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June 2015

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One of the biggest bafflement a commerce student faces, during admission time, is whether to pursue B.Com. or Economics. To begin with, you are spoilt for choice since you’ve got the option of choosing between two of the most prestigious subjects that DU offers.

A lot of people decide between the two courses based on their interest/marks in class 12th in Accounts and Economics. Just to make things very clear, there is a lot of difference between what you study in college and what you studied in school. Speak to college students, teachers and the Internet.

The popular notion of B.Com. and Economics having similar topics is false; there is vast difference in the courses. B.Com. is a generalised course which combines accountancy, economics and business studies. Economics, on the other hand, is a specialised course which deals with rational behavior and making the best choice with limited resources.

B.Com. opens up avenues for the field of Chartered Accountancy, Finance, Business Entrepreneurship, Company Secretaryship and Law. It also gives you a boast to look into management, IT and academics. Economics is a builder for jobs in the policy making, corporate sector, developmental sector and key specialized areas. It also allows you to take up IES services after post-graduation in the subject.
Economics requires a lot of usage of maths and statistics. So if you are not big fans of these subjects, three years of graduation can be very tough with them. Commerce, on the other hand, is 60% theoretical, give or take.

Commerce comprises of trading commodities of economic value such as goods, services, information or money between two or more entities. Commerce works as the mechanism which drives capitalism and certain other economic systems. Economics is the branch of social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Do your homework before deciding because this shall affect your future. Chalk out a list of your interests and compare it with the subjects offered by the two courses. Get hold of the Under-Graduation syllabus to get a better view.

Important Links

Commerce

Course content: http://goo.gl/8aygAA

Unconventional further study options: https://dubeat.com/?p=26724

Economics

Course content: http://goo.gl/arDd4e

Unconventional further study options: https://dubeat.com/?p=27081

 

All the best for the admission season!

Ishita Sharma

[email protected]

Everyone gets tired of lazing around for weeks after exams end or going through the same old routine of binge-watching TV shows and movies. Even internships often leave you with too much time on your hands.
Summer is the best time to break out those supplies and get your hands a little dirty by trying out a few DIY projects. We bring you a few ideas collected from the interweb to get you started:

1. Fandom Shirts (.. or any t-shirts really)

Fandom shirts Image Credits: pinterest.com
Fandom shirts
Image Credits: pinterest.com

All of us have those few fandoms we associate ourselves with (more like cry and rant about, amirite?) and love to flaunt. Well, being a broke college student often gets in the way of buying good quality fandom merchandise, let alone buy original merchandise. If you’re also unfortunate enough to love a band that is not very popular, you’re doomed to drooling over merchandise and grumble about shipping fees.. Right? Well, not anymore! Use all this free time to make yourself some fandom merchandise to flaunt in college during the next semester.

What you need: cardboard/plastic sheets (to cut out stencils), cutter, bleach/acrylic paint, spray bottle
This is pretty much the easiest thing to do since you just need to print out a picture or letters (if you’re going to write a quote/word) and paste them on the cardboard to cut out stencils. It is recommended to use easily distinguishable symbols which can be cut as stencils easily and recognised through their outlines, like the TARDIS for Doctor Who fans or the mockingjay pin for Hunger Games fans. Use a bleach (discolours the cloth) or acrylic paint in a spray bottle to spray in or around the stencil. Let it dry off and voila! You have yourself handmade fandom shirts!

2. Cords Roll

Cords Roll Image Credits: pinterest.com
Cords Roll
Image Credits: pinterest.com

If you’re anything like a lot of college students I know, your charger, earphones, USB cords are probably lying all tangled up either at the bottom of your bag or somewhere in a distant drawer. This is an easy and simple project to make yourself a cool place to store all your cords which, even if you throw at the bottom of your bag, will make them easier to find. Moreover, you won’t have to spend 10 minutes detangling them before use.
What you need: A patch of real/fake leather or any hard fabric, knife/cutter, snap buttons
Get all the cords you want to place in this roll and put them side-by-side to measure how long it needs to be. Cut out the fabric accordingly and make sure to leave one end cut out in a pointed triangular shape so that you can use this to close the roll (as shown in the picture). Make small cuts at regular interval to place your cords between them. In the end, stitch/glue the snap buttons and you have your portable cord roll!

3. Fabric covered hardcover books/journals

Fabric covered harcover books Image Credits: twotwentyone.com
Fabric covered hardcover books
Image Credits: twotwentyone.com

If you like hoarding hardcover books or have some at hand and want to give them a snazzy, personalised look, this project is for you. This also makes for an excellent present for your friends who are bibliophiles.
What you need: Colourful fabric lying around your home, hardcover books, scissors, fabric glue
The procedure is pretty much the same as that for covering books and notebooks for school using brown paper. Start by ironing the fabric to remove any creases. Cut out an appropriate piece, such that the book will be covered easily and it neatly reaches the insides too. Use a glue gun or fabric glue to put on the fabric. Keep in mind to cut out slits while covering the spine of the book so that you can slide the fabric inside from the top and bottom to give it a snug look.

4. Journal

Journal pages Image Credits: johwey.com
Journal pages
Image Credits: johwey.com

Before you scroll down, no, I don’t mean the journal where you record your entries daily about your day or start off endearing confessions with “Dear Diary..”. If you want to do that, of course, you’re welcome to but the new age journal keeping is a lot more diverse and allows for a lot of creativity. Allow me to explain.
What you need: A journal/notebook, that is it because the rest is upto you
This is fun and easy because your only aim is to fill the pages according to what you want. Do you like quotes or lyrics? Get a few nice pens and scribble them out. Try a few fonts, even experiment with different mediums like watercolour. Did you see a pretty pattern in a magazine you think is cool? Cut it out and paste it. Did you go sightseeing to monuments or to watch a movie? Keep the ticket stubs and put it in the journal. The main aim of journal-keeping is to record things you find interesting and would like to look back on. It’s completely upto you to keep it as plain, colourful, glittery or pictorial as you want.

5. Cool hairpins

Hairpins Image Credits: themerrythought.com
Hairpins
Image Credits: themerrythought.com

If you like to adorn your tresses with cool accessories, this is a really appropriate project. Give up the (frankly) tacky designs in stores and make your own minimalistic style statement!
What you need: hair pins, plywood/plastic sheet, Feviquick/super-glue, cutter/knife
This project works excellently with bits and pieces of plywood lying around if you’ve recently had some carpentering done at your place. Cut up small shapes (triangles are the easiest to cut out, just FYI) and paint them with nailpaint to give them a glossy finish and glue it onto the heads of the hair pins. If you have glitter on you, feel free to use it to add more embellishments.

These are only a few of the many, many things you can try out this summer. Have fun and get crackin’!

Feature Image Credits: jimkw.com

Shubham Kaushik
[email protected]

1. Politics begin to interest you more and you start keeping track. Unless you were a hardcore political lover from the beginning, admit it, this is a new found interest for you.  You start following news articles and watch channels to keep updated on the latest issues and finally understand what all the ministers are there for. Having likeminded or people with the same interests as yours (talking about classmates and department people here) you get a chance to discuss all the information you have digested, form your own opinions about them and grow your knowledge about the state of politics in the nation and around the world. On the other hand, if you had consciously chosen political science and have already been doing all the above since you could understand news, then you have probably developed a wider understanding of the ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ of the polity.

2. You learn to think critically of every issue that you come across.

One of the benefits of studying the subject is that you learn to develop a critical mindset. You do not willingly accept everything that you hear and learn to question every policy or programme put forward by an authority whether it be the college political party’s or the governments’. Repeated practice of putting up debates or counter debates in class lectures helps polish this line of thinking.

3. People assume you know the Constitution of the country like the back of your hand.

Yes, we are students of political science and no, we do not know the constitution by heart. It is not necessary that we know each and every law there is out there.  It has been in my experience that people have asked me numerous times what certain laws and rights are. Although I have been more than happy to give them a satisfactory answer (and at times blank looks) all knowledge about rights and regulations are not always on the tip of our tongue.

4. “Political Science? Oh so you are joining the civil services!”

This happens more than a lot. Maybe not just for Pol. Science students but it’s a definitely for us. Sometimes there is not even an ‘if’, just a “Have you started preparing?”. Although once in class almost everybody raised their hands when the teacher asked for civil service aspirants, it does not hold true for all. It is no secret that many of us have taken major in this subject because it was the best option for us given our percentage. Pol. Science is not just a stepping stone to conquering the UPSC exams. I have seen many students who are more interested in other activities like photography or doing social service. It is just one of the many assumptions that we have to deal with.

5. You slowly develop your own political philosophy and your set of beliefs about the world.

Reading about Marx, Kant, the works of Mill and other thinkers of the political world and their ideologies, beliefs and theories puts before us a plethora of conceptions to go through. At times we find ourselves agreeing with some and at sometimes not so much. Over time, as we articulate our thoughts and views we find them parallel to the views of some other thinker. And as such, slowly we develop our own ideologies, political or otherwise. Political Science as a subject can be really challenging and given the vast nature of the subject, sometimes it may seem like an impossible feat. Even for the subject lovers who might at times be daunted by the vastness of the course, the circling conceptions and debates which do not have definite answers. But at the end of the day, it helps us see the world in a different light and with a new found understanding which is worth it. Featured image credits: www.itimes.com Arindam Goswami [email protected]]]>

“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime!”  – Kenny Chesney.

Summer is mangoes and grandmothers, summer is long afternoons and lemonade…summer is the ideal getaway.

So, where are you headed to?  To grandma’s courtyard of childhood memories or the mountains which beckon with their chill laden breeze? The seaside if you crave tans and burns or just your bed with a great book to read? And then there are those with day long internships, not to forget the right-after-exams summer schools in tow. What then is the ideal summer? What’s your sweet escape?

Here, after long consultations with friends, foes and other animals, is the perfect summer recipe. Your kind of summer, with your kind of spice!

For the conventional:

As put by a former Outlook Traveller editor, hill stations are a swirl of social, commercial and political energy -and garbage and cement. Hence, off the beaten track we go. On the hit list is Paro, a tranquil retreat in that country of happy people- Bhutan. (Travel tip- traveling to Bhutan doesn’t require passports and visas if the North Bengal road route is taken). But, for us lone backpackers and shoe-string budget students, if Paro be struck off the list, take to the scenic lake town of Mirik and not Darjeeling, to Landour and Dhanaulti for sun and sport and not Mussoorie, to Munshiyari and not Shimla. Make it a memorable summer, like Rusty, with deodar and pine.

For the experimental:

Absolutely recommended is a cruise down the Sunderbans, it’s different, it’s great!

Why wait?

For the busy, for us:

In the middle of those summer classes and CAT preparations, find an extended weekend and pack that lousy backpack. Board a dusty bus and clear your muddled head. For this breakaway trip, we recommend students’ hostels, an example being Zostel- the student friendly travel and accommodation start-up. With great destinations and greater experiences, this is your economy package. Not your Rusty summer but a Kipling, perhaps.

And if you were that workaholic intern, make getaways within the city itself. It’s a beautiful mosaic, of the old and the new. Walk by the Lodi tombs, walk to St. James Church. In spite of the heat, this city has great haunts.

For the lazy, for all:

Stay home, have lemonade, sweat the summer away.

Go to the beach- bathe, relax, burn, bathe.

Go to the mountains, forget your phone behind.

Vacationing is not about trains and planes; vacationing is taking time off.

 

I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” – Keats

 

And that is why the summer matters.

 

Alankrita Anand

[email protected]

Image credits:  imgkid.com

here. The Quarantine Zone While we don’t want to spoil the game for you by telling the plot, the basic setting of the game is a Zombie Apocalypse in which the players are trapped in a quarantine zone, which they have to escape by solving riddles, puzzles, decoding messages and opening locks. The game requires logic, teamwork and communication to solve it in a time of 1 hour. The room and props were quite thematic and fitting giving it the look of virus-infected quarantine zone. 2-6 players are generally recommended for each game but we would personally recommend more than 3 people to play it together, as it can be extremely challenging for a few people. The game will, without a doubt, overwhelm you at many points and trust us, you’ll be impressed by your own ability to solve the mysteries! The game is one of a kind, and a much needed break from the monotony of any other indoor games you’d consider to play with friends. Regardless of the fact whether you’re able to escape it or not, you’ll be perhaps spending the most unique hour with friends. Cost: The cost per person is 600 rupees and unfortunately you can only play a game once (since the game remains unchanged) Location: Ctrl Shift Esc is located in the Hauz Khas Village, just beside Kunzum Café and opposite Kolkatta Rolls.   Kartikeya Bhatotia [email protected]]]>

Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news!

Four university students allegedly dealing in selling Maggi to other hungry students near the university campus were suspended for a period yet undetermined by the varsity. “The University has always vehemently condemned acts of illegal nature and although we are empathetic to the plight of the students we cannot act otherwise” said a senior member of the teacher’s body. In his defence, one of the suspended argued, ”I thought I could help a lot many people you know. Save them from starving. So what if i make a little money out of it?”  With a ban on the ‘rescue snack’ many students are in dilemma as to what will feed their mouths. Canteens in DU have reported mass decline in sales and menu cards have undergone massive transformation as well. “We have nothing to feed them” said a distressed canteen manager deploring the loss of their best-seller.

Meanwhile there has been no news of the owner of ‘Tom Uncle’s Maggi point’ who has not been seen at his regular since the last few days. One of the most famous Maggi joints inside the campus, it was known for selling varieties of the same. According to sources he has been trying to sell off the last of his stock to anyone who will buy it. The varsity has since ordered an area wise sweep of the campus to locate any shops selling the product, within a 500 metre radius. These shops will be instructed to switch to another product, failing which they will be asked to leave the campus. For students the university has ordered a week long suspension for anyone found with a packet or more. Such are the new conditions which DU faces.  Such an ordinance is expected to be a tough trial on everyone.

Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost-believable fake news!

Feature Image- www.sodelhi.com

It’s summer again, the time of the year when we venture out to try new fields, take up hobbies and recreate. So be sure to add Dancing to your bucket list this break with these brilliant summer workshops in Delhi!

1. Shiamak Dawar’s Summer Funk

That’s right kids, Shiamak Dawar performing arts institute is opening up new batches for training in ‘Electronic Dance Music’ where students will groove to Trans music. This summer programme is multicity and is open for dancers in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. Shiamak’s institute has long running reputation of providing rigorous training and has a special group called ‘Special Potential Batch’.  Summer funk 2 has enrolments starting next week, be there in time!

shiamak 1

2. Hip Hop Dance classes at Big Dance Centre and The DanceWorx

For all the hip hop junkies out there this is a golden chance to learn some new moves, NYC style. Donny aka Mr. Ram Pradeep is taking up teaching at Big Dance Centre in June, and he is also taking hip hop workshops all over Delhi at The DanceWorx. So make sure to catch him in action as he is an experienced trainer with many years of teaching. Plus he specializes in hip hop and funk, so this is a chance some of us hip hop lovers can’t afford to miss! He will be seen next in Gurgaon centre of The Dx on 9th June!

bdc 2

3. Big Dance Centre: Professional Dance Study Program

Big Dance Centre is hosting a professional training program with some of its foreign guest faculty. The open classes take place on 12th, 13th and 14th June. Be sure to enrol and reap the benefits of a rare training experience.

bdc 1

4. Art Nation: The Summer edition

A mega dance workshop organised by Art Vibe and Vedas is coming our way towards the end of June! The list of faculty includes the DU alumnus Gaurav and Chandni from Shri Venkateshwara College, who made it big after graduation which adds to the excitement as the sheer number and variety of styles going to be taught in this event are overwhelming and yet this is not all! There is also a surprise guest faculty at the event. Hyperventilating with excitement yet?

10926178_402475396603505_5300193439001730157_o

This list includes some of the upcoming opportunities for training in dance, but these are not all. There are many more institutes offering many more exciting programs and styles. So keep looking and keep dancing!

Tarushi Varma
[email protected]

University of Delhi will be conducting its Joint Admission Test for BMS/BBA(FIA) and BA(Hons.) Business Economics on Sunday, 20th June 2016.

The exam is only the first stage of the admission process where its weightage is 45% along with 40% weightage given to the 12th Board scores and 7.5% given to both the interview and group discussion round. Read more about the seat breakup and other crucial details from our previous report here.

According to the Admission Brochure given by DU, –

– The exam will have 120 questions to be attempted in 120 minutes
– Each question will be objective type multiple choice based.
– The exam will be take place from 3PM TO 5PM 6th June 2016.
– Each correct answer will get the candidate 3 marks and every incorrect answer will get them 1 negative mark.
– The question paper will be divided into 4 sections.
Here is a detailed section-wise guide I have made based on my experience of giving 2014 JAT –

1. Quantitative Ability

This section will contain questions from the 11th and 12th Maths syllabi. Questions from the 12th class Math syllabus won’t be that challenging, although you might want to brush up on Relations and Functions as many people skip it as it doesn’t have much weightage in the board exams, 5 questions are expected to be coming from Relations and Functions.

3-D Geometry is another unit you might want to prepare as it might contain 4-5 questions.
From the 11th Class syllabus, Sets and Permutations and Combinations are important units to be covered. Probability is a unit which spans both the 11th and 12th syllabi, therefore it is expected to be a major part of the Quantitative Ability section. Questions involving dice and deck of cards are expected to come.

2. Reasoning and Analytical Ability

This section will include reasoning and assertion based questions. It is also expected to contain a subsection of either a bar graph or chart and 8-10 questions based on analysis of that graph. Any data interpretation book will help you to practice questions which might appear in this section.

3. General English

This section’s name might make you think that it will be easy to attempt but it might prove to be the toughest for many people.
It will contain a reading comprehension subsection containing at least 5 questions which is considerably easy to attempt and does not need much preparation. 5 questions are expected to be idiom-based so learning basic English idioms may help. 5 direct vocabulary questions are also expected. For the vocabulary questions, research previous year papers and other exams (for example: CLAT) and identify and learn important words from there, this is the best shot to score in vocabulary as mugging up hundreds of words at this point will not benefit you. Fill in the blanks and one word substitution are also expected to come and are considerably easy and do not require practice.

4. Business and General Awareness

This section will contain direct general knowledge based questions. Since this section does not require much thinking, do not give too much time attempting it.

The main feature of General Awareness is that most of it contains ‘static general knowledge’ based questions. Popular questions in this section are along the lines of product and their companies. Start memorizing what product is produced by which company (your shampoo bottle,your shoes, clothes etc) and taglines of products and companies. Memorize what banks are nationalized and important international days  (Eg: Women’s day, Earth Day, AIDS Awareness Day)
Look up where popular companies’ headquarters are located, memorize important international and national prize winners of the current and previous years (eg: Nobel Prize, Bharat Ratna)

Some other helpful tips-
– Attempt the General Awareness and English section first as they require lesser thinking than the other two sections, this will give you more time to devote to the time consuming math problems. Be careful of the question numbering in the OMR sheet, though.

– I personally recommend you NOT to wild guess. Other exams generally have a 4:1 ratio of positive and negative marking however this exam has a 3:1 ratio so you have more to lose.

– A very repetitive tip but if you’re stuck on a question, leave it. It will be a challenge to attempt 120 questions in 120 minutes, utilize the time carefully.

All the best!

I’ve always had a knack of reading, rummaging through the pages to find beauty, truth and happiness. I have smelt the pages before perusing the text, wept for hours after reading unhappy endings, loved recycled, yellow pages more than anything in the world. Belonging to a family of voracious readers, I was always given more books to read than toys to play with. It became an inherent passion, to fall in love with words without distinguishing among poetry, vignettes, novellas, novels and so on. I’ve adored books so much to the point that before I knew it, I subconsciously chose English Literature as my major, fluttered to another city and in the blink of an eye, completed two years already.

I’ve been procrastinating for a while now and after I was asked to write this article I was filled with umpteen thoughts that made me realize how blessed this journey has been. Opting for English Honours was a blessing in disguise and I’ve been basking in the glory of this odyssey ever since its inception. This course has molded me into a completely different person, from a lover of literature to a connoisseur of arts. It has metamorphosed my thoughts, perception, interests and priorities. But all these have been positive attributes and for those about to begin a journey similar to mine, I vouch for its goodness. Below are some points that we all will relate completely to.

  1. The stereotypes were false-General opinions about this course have always existed and the most common ones have been these adages, ‘It’s all about reading books’, ‘Dude, you just gotta read a novel and give the exam’. While these may seem true, this is not actually the case. The course is not about reading one novel per semester but covering a plethora of literary genres with ample amount of books under each of those. We don’t just read one book per semester; we read around ten to fifteen. Our exams are about writing pages after pages to the point that it hurts and a percentage above 60% is considered to be the best grade one could get. Hence, unlike other courses, we don’t strive for securing a good percentage every semester; we toil for acquiring knowledge in different eras of literary history.
  2. A Tumbluresque life –  I know I just made up that word but my artistic license will make up for it. We live for quotes that will take our breath away and make us crave for more. I have an unhealthy obsession for quotes that have made me addicted to Goodreads and Tumblr. I spend hours in my room just reading excerpts from books and suppressing the urge to post everything on Facebook or captioning it for an Instagram post. And all that has lead me to Tumblr. It’s an amazing platform where we can let out our thoughts without the fear of having a compulsive disorder. Our life revolves around Goodreads, Tumblr, berlin-artparasites and similar platforms which feed us literature in tidbits. We also don’t watch movies before actually reading a book and while watching a movie, we always annoy the person sitting next to us by pointing out the differences.
  3. Eras, not Genres. Kinds, not writers. –  As an English major, I have formally given the habit of reading books according to particular genres. We read books according to eras be it Victorian or Romantic or Elizabethan and so on. We also don’t focus much on different writers, than we do on the kind of book. We don’t just limit ourselves to reading novels but graphic novels (read books that have pictures), epics (read poems that are too long to handle), dramas (read always fun to enact). And before I even knew it, my favourite books became Animal Farm and Lolita and Lord of The Rings quietly took a step backward in the book shelf.  We also don’t read books from one perspective but see them through various lenses often noticing the subaltern voices and analyzing through their eyes. That’s just who we are, we notice the suppressed and strive to empower them.
  4. The festivals have changed – As a kid, I was always excited about the arrival of festivals be it Diwali, Christmas, Holi, etc. You name it and I was enthusiastic about it. As a college student, I have been most excited about book fairs. My favourite festivals of the year are Delhi Book fair, Jaipur Literature Festival and National Book fair. Not just that, all my savings are spent on collecting books from the Sunday book Market at Daryaganj running around in scorching heat trying to get every book in my wishlist in 40-50 rupees. It doesn’t matter how long it takes for me to read them but the fact that they’re in my room comforts me. The love is irrevocable and obsession is hard to let go.
  5. Beauty is truth and truth is beauty – This beautiful quote by Keats completely explains our quest for knowledge and truth. As an English major, I’ve seen my peers and I getting closer to nature with every passing day. This course has made me notice the beauty of sadness, destruction, death and even beautiful things like nature, landscapes and things likewise.

We’ve felt a constant urge to explore cities, know more about people’s lives and explore untraveled paths where our poetries could become true and the stories we’ve read would make more sense. That’s the joy of being an English student. And that’s the sense of completeness you’ll receive too.

SudishaMisra [email protected]

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CyberMedia, the largest specialty media house in South Asia and amongst India’s top five magazine brands, is looking for Digital Marketing Executives.

Profiles:

Executive, Digital Marketing and Senior Executive, Digital Marketing

Education:

Graduate in any stream (B Tech./ MCA/ Computer Science is an added advantage)

Experience:

6 months- 2 years for Executive and 1- 4 years for Senior Executive

Skills Required:

– Adsense knowledge: Know-how of Adsense account optimization, website monetisation expert.
– Knowledge of ad placements/optimization, DFP, adv. exchange
– Knowledge of SEO techniques and keyword optimisation, with a record of successful SEO implementation
-Knowledge of social media optimization, especially FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+
-Competitor analysis

The last date to apply is 10 July, 2015.
To apply and for more information, interested candidates can send their resume to [email protected]