Ad-vantage negative

This is an old trusted and tried technique of advertising copywriters. In an ostensible attempt to appear honest, a negative aspect of the product is brought out. This helps in establishing credibility in the minds of readers. In the same vein, riding the wave of credibility built earlier, a tall positive claim about the product is made and it gets smoothly pushed down the unsuspecting throat of the target.

"Our new township offers the most stunning bargain for state-of-the-art housing in the priceless prime locality of the city."

That is obviously difficult to swallow. Compare this with:

"Yes, the project no doubt tags along the highest EMI in the area (true) but it no doubt offers the most stunning bargain for state-of-the-art housing in the priceless prime locality of the city.(made to appear true) "

Digital Photography

Photography is not really an area of expertise I fancy but it certainly interests me. I have handled 2-3 types of cameras (is it the correct plural form?) though that hardly suffices to call me an amateur photographer.

Of course now every other guy or gal wielding a mobile phone is an amateur photographer and at times I too yield to temptations of clicking a shot or two. These photos are low res and with all sorts of limitations but if the subject /object photographed is potent enough, one can coolly console one’s discerning mind to a gratifying complacency.

That in short, is my brush with “digital photography.” Nevertheless that doesn’t stop me from subscribing to email posts by dps or webshots pro-tips for that matter.

I have my humble philosophy in the matter. “Everything is picturesque and everything is photogenic.”

दिल की नज़र से दुनिया को देखो
दुनिया सदा हि हसीं है

And I agree that photography, like drawing and painting, is a humane attempt to perpetuate that which is going to whither away with time. A mere chemotherapy in a bid to an incremental extension of life.

But it is also a way of expressing your viewpoint. The way you frame and appreciate life, which you want to share with others. It certainly helps you freeze the moment at least till the life of the photograph (or digital data) but more than that it also records the unique way of perceiving you registered at the moment of clicking the photo.

(Photo Credit : Kaustubh on Nokia N-72)

To 'educate' means 'to draw out'

Open-ended questions is an important evaluation technique. It is employed in many fields like education, counselling, mediation, sales, investigative work, therapy and journalism . The oft repeated question on reality TV shows "How do you feel" is a classic example of unavoidable open-ended question.

In an earlier post we had discussed Constructed Questions which may be considered as a special case of open ended questions.

Multiple choice questions are closed-ended questions that expect a short or single-word answer. As opposed to this, an open-ended question elicits a comprehensive answer forcing the student to delve deep into his/her own knowledge bank and express himself/herself fully.

"What's the make of the pen you are using?" is a typical closed ended question. A corresponding open ended question could be, "Isn't that an interesting pen ?"

Open-ended questions are intended to be less leading than closed-ended questions. This makes both answering and evaluating them a matter of some expertise. This page explains how open-ended questions can be used by maths teachers. An interesting paper can be found here, which illustrates the creative and graphic use of open-ended questions for basic maths.

Open-ended questions play an important role in evaluating students. "To measure how well a student performs, teachers have to be able to examine the process, not just the final product." Open-ended questions make students construct their own responses and the answers they give reflect their thinking and understanding.

Sadly, in an attempt to make school education more accommodating, open-ended questions are getting neglected thereby potentially stunting the expressive abilities of students' minds in their formative stages.

The medium and the message

Many of my friends frown upon the use of the term "vernacular." It is a term generally used in India for denoting the linguistic medium of schooling when it is other than English.

Regardless of the various shades of meaning and connotations with which the term is employed, it might be interesting to look at the etymology of the word. It is the language of Verna - "home-born slave" (Not servant, mind you, but 'slave'). A word of Etruscan origin.

The word is no more used in respectable and politically correct discourse. But many of us continue to do so, especially those, who think it elegant and royal to flaunt colonial legacies.

It is fashionable these days, to scoff at schooling in regional languages as "low quality education." Time and again N number of experts and educationists have preached to the contrary. But unfortunately the vernacular mentality of the neo-colonists has been propagating lies among the innocent.

I'd like to draw your attention to a UNESCO study titled "The importance of mother tongue-based schooling for educational quality" under The Quality Imperative, by Carole Benson (2004)

The study addresses various myths like :

The one nation—one language myth.

The myth that local languages cannot express modern concepts.

The myth, which holds that bilingualism causes confusion and that the first language must be pushed aside so that the second language can be learned.

The L2 as global language myth.

The myth that parents want L2-only schooling.

"Instruction through a language that learners do not speak has been called “submersion” (Skutnabb-Kangas 2000) because it is analogous to holding learners under water without teaching them how to swim;" quotes the paper.