixelMaster, etc (refer to Zen-tastic Features below). An exclusive feature is ASUS’ SonicMaster audio technology that enhances user’s music experience.

Priced at only Rs. 16,999, Zenfone 6 is surely a worthy alternative to the expensive flagships!

Zen-tasitic Features: What sets Zenfones apart?

If you were swayed by the pricing and specifications of the Zenfone trio, you will be delighted to know that the best is yet to come! Zenfone’s power is not only in its hardware, but the software that makes it unconventional.

ZenUI:

Zenfones feature a gorgeous new user interface from ASUS — ZenUI. Exclusively for ASUS devices, ZenUI blends extensive functionality with elegant simplicity.  ZenFone knows what you need – it tailors itself on your moods & thoughts.

It also includes a free open messenger, powered by Omlet Chat. That lets users share almost any kind of content easily with anyone, on any phone for free. ZenUI also includes enhanced Android apps for ZenFone, making it more productive. The ASUS email app, for example, allows messages to be read by thread, In the web browser, Smart Reader Mode automatically adjusts the background tone to reduce strain on the eyes, while the Gallery has an enhanced online synchronization. The ZenUI completely redefines user experience. The phones come with jellybean on board and are upgradable to KitKat out of the box, the ZenUi has been optimized for the same as well.

PixelMaster:

PixelMaster is a technology developed by ASUS that combines hardware, software and optical design to deliver better quality images in a variety of scenarios. Its includes :

Low Light Mode: Present in Zenfone 5 and 6, Low Light Mode enables you take clear and  brighter images in low lighting conditions by combining multiple pixels and using image processing algorithms, to increase the light sensitivity by up to 400% and boost color contrast by up to 200%. Surprisngly, this technology is also available for video recording.

High Quality Imaging Hardware:

The imaging hardware of the smartphones are truly extraordinary. The ZenFone 5 uses a Sony BSI CMOS sensor while the ZenFone 6 utilizes a Panasonic BSI CMOS sensor. Both sensors have a pixel size of 1.12µm which is remarkable for its price category, as premium smartphones such as the Galaxy S5 have similar pixel size.

Zenfone 5 & 6 also carry Largan lens, which are used by the Apple iPhones, are The 5-piece lens will deliver clean, sharp photos while the image sensors aids in color accuracy and uniformity. The deployed lens also has an aperture of f/2.0, which enhances the overall low-light sensitivity.

Depth of Field Mode:

The Depth of Field Mode allows you to capture photos with singled isolated subjects set against a blurred background. Similar to the Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2, etc.  where you  hold the phone still for the camera to take multiple shots. In the case of the ZenFone, it will take 2 images after you press the shutter button. This feature is available on the all the three Zenfones.

Selfie Mode:

With selfies being the “in thing” these days, ASUS seems pretty much updated. The front camera on the ZenFone (all)  will automatically detect when the selected number of people are in the frame & begins a countdown before taking 3 photos. You can then select the best shot to save and share with your friends.

Time Rewind:

Same as the Time Shift on BlackBerry 10, Time Rewind takes multiple pics before & after you press the shutter so that the chances of you getting the perfect shot increases dramatically. To be precise, Time Rewind records two seconds prior and one second after the photo is clicked . During this 3 second period, a total of 31 photographs are taken for you to choose from!

Other features like Panosphere, ClearZoom, Smart Remove, Beutification, GIF recording and many more make Zenfones one of the most efficient camera phones – ever!

ASUS PenTouch & GloveTouch:

This technology increase ZenFone’s (5 & 6) display sensitivity, allowing you to use the device with any stylus or even a gloved hand!

Asus cloud:

The Zenfones come with free 5 GB Lifetime ASUS Web Storage. Which is one of the leading corporate cloud storages services

 

Conclusion

With budget phone market constantly expanding as giants like Motorola, Nokia, HTC, etc. decide to develop devices for this category, ASUS Zenfones surely seem to have a bright future. With a splendid synthesis of hardware & software, Asus Zenfone is a phone to watch out for.

ASUS Zenfone is available for preorder on Flipkart with attractive pre-order discounts on Zenfone accessories. Since, it’s a well-established company, the phones would also be available in ASUS stores across the country as well, along with other leading mobile stores.

May you find your Zen!

 

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