Heena Sharma Blog

A Delhi court Wednesday admits defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

WhatsApp on Tuesday launched a service in India where over 200 million users in the country can tip off fake news , misinformation and rumours related to elections. Launched by PROTO, a media skilling start-up, the tipline will help create a database of rumours to study misinformation during elections for Checkpoint -- a research project commissioned by WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned company said in a statement. Dig Deeper Media and Meedan, who have previously worked on misinformation-related projects around the world, are helping PROTO to develop the verification and research frameworks for India. "The goal of this project is to study the misinformation phenomenon at scale -- natively in WhatsApp," said PROTO's founders Ritvvij Parrikh and Nasr ul Hadi. When a WhatsApp user shares a suspicious message with the tipline, PROTO's verification centre will seek to respond and inform the user if the claim made in the message shared is verified or not. The resp...

A family that eats together, stays together, and now, according to a recent study, consistently eating breakfast as a family can also promote positive body image for children and adolescents. The study suggests that parents hoping to raise teenagers with positive body image might just find helpful tools in the kitchen every morning. "We know that developing healthy behaviours in adolescence such as eating breakfast every day and eating family meals can have long-term effects into adulthood. Children and adolescents are under a lot of pressure from social media and pop culture when it comes to physical appearance. Having a healthy relationship with food from eating breakfast and spending meal time with family might have a significant impact on well-being," said Virginia Ramseyer, one of the lead researchers. Researchers analyzed data from more than 12,000 students in more than 300 schools in all 50 states and Washington D.C. They looked at data related to eating ...

If you often share details of your personal life on social media , include your better half in the post to counter its negative effects on your romantic relationship , a study suggests. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Kansas (KU) in the US also found that sharing information online can do more harm to romantic relationships than good. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is the first of its kind to systematically examine how different circumstances can affect whether a partner perceives their loved one's online disclosure to be positive or negative. "Prior research has shown that self-disclosure positively affects offline relationships," said Juwon Lee, a post-doctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. "We wanted to explore whether that would remain the case in an online context, where users can share detailed information with large audiences -- a phenomenon that typically would not be possible in person,...

Despite the widespread use of oral contraceptives (OCPs) by women, many are not aware that it may impair their ability to recognise others' emotional expressions, which may have serious consequences in interpersonal contexts, suggests a new study. The study showed that healthy women who use birth control pills are poorer judges of subtle facial expressions than non-users. "More than 100 million women worldwide use oral contraceptives, but remarkably little is known about their effects on emotion, cognition and behaviour," said senior author Alexander Lischke from the University of Greifswald in Germany. "However, coincidental findings suggest that oral contraceptives impair the ability to recognise emotional expressions of others which could affect the way users initiate and maintain intimate relationships," said Lischke. To investigate the effects of OCPs on women's emotion recognition, the researchers administered a special emotion recognit...

Facebook Monday said it has expanded its third-party fact-checking programme in India, adding names like India Today Group, Factly and Fact Crescendo to the roster, as the social networking giant looks to combat the spread of " fake news " on its platform ahead of general elections this year. Apart from reviewing articles, the US-based company has also equipped checkers with tools to review photos and videos to "help identify and take action against more types of misinformation". "Starting today, India Today Group, Vishvas.news, Factly, Newsmobile, and Fact Crescendo, all of whom are certified through a non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network, will review news stories on Facebook for facts, and rate their accuracy..." Facebook said in a statement. It added that this will be done for content in languages including English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Here's another reason to add physical exercise to your daily routine. According to a recent study, exercising may help fight depression by stimulating muscle-generated mood boosters. According to research, the underlying mechanisms that make us feel good when we exercise, persist into old age and highlight the importance of staying active. "A previous study demonstrated these mechanisms in healthy young adults, however, it was unknown whether the muscle deterioration which accompanies aging would preclude older adults from achieving similar exercise-induced benefits. This could have important implications concerning the use of exercise as a treatment or a preventative strategy for depression in seniors," said David Allison, lead author on the study which was published in the American Journal of Physiology. Muscle loss is a common problem in the elderly, which may restrict that pathway, and therefore increases the risk of mental depression, says Allison. Fo...

Regular aerobic exercise can help in improving thinking skills not only in older people but in young people as well, a recent study suggests. According to the research, regular aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling or climbing stairs may improve thinking skills not only in older people but in young people as well. The study also found that the positive effect of exercise on thinking skills may increase as people age. The specific set of thinking skills that improved with exercise is called executive function. Executive function is a person's ability to regulate their own behavior, pay attention, organise and achieve goals. "As people age, there can be a decline in thinking skills, however our study shows that getting regular exercise may help slow or even prevent such decline. We found that all participants who exercised not only showed improvements in executive function but also increased the thickness in an area of the outer layer of their brain," said...

When entrepreneurs feel exhausted but don't have enough time to catch up on adequate hours of sleep, they can replenish their energy with mindfulness exercises such as meditation , a recent study suggests. While mindfulness exercises cannot work as a substitute to the goodness of sleep, according to the researchers, the exercises might help compensate and provide a degree of relief. "As little as 70 minutes a week, or 10 minutes a day, of mindfulness practice may have the same benefits as an extra 44 minutes of sleep a night," said Charles Murnieks, lead author of the study. Entrepreneurs are generally defined as people involved in the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of new business opportunities, often with a stake in the ownership of new ventures. Entrepreneurship can be exhilarating, but it also can be difficult, stressful and tiring work. "You can only work so hard for so long," Murnieks said. Finding of the study were published in the ...

Fathers experience more well-being and satisfaction than mothers in their parenthood and even when interacting with their children, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of California in the US analysed three separate studies consisting of 18,000 people that looked at the scale of happiness, psychological satisfaction, depressive symptoms and stress among others. The first two studies compared the well-being of parents with that of people who do not have children. The findings published in the journal "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin", showed that fathers reported greater satisfaction with their lives and feelings of connectedness to others. They also reported greater positive emotions and fewer daily hassles than mothers, or relatives or peers without children. They even showed fewer depressive symptoms than men without children, whereas mothers reported more depressive symptoms than women who do not have children. Read ...

Adults who have negative experiences on social media tend to report loneliness, a recent study suggests. According to the research, positive interactions on social media are not making young adults feel more connected, whereas negative experiences increase the likelihood of them reporting loneliness . "Social media is, seemingly, about connecting people. So it is surprising and interesting that our investigations reveal social media being linked to loneliness," said lead author Brian Primack. According to Primack, perceived social isolation, which is a synonym for loneliness, is associated with poor health outcomes, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and depression. Because social media is so pervasive, it is critically important that we understand why this is happening and how we can help people navigate social media without as many negative consequences. As part of the study, Primack and his team surveyed 1,178 West Virginia University studen...

According to a recent study, a few minutes of stair climbing at short intervals throughout the day can improve cardiovascular health . The research published in the Journal Applied Physiology suggests that virtually anyone can improve their fitness, anywhere, any time by ditching elevators and taking the stairs. "The findings make it even easier for people to incorporate 'exercise snacks' into their day. Those who work in office towers or live in apartment buildings can vigorously climb a few flights of stairs in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening and know they are getting an effective workout," said Martin Gibala, lead author of the study. "We know that sprint interval training works, but we were a bit surprised to see that the stair snacking approach was also effective. Vigorously climbing a few flights of stairs on your coffee or bathroom break during the day seems to be enough to boost fitness in people who are otherwise sedentary," s...

Searching for ways to avoid getting sick this winter? Regular exercises and meditation may help ward off cold and flu, a study says. The study published in the journal PLoS One included 390 adults who were divided into three groups. The first group undertook meditation classes for eight weeks, while the second took exercise classes for eight weeks. The third group took neither of the classes. However, all the groups had to receive flu shots . According to Madison.com, the maximum numbers of cold and flu incidents were recorded in the third group, where the members had to miss 105 working days due to 134 respiratory infection episodes. Meanwhile, the meditation group had 112 respiratory infection episodes, for which they missed 73 days of work and the exercise group had 120 episodes and missed 82 days of work. However, exercises and meditation enabled the meditation group to cope up with the cold and flu situation by 17 per cent, while the exercise-only group could ...

Post-natal depression in fathers is linked to emotional problems for their teenage daughters, a study has found. Almost one in 20 new fathers suffered depression in the weeks after their child was born, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study, based on a sample of over 3,000 families in Bristol, UK, also identified a link between post-natal depression in men and depression in their daughters as they reached adulthood . At 18, girls whose fathers had experienced depression after their birth were themselves at greater risk of the condition, said Professor Paul Ramchandani from the University of Cambridge in the UK. The "small but significant" increased risk applied only to daughters; sons were not affected, said Ramchandani. One reason for this "handing on" effect could be that post-natal depression in fathers is sometimes linked with an increased level of maternal depression, researchers said. Read More ...

Inculcating severe food restrictions can lead to binge-eating disorder and obesity, a new study has found. It is important to examine potential links between binge-eating disorder and food insecurity, as binge-eating is associated with more severe mental and physical health problems than overeating or obesity alone. To investigate, researchers surveyed 1,250 adults in the United States and categorised them into three groups: healthy weight, binge-eating disorder, and obesity. The team assessed financial influences on participants' food consumption behaviours over a span of 12 months. As part of the study, which was published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, a greater proportion of individuals within the binge-eating disorder and obesity groups reported that they cut the size of their meal or skipped meals, and ate less than they thought they should, relative to participants in the healthy weight group. Read More Business Standard

Being anxious or depressed can increase risks for heart disease and stroke, the same as smoking and obesity, according to a new study, that underscores the importance of treating mental health conditions. The findings showed that people with high levels of anxiety and depression are at 65 per cent higher risk for a heart condition, 64 per cent for stroke, 50 per cent for high blood pressure and 87 per cent for arthritis. "These increased odds are similar to those of participants who are smokers or are obese," said lead author Andrea Niles, from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). However, the study published in the journal Health Psychology, showed that cancer was found as an exception to conditions impacted by depression and anxiety. "Our findings are in line with a lot of other studies showing that psychological distress is not a strong predictor of many types of cancer," said co-author Aoife O'Donovan from the UCSF. Read ...

Technology today has become a new way of living and is entrenched in every facet of modern human life. The internet, mobile phones, computers and various other tools of information management have completely changed the way how people live, learn, interact and work. Youngsters today are already exposed to various digital tools and are driving innovation in the technology sector. This has resulted in a mindshift of sorts in the education sector, with more and more institutions around the world realising the importance of adopting technology in the classroom. In the last five years digital literacy has risen beyond just being a buzzword, emerging as one of most important concepts in modern education. Here's a checklist of what's essential : * Terminology Without the ability to understand the relevant terminology, digital literacy can be a daunting endeavor. When students understand the various terms related to technology, using it becomes far more easier. It ...

Playing Sudoku or crosswords may not arrest age-related mental decline, as earlier studies suggested, but can boost mental ability over a lifetime, shows a research. The new study challenged previous studies that suggested mental agility can be maintained or improved by exercising the mind with such brain teasers. Led by a team from the University of Aberdeen in the UK, the study found that such activities had no effect on the rate of mental decline associated with ageing. However, regularly engaging in intellectual activities boosts mental ability throughout life, providing a "higher cognitive point" from which to decline. The study, published in the BMJ, did not show that they decline any slower. Read More Business Standard

Graphic warning labels on cigarette ads, which contain images such as bleeding, cancerous gums and lips, can effectively deter children from smoking, a study has found. Such labels cancel out the effect of ads that prompt children to think of smoking as cool, rebellious and fun, according to a study published in the journal Health Education Research. "This study suggests the value of graphic warning labels extends beyond just getting people to have more negative feeling about smoking," said Jeff Niederdeppe, an associate professor at Cornell University in the US. "It also seems to have the added benefit of reducing the influence of 'social cue' ads that entice young people to want to smoke in the first place," said Niederdeppe. Researchers studied the graphic warning labels' effect on 451 adult smokers and 474 middle schoolers in rural and urban low-income communities in the Northeast. Read More Business Standard

Yo-yo dieting , or weight cycling, or the cyclical loss and gain of weight is associated with a higher death risk, researchers have warned. A study found that this form of dieting leads to adverse health outcomes and 80 per cent of people who lose weight gradually regain either the same weight or even more than they had before going on a diet. The Endocrine Society's Scientific statement on the causes of obesity found that this was because once an individual loses weight, the body typically reduces the amount of energy expended at rest, during exercises and daily activities. While it increases hunger, thereby creating conditions for weight gain. "This study shows that weight cycling can heighten a person's risk of death," said Hak C. Jang, Professor from the Seoul National University (SNU) in South Korea. Read More Business Standard