Predicting the Premier League’s Top Scorer

scorer prediction

Predicting the Premier League’s Top Scorer

This season’s top scorer is not expected to be one of the big names from last year. While there are some bright spots, additionally, there are plenty of glaring holes. Pukki’s injury has left a huge hole in the midfield, and there exists a huge uncertainty surrounding the continuing future of the Gabonese international. However, there are other players who can step up and provide the attacking spark that is needed to win the league.

For example, there are plenty of strikers with the ability to change lives to the success of a team. For instance, one player with a lot of experience could be Neal Maupay, who scored five goals in his debut Premier League season. For the 2021/22 season, he is predicted to score 11 goals, despite being a teenager. He is an exciting prospect for Crystal Palace and you will be an important player for the club.

Besides scoring goals for his country, he’s also a fantastic option for predicting the continuing future of a team. This season, he was called up for England’s Euro 2020 squad. Because of this, he’ll have the ability to build on his Euro 2020 form and become an integral part of Man City’s starting lineup. But it certainly is a risk to create back a star that is in your heart for so long, particularly if you’re hoping to relive the glory days of days gone by.

When making probabilistic predictions, you need to take into account the different possibilities of outcomes. A straightforward example is to compare the probabilities of two possible outcomes. If the two outcomes are mutually exclusive, you would assign higher scores to the higher model. A high possibility of success in a game means the better the scorer is. So if your opponent scores more goals, you’ll need to improve your performance. Unless you have enough data to produce a predictive model, you can use a criterion to measure performance.

Another good strategy is to select a player based on their performance in a particular game. You should pick the player based on his recent form and the odds of a match that you predict will undoubtedly be lower. Generally, you want to select players that are in-form and have probably the most chance of winning. If you’re confident in a particular team, the best player will be the one with the highest goal totals.

A proper scoring rule should decrease the Brier Score and maximize the probability of a win. A proper scoring rule should also minimize the mean absolute error and mean square error. You should consider the scorer’s performance when calculating the odds of a team. Then, you can use a mathematical model for prediction. Furthermore, it is best to add a few non-probabilistic variables that may influence the outcome of the overall game.

In the above-mentioned scenario, a top-scoring intent includes a lower score compared to the lowest. The top-scoring intent is really a numerical comparison between your two scores. The top two scores can be very close, and the prediction score ought to be 0.8 or greater. Furthermore, the result of a test should include all of the intents, or a collection of them. This can be a crucial player for a team with no other quality.

A good anytime goalscorer prediction is a good bet for both teams. The tipters produce the very best predictions by considering the most typical goals and contexts. ‘The Game’ will start at noon E.T. on Saturday. If both teams win, they might both qualify for the faculty Football Playoff. If the teams win, they would have the same record, which is why they are so close in the scorer prediction.

Statistical analysis of binary classification scoring rules is an exemplory case of pattern classification. In this method, a scorer will try to minimize the average score by using a specific scoring rule. Moreover, 바카라 a scorer will try to avoid events which are unlikely to occur should they have high scores. They’ll also make an effort to minimize their average score. And the best scorer will be the person who can do this. You must never ignore the need for these three factors, and consider these factors when making a prediction.


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Building a chatbot with Rasa

Before getting stared with the development lets first dwell into the requirements and why we drilled down to the mentioned technology. I wanted to build a chatbot which is able to learn the intent of the user, interact intelligently, perform actions if users asks so, provide efficient learning mechanism and most importantly doesn’t use any paid services. There are a bunch of online services (like which provide nice NLU features but charge for traffic. This lead me to search for an open-source framework which can provides sufficient independence in building the bot. One such tool is Rasa.

Rasa — A chatbot solution

Rasa provides a set of tools to build a complete chatbot at your local desktop and completely free. Their flagship tools are,

Natural Language Understanding

Lets first train the bot to understand user language so it can classify the intent and extract entities. For this we will create sample nlu training file.

NLU Training file (

Here, an intent’s name is defined after ‘##intent:’ and all sample user utterance for that intent are mentioned below. Notice for intent *query\_days\_in\_month* we have also mentioned entities. The format is word, so the user utterance example is “How many days in January” and in it “January” is the entity of name “month”.

Now we will define the pipeline to use for training the NLU model, here we will use spacy to do so.

config file (nlu_config.yml)

We are now ready to train the NLU model! Lets do so in Python.

This will train the nlu model and save it at ‘models/nlu/’. Lets try and test how is the model working.

The output looks something like this,

Here as you can see, the model was perfectly able to tag the user question to it’s intent (check ‘name‘ section under ‘intent‘). It says, that for the first question, the intent was ‘query_days_in_month‘ and the extracted entity was ‘January‘ (check ‘value’under ‘entities‘). One cool thing is in the output of second question, even though we didn’t provide this in example, it was perfectly able to guess the intent and even extract the entity ‘march‘.

Nice, but the chatbot is only half way complete, we still need to build the dialog management.

Dialog Management

First, lets define the domain file which contains some sample templates we can use to reply back to user.

Domain file (domain.yml):

Here we have listed down the intents and entities (all present in nlu training file), along with some templates and actions. Templates contains replies that you want the bot to make, in this case I want the bot to greet, say goodbye and also answer the user asked question of number of days in the month. And right now bot will only answer these three types of month answers (bot is agnostic of leap years, stupid bot)

Now lets create a sample user-bot interaction.

Stories file (

Here we are defining a sample interaction between the bot and user in form of a story. It goes like this, if user says something and its intent is ‘greet‘ bot will perform action ‘utter_greet‘. One more example, if user’s message has ‘query_days_in_month‘ intent and ‘February’ then bot will perform ‘utter_answer_28_days‘ action.

Now lets train the dialog management part,

Here, you can change the training policy in which you can define your own LSTM or RNN for dialog training. One important point, ‘max_history‘ is used to define how one action is dependent on previous questions. If max_history is 1, then it just memorizes individual intent and its related actions. Due to lack of training data (huge load of stories), I am just making it memorize the rules now, you can create some sample stories and see the true potential of rasa dialog management.

Now we are done. Lets see if the bot is able to reply back to us and answers our question.

And it does!

Mapping every combination of intent-entity to its action in stories is quite inefficient. Just think of individually mapping each month to its answer. And what about the leap year? Well all of this could be handled by using custom actions, where the action calls a python function with all the info like the intent and entity. Now in python code you can perform all the necessary checks and return the message.

Also the true potential of the rasa nlu and core shines when you give it more data to train. Or even deploy the chatbot and it learns from interactions. It will make it capable of handling cases which are not yet fed to the training data. You can also change the policies by which it trains the model. Maybe all about this in next post.

Checkout more such articles here.


How to tell the difference between average memory loss vs dementia?

With the physical body aging, the mind ages too. The neurons, which are fundamental units for both the brain and the nervous system, gradually die, like any other cell in our body. At the time of birth, a human brain consists of a hundred billion neurons. Therefore, we tend to become forgetful due to our age. Unlike many other cells in our body, neurons do not regenerate or reproduce, once these cells die, they are not replaced by newer neurons. But there are significant and noticeable differences between average memory loss and Dementia (which, of course, is a disease).

According to data reported and published by WHO (World Health Organisation), almost 40% of individuals face average memory loss after the age of 65. But it does not hinder our daily lives. Another data from WHO suggests that after the age of 65, a small percentage of people (5% – 8% to be exact) may face issues related to Dementia. And their cognitive ability is likely to deteriorate with time and worsen their memory. Taking care of individuals with dementia can be challenging, but homes for senior living can provide adequate care for them.

Normal memory loss

Normal memory loss is a part of our life. This is the sole reason we use sticky notes, reminders, and even specific reminder apps in our smartphones so that we don’t forget what we are supposed to do or be somewhere at any particular time period. These problems can be annoying at times but it is not a serious issue to be considered. Here are instances of some common memory loss problems:

  • Forgetfulness and other brain complications: In accordance with the National Institute of Ageing, many types of physical and mental complications can give rise to forgetfulness and memory loss. For instance, any individual going through depression sometimes is mistakenly thought of as having symptoms of Dementia. The institute also states that if a person is already preoccupied with sadness or any recent tragedy can forget things due to their focus constantly being concentrated on their loss.
  • Absent-mindedness and Transience: Researchers from Harvard Medical School suggested that with age, these problems occur naturally. It is just a normal part of the aging process that every human has to go through sooner or later. When your brain forgets some parts of its memory with time, that is called Transience. The researchers further suggest that this can be a good thing because the brain is getting rid of those unused memories by replacing them with newer ones. Absent-mindedness can occur due to the lack of enough focus or concentration. You can forget an appointment simply due to the reason you were not focused enough at that exact moment.

The fundamental difference between average memory loss and Dementia is that the memory loss that is in relation to Dementia is cumulative. The situation gradually becomes worse day by day. And precisely because of this reason, the senior starts losing the sense of time and place. Most Dementia seniors cannot live on their own. Therefore, they are shifted to assisted living communities so that they will get the proper care they need.

The word Dementia can be used when the brain is mutilated by different diseases. These diseases focus their attack on the cognitive and mental abilities making them less functional every passing day. Our average ability to think, memorize and reason gets significantly affected. Here are some significant signs that can help you determine if you should consult a physician:

  • Not paying any attention to the self — behaving unusually, not eating properly, forgetting to bathe, and similar daily life activities.
  • Unable to properly follow specified directions or recipes.
  • Spacing out and in the meantime visiting any familiar place or person from memory.
  • Constantly getting bewildered about the place, time, and people.
  • Repeating the same questions again and again.

Disorientation: Disorientation is another major problem that people with Dementia face. People with Dementia can face disorientations when they come across new surroundings. Also, disorientations can expand towards both time and place. After visiting new places, older people with Dementia become more insecure than normal people. Therefore special care is needed for people with Dementia, and memory care homes provide them with the care they need.

Forgetting important information: If you think normal memory loss and Dementia are very similar, then you are mistaken. It is not just merely forgetting your keys, objects, or appointment schedule. It is much more than that. It includes forgetting the names of your family, friends, acquaintances, even names of places and objects. If any older people are showing signs similar to this, then he/she should visit a physician as soon as possible.

Personality change: People with Dementia may likely go through significant personality changes. For instance, a person who is at the middle stage of Dementia may become more aggressive. They can also show specific behaviors related to paranoia and even impulsiveness. Sometimes, it is the most challenging part to deal with. But there are assisted living communities that specialize in taking proper care of people with Dementia.

It is wrong to think that dementia also comes with aging. People with dementia may also face challenges while paying attention, with visual sagacity and even linguistic skills. To find the best course of action is also essential to find out the cause of your dementia. Community senior living offers help to those elders who are facing dementia problems and cannot take care of themselves. You can also take the dementia senior to visit the doctor every 6-12 months or as the physician instructs.

Overall, it is essential to know the differences between average memory loss and Dementia. Normal memory loss occurs just because of the lack of concentration, or the individual is not adequately focused at the exact moment. But even if both of them show overlapping symptoms, average memory loss is not progressive at all, whereas Dementia worsens the condition of the brain over time. If you think you or your loved ones are showing symptoms of Dementia, please visit and consult your physician at once. By any chance, if you have a Dementia senior, you can send them to senior assisted living communities where they will get the proper attention and care they need.

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  4. Candidates will have to upload their passport size photograph (taken within six months) and signature while submitting the application. The photograph and signature must be in JPEG format. The size of the photograph must be less than 200KB and the size of the signature should be less than 50KB. The copies of certificates shall be either in JPEG format or in PDF format and shall not exceed 3MB in size
  7. Candidates should take special care not to enter the email ID and phone number of any institutions like akshaya centres etc. while filling the application. Intimations shall be sent only to the mobile number and email ID submitted by the candidate.
Proceed to application


# Overview The UI pack aggregates some components of the MicroUI foundation library. Is is intended to be fetched in platform projects in addition of the UI pack for a specific architecture. This pack only publishes some external libraries used to prepare some platform projects: front panel definition project and image generator extension projects. # Usage Add the following line to the front panel extension project's `module.ivy`: Add the following line to the image generator extension project's `module.ivy`: # Requirements No specific requirement. # Dependencies _All dependencies are retrieved transitively by MicroEJ Module Manager_. # Source N/A # Restrictions None. --- _Copyright 2020 MicroEJ Corp. All rights reserved._ _This library is provided in source code for use, modification and test, subject to license terms._ _Any modification of the source code will break MicroEJ Corp. warranties on the whole library._


Stocks and Oil Tumble due to Virus Fears

On Friday, global stocks tumbled and oil prices went below $80 per barrel, after news hit of a new variant of the coronavirus that just might be resistant to the vaccine. This sent investors scurrying to the safety of the yen, bonds and the Swiss Franc. There is not much known about the new variant except that it was detected in Hong Kong, Botswana and South Africa. However, scientists have disclosed that it appears to have an unusual number of mutations, could be more transmissible and also evade immune responses. British authorities believe it is the most significant variant to have popped up till date and are now imposing travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa.

The same was done by the Czech Republic, Italy and Japan on Friday. The European Union also announced that it was planning on halting travel from the region. Analysts said that markets had been quite complacent for a while when it came to the coronavirus pandemic, mostly because the economies had been able to withstand the effects of the selected lockdown measures. However, they said that there would be ramifications on oil prices because of the new bans imposed on air travel.

Later on Friday, an experts’ meeting will be convened by the World Health Organization for evaluating whether the new variant is one of concern. There was a 0.8% decline in global shares that were on course for their worst week since the beginning of October. There was a 2.7% dip in European shares, as they were having their worst day since September of last year, with the worst impact seen in leisure and travel stocks. There was a 3% fall in Germany’s DAX and a 2.7% fall in Britain’s FTSE 100 that brought it to its lowest value in a month.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan declined by 2.2%, which is its sharpest fall since August. Beverage and casino shares got hammered in Hong Kong, while travel stocks saw a decline in Tokyo and Sydney. Japan’s Nikkei also plunged by 2.5% and there was a 1.8% fall in S&P 500 futures. Current analysts said that closure of the US markets due to the Thanksgiving holiday had only exacerbated the moves. They said that it was a must to determine how transmissible the variant is and whether it can evade the vaccines or not.

There was also a decline in oil prices, as US crude futures also plunged by 5.7% and Brent crude declined by 4.66% to $73.96 a barrel and $78.38 due to fresh demand fears. Investors made the dash for safe-haven assets, which saw the yen increase by almost 1%, even though it had been languishing to almost five-year lows in this week. There was a 0.4% increase in the euro, as trade was driven by safety as opposed to differentials. However, the single currency fell to almost 6 and a half year lows. Likewise, there was also a 2% fall in the South African rand to an almost one year low.


I have currently been testing my implementation of a numerical propagator with the ISS. Without going into much details, the propagator considers Earth gravity (with the GGM03S model including zonal, tesseral and sectoral spherical harmonics, up to a degree of 180), third-body gravitational attraction (from the Sun, Moon, and all other main planets of the Solar System), solar radiation pressure and, possibly the most relevant for this question, atmospheric drag using the NRLMSISE-00 atmospheric model.

The specific data I'm using for tests are the ISS trajectories provided by NASA in OEM format. In particular, I'm using the ephemerides generated the 2021-12-21 at 01:28:14.122 UTC, covering from 2021-12-20 12:00:00 to 2022-01-04 12:00:00 (UTC).

For my tests, I took the first provided ephemeris and used it as the starting point for the propagator. I then propagated the orbit for close to 24 hours (for completion, using the RADAU5 integrator), outputting state vectors at the exact same times as the ephemerides provided in the original OEM file, to allow direct comparison at each time point without requiring interpolation. Conveniently, the OEM file includes the following details about the ISS: mass (448009 kg), drag area (1492.30 squared meters), drag coefficient (2.05), solar radiation area (0) and solar radiation coefficient (0). So I used these exact same values during propagation.

The following is a plot of the difference for each position component (in GCRF frame) between the calculated trajectory and the "real" trajectory (i.e., the values in the OEM file by NASA, which I guess is as close as one can get to a real trajectory using publicly available data):

enter image description here

As the plot shows, there is a periodic error of increasing magnitude in all components, reaching over 200 m in each component after around 20 hours of propagation.

I calculated a periodogram of the error, resulting in the following:

enter image description here

Where the frequency is in $min^{-1}$. The peak corresponds to a frequency of 0.010574 $min^{-1}$, which gives a period of around 94 minutes. So basically, the orbital period of the ISS interestingly.

I then wondered if the drag force was being wrongly modeled, so decided to test a range of drag areas (I guess it would have been equivalent to testing a range of drag coefficients, since the final result is just introducing a multiplier to the drag force). In particular, I tried propagation with 20 values equally spaced from 0 to 5 times the value provided by NASA in the OEM file. The following plot shows the error along the Z component of position for each drag area value (similar plots are obtained for the X and Y components):

enter image description here

As you can see, the 5th value in the series (~1178.1316) leads to a quite big reduction of the error. The following plot shows the error with that drag surface along all position components:

enter image description here

This value is approximately 80% of the value given by NASA.

My question is: does anybody have any idea of why the propagation becomes so much more accurate by using this reduced drag?

I thought a possibility would be that the ISS would be doing some sort of maneuver to prevent loss of altitude and using a reduced drag somehow accounts for this. However, this would require that such operations are performed with a relatively high frequency, but from a quick search, this seems to not be the case.

  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Is that drag area number with the solar panels turning to reduce cross section in darkness, or with a fixed rotation I wonder? $\endgroup$ Jan 14 at 6:20
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Glider_mode claims a 30% reduction in drag for night glider mode, which does not match your 80%, so not an answer $\endgroup$ Jan 14 at 6:34
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ That is a great point actually! In fact, to be precise I see a reduction of 21% (I meant in the question that the value that led to better propagation was 80% of the original value, sorry). Together with the fact that I guess the night glider mode would not be used all the time, plus the fact that the 30% reduction refers to the drag acting on the solar arrays only (so the overall reduction would be somewhat smaller, I guess), this seems to be very likely accounting for this observation! Maybe you can post it as a full answer? $\endgroup$
    – Rafa
    Jan 14 at 7:33
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I didn't get a full answer but comments indicate night glider mode is not used currently space.stackexchange.com/q/50773/6944 a drag reduction strategy that may be currently used is quoted in the question. $\endgroup$ Jan 14 at 12:57
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I see, so basically, if I understood correctly, it is possible that the ISS is, at some time intervals, orienting the solar panels to be more edge on the direction of the velocity, but maybe not as much as described for the night glider mode? Hmmm... I guess it makes sense that it isn't a proper night glider mode, since if that was the case, the error would come mostly from periods of "night", whereas it seems to be increasing homogeneously during propagation (if the drag area provided by NASA is used). Maybe propagating for a longer period can bring some extra information? I'll check! $\endgroup$
    – Rafa
    Jan 14 at 14:53

Your Answer

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Steve Rowell

In collaboration with SIMPARCH

For Hydromancy, water from the Rio Grande flowed from a tank at the top of the rocky hillside outside of the gallery. Gravity moved the water through three passive solar distillation units arranged in a descending formation on the hill. The stills use the energy of the sun to heat the water to the point of vaporization, where it collects on the glass. This condensation flows down to a small channel, exits the still, then is conveyed down the hill into the building via an elevated pipeline. The now purified water was offered to visitors, but most of the day, depending on the sun, it streamed or dripped onto the gallery floor. With a directed spot light, this expanding pool was projected onto the gallery wall. The naturally cleansed water of Hydromancy is presented as essential substance rather than mistreated commodity.

2 minute sound sample.

In collaboration with SIMPARCH

“Collaborator Steve Rowell provides an audio overlay to the installation. Sounds of this engineered water process are mixed with field recordings of the border - dissolving the physical walls of the gallery, revealing an acoustic interpretation of the landscape beyond. The field recordings were made at various points along the river as well as along the invisible, land border and in many cases with one half of the microphone in the US and the other half in Mexico. The division between nations becomes reduced, distilled, by an objective experience - the listener’s ability (or inability) to perceive minute differences in stereo sound.”


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in ,

The 10 weirdest facts about Venus

With this week’s ultra-rare transit of Venus, in which the planet will pass in front of the sun as seen from Earth on Tuesday (June 5), we here at think it’s a great time to take a look at the peculiar quirks of one of our closest neighbors in the solar system.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 weirdest things about the planet Venus.

Venusian volcanoes

Volcanoes on Venus May be Young and Active
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA; image created by Ryan Ollerenshaw and Eric DeJong of the Solar System Visualization Group, JPL.

There are more volcanoes on Venus than on any other planet in the solar system. Astronomers know of more than 1,600 volcanoes on its surface, but there are likely many more too small for us to see. Scientists think most of these are dormant, though a handful may still be active.

Where days outlast years

Galileo Project, JPL, NASA

A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days (that’s how long it takes Venus to make one rotation), while a year on Venus (its revolution period around the sun) is shorter, at just 224.7 Earth days.

Earth’s twin

Blue Marble Earth

Of all the solar system’s planets, Venus is the closest to a twin of Earth. The two bodies are nearly of equal size, and Venus’ composition is largely the same as Earth’s. The orbit of Venus is also the closest to Earth’s of any solar system planet. Both worlds have relatively young surfaces, and both have thick atmospheres with clouds (however, it’s worth nothing that Venus’ clouds are mostly made of poisonous sulfuric acid).

Venus is scorching hot.

Because the bulk of its atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide, an extreme greenhouse effect is warming the surface of Venus. Temperatures there can reach a scorching 870 degrees Fahrenheit (470 degrees Celsius).

“The surface is hot enough to melt lead due to its runaway greenhouse atmosphere,” Sue Smrekar, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement.

Extreme pressure

Ultraviolet image of Venus' clouds as seen by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (Feb. 5, 1979).

The air pressure on the surface of Venus is extreme — about 90 times higher than the pressure at sea level here on Earth. In other words, the pressure on Venus is about the same as the water pressure on Earth about half a mile (1 km) under the ocean.

We see Venus cross the sun

Paul Hyndman

Venus is rare among the planets in that we can see it cross in front of the sun. Only Venus and Mercury do this from the vantage point of Earth. Venus transits occur rarely, with pairs separated by eight years coming around less than once a century.

Our brightest planet

Venus Jupiter Conjunction Sweden
Venus reaches its greatest brightness on April 28 at 10:24 a.m. EDT (1424 GMT). This sky map shows where the planet will be on the evening before (April 27) at 10:30 p.m. EDT, as seen from New York City.

In fact, Venus can appear so bright that a pilot aboard an Air Canada flight in January 2011 actually mistook the dazzling planet for an oncoming aircraft. The pilot sent his plane into an emergency dive to avoid a midair collision with what investigators later determined was Venus, which was still safely millions of miles away, according to Canadian air transportation officials.

Mystery of the ancients

Venus and Mercury Sparkle Over Rome in New Photo
Giancula Masi.

Venus has been a target of observation for millennia.

The ancient Babylonians tracked its wanderings through the sky in records that date as far back as 1600 BC. The Greek mathematician Pythagoras was the first to discover that the brightest stars in the morning and evening sky were in fact the same object, Venus.

“Throughout history, Venus has been one of the most studied and speculated-about celestial bodies in our sky,” Smrekar said.

Whoosh! A windy planet

Venus' Double Vortex Confirmed in New Animation

Winds swipe across Venus at super-fast speeds that can reach 450 miles an hour (724 kph) in its middle cloud layer. These Venusian winds are faster than the speediest tornado on Earth.

Venus has phases.

Ultraviolet image of Venus' clouds as seen by HST's Wide-Field/Planetary Camera 2.
Hubble, STScI

Because Venus orbits the sun within Earth’s orbit, the planet appears to have phases like the moon. When Venus is on the opposite side of the sun, it is in full phase, while it appears in new phase when it is between the Earth and the sun.

The first person to witness these phases was Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.

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Éowyn Fain

Operations Coordinator

Éowyn Fain joined BPR in September 2021, working alongside Land Deer as the second Operations Coordinator. Although her career thus far has mostly involved audio engineering and nonprofits, she has also been a pizza vendor, camp counselor, botany student, and guitar instructor.

Originally from Georgia, Éowyn moved to Washington D.C. to attend American University, where she acquired a B.A. in Audio Production with a concentration in Music. While in D.C., she worked as a recording engineer and music producer, interned for Brookings, hosted concerts and a (very silly) radio show at WVAU, dabbled in film post-production, and generally had a blast learning and creating everything she could. Now, she is excited to be a part of the Asheville community and to continue to learn, make art, and get involved in every way possible.


Farideh Heyat

Farideh Heyat

Keywords : Anthropology Women's studies

Country : United Kingdom

Organization : SOAS University of London

Department :

Biography :

Farideh Heyat is an anthropologist and a writer.  She was born in 1949 in Iran, to Azeri parents.  She spent her childhood in Tehran, growing up bilingual in Farsi and Azeri languages.  Following her graduation from school she moved to Turkey for a year, studying physic at Ankara University.  In 1967 she moved to London to pursue her higher education.  Her first degree was in computing and statistics.  Later she obtained a Master’s degree in computer science.  After a couple of years of working in industry, she trained as a teacher and began teaching computing at further education colleges in London, until 1989.

Following the Iranian revolution of 1979, Farideh became involved in the Iranian women’s movement abroad, publishing books and newsletters anonymously.  She also became active in the Iranian community matters in London. In 1983 she was elected the chair of the newly established Iranian Community Centre in London, funded by the Greater London Council (the first of its kind among the Iranian diaspora).

During the 1980s, Farideh had developed a keen interest in social science and literature.  In 1991, after a year of travelling and living in the USA, she embarked on studying anthropology at SOAS, University of London.  She received her Master’s degree in 1993, and then a PhD in 1999.  Her area of specialisation was the Republic of Azerbaijan, specifically, the position of women and gender relations.  Her choice was inspired by the tumultuous events of 1989-91, leading to the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Azerbaijan Republic.  Since her early youth she had been curious about the cultural difference between the two Azerbaijans, north and south of the Iranian border.  For nearly two hundred years the northern region had been dominated by Russia, and for the last seven decades ruled by the Soviets.  Now finally the borders were open for travel and research.

Her first trip to Baku, the capital, was in 1992, at the invitation of Azerbaijan Zhensoviet (Women’s Association).  During 1994-95 she carried out her anthropological research, returning for short trips in the following three summers.  In the periods she spent in the country she volunteered as an aid worker with a number of NGOs, including the Women’s Association.

Whilst at SOAS, Farideh had studied the history and cultures of Turkic Central Asian countries.  Her opportunity to explore the region came in 2002 when she obtained a teaching job at the American University Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  In the year that followed she travelled extensively in Kyrgyzstan and also Uzbekistan and conducted research into the situation of women in the region.  In 2008 she travelled once more to various parts of Uzbekistan.

In the years 2004-2007 Farideh carried out various consultancy work in Azerbaijan.  Her last assignment, commissioned by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe was an analysis of the situation of women in Lankaran province, bordering Iran, the most under-developed region of the country.  She then planned and participated in organising a women’s centre there to improve the situation of women in the region and support their empowerment.

In 2011 Farideh co-produced a 47 minute documentary film, A portrait of Baku, highlighting the impressive architecture and rich history of the city, the situation of refugees (following the Armenian invasion in 1993) and some of the cultural biases towards women. Currently, Farideh has retired to London, focusing on her writing.  Her last book, Land of Forty Tribes was published in May 2015.  It is based on her many years of research into the history of Central Asia and observations and experiences during her time in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.


Types of fostering

There are different types of fostering you can choose to specialise in. Each brings different challenges and rewards. Once you've made the important decision to foster, you need to think about the kind of fostering that's right for you, your family, and your circumstances. We'll help you do this during our assessment process.

We need more foster carers to look after brothers and sisters, older children, and teenagers.

Short-term fostering

Short-term fostering placements can last anything from a few months to over two years. Children and young people in short term placements need support until they return to their families or move to longer term planned placements, including special guardianship and adoption.

Long-term fostering

Long-term fostering has massive benefits for children. It keeps them secure and stable, and enables them to develop meaningful relationships with their foster carers, friends, teachers and families.

Children who need long term foster families tend to be school-aged upwards.

Short break care

This is a specialist fostering scheme for disabled children and young people. They may have a learning, physical or sensory disability, significant health care needs, or a combination of these.

Skilled foster carers look after many of these children on a regular basis and can provide a respite service for a child's parent, carers or guardians.

Supported lodgings

We provide supported lodgings to young people who are aged between 16 and 18. Our supported lodgings carers give young people somewhere stable, safe, and secure to live. The young people need support to develop the skills they require to make the transition to independent living. This could be anything from showing them how to cook or manage their money, teaching them how to apply for work or college, or helping them with important life skills in general.


Lengthy But Not Lengthy, All about Irony

Breaking down East Asian phenomena through ironies based on its culture, philosogion, and how the ancient philosophies have been lost, which are all meant to be a part of a bigger joke                                 30   12   2021

As per Asian culture, ideas should be circulating when being expressed, or compressed. That is to say, idea compacts that would take a thousand words to compress might as well end up in the low thousands if not mid thousands. Hope this does not happen to this lengthy post intended not to be lengthy. Of course, when Neuralink becomes a thing in the future and no information is lost in the process of idea compression (into language) and decompression (reaching the recipients), a new door might also be opened for new hackers in this new domain. It wouldn’t just be attempts to ‘download’ data from other Neuralinks, but to impose data on them without permission. There, that’s already one ironies (1), but the true ironies lie in the ecosystems below, unable to be decompressed to most.

There is a bonding force between the flow of thoughts among Asia’s 2.91 billion population (this is no typo) and hardcore religious, or philosophical applied-ritualism. This is the case spreading across the Euphrates-Tigris Basin, the Indus Basin, the Ganges Basin, the Paro Valley, the Gissar Valley, the Minahassa Peninsular, the Hangang Basin, and the Tone Basin.

How ideas are defined, first and foremost, before being formed, or organised, creates its own ecosystem in the case of East Asia, the main focus of this post, with a few exceptions such as Japanese writings that come with heavy Western influence. Possibly a phenomenon mutated from the writing-style of prominent, or previously prominent Eastern philosophers such as Confucius, or Lao Tzu, thoughts in contemporary East Asia are formed and expressed, in a way almost as if in desperate attempts to reproduce the limitless sub-universes given birth to by the vagueness, abstractness in the original texts of those philosophical teachings.

Such mutation, as in how replicating the ambiguity found in the teachings by multiplying a fixed number of ideas into paraphrases, deemed one of the crucial methods to inherit the thinking, has blurred the boundary between philosophy and religion in time and cross bred a new species that could be seen as the Playbook of the Absolute Dogmas, a philosogion.

Similar with Jazz music before the early twentieth century when the recording technology was made available and passing down the know-hows to master improvisation that was unreachable through reading the notes possible, the ancient Confucianism and Lao Tzu philosophy (not to be confused with Daoism) from the 4th century B.C. would inevitably face the fate of being unintentionally misinterpreted and distorted, leading to failed captures of the true value of vagueness found in the original philosophy, namely the mutation that has recorded the chassis, yet not the fleshes.

The mutation, however, has not been viewed as such, but rather, the authentic successor of the teachings, manifested in how ideas are overwhelmingly preferred to be organised in vagueness and empty repetitiveness over diversified ideas and deeply explored sub-ideas within them in contemporary East Asia.

This seems to be coming from the instinctive desire to ensure that the ancestral philosophy is passed down in the new definition of a correct form. This is the first layer within the second irony (2-1), descendants of ancient East Asian societies (approximately 3000 years old in Japan’s case, counting from when its Transeurasian heritage started to be weakened; 3300 years old in Korea’s case when its Transeurasian heritage started to be weakened) taking only the albatrosses’ skeletons, with no full wingspans, nor feathers present, yet are fully convinced that the skeletons in hands are albatrosses with fleshes and feathers, alive and flying even.

The second layer within the second irony (2-2) unfolds in how languages being symbols are largely ignored by the users from whom their ability to carry thoughts root. Despite the information loss, or risk of false interpretations when ideas are compressed into languages, as is the case in the first layer, languages carry thinking, and the one that East Asian languages carry today is enormously different from the one in the 4th century B.C. East Asia.

It was an era where platforms welcomed different philosophies, voices, or even ecosystems to compete fair and square, boosting openness, venturousness, incentivising reinvention and renovation, and potentially the ability to listen to one another, whereas contemporary East Asia solely values imposition of group identity over those features.

What the contemporary language users are not aware of, is that by reversing, say, the modern day Japanese language into Archaic Japanese through reviving the latter, pushing it into the realm of practical everyday usage, might potentially awaken the long-lost philosophical fleshes, mitigating the information that’s been lost on the way through lack of correct interpretation, minimising the repetitive idea-recording pattern that might have worsened the data loss of decompression in the process. The fact that contemporary East Asia know more about the space (JAXA, KCST) and the deep ocean (JAMSTEC, KIOST) than they do the archaic counterpart of their languages adds even more seasoning to 2-2.

To unveil the third irony, one couldn’t look away from the Japanese saying, ‘Deru kugi wa utareru (出る釘は打たれる)’, translated into ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’, and its being applied to nearly all aspects of Japanese life to the point that it is omnipresent.

Take work, it is taboo to talk about ‘the uncertainties out there’ that could ‘harm the harmony’ at workplace, namely any sense of rejection against orders from superiors to work overtime would be interpreted as that common enemy nail prioritised to be hammered out. Yet despite compensation pays for working overtime written into Japanese laws, employers largely circumvent and violate the labour laws, leaving the workers working overtime with no extra pay.

The rationale behind company leaders is that the longer the time employees spend in office, the higher the productivity would be generated, this is, however, far from the case as attention span would plunge as work drags on, rendering any extra hour spent below the productivity stop loss line unproductive.

It also seems to be failing in seeing how the Netherlands has approximately the same amount of, if not more of work done within an average 5.8 working hours per day

(Ranking 27th in GDP based on purchasing power parity, PPP, at $1.05 trillion by IMF, producing 11 Fortune Global 500 corporations with its 17 million population and total area of 41,865 km²; suicide rate at 9.3 per 100,000 population by WHO).

One could argue that the average working hours per day in Japan is 8 hours, looking humane enough

(Ranking 4th in GDP based on purchasing power parity, PPP, at $5.58 trillion by IMF, producing 53 Fortune Global 500 corporations with its 125.8 million population and total area of 377,975 km²; suicide rate at 12.2 per 100,000 population by WHO).

Yet what such reasoning would be missing is the fallacy in failing to consider that corruption plays a big part in how the data is manipulated as well as the case in whether the labour laws are effectively enforced, which, in Japan, usually appears to be the latter. From that, a few scenarios should be taken into consideration, to mitigate misdirecting effects from the aforementioned factors sliding right into the grey area with convenience where statistics couldn’t penetrate, despite OECD making an effort in estimating it to be at 50 working hours per week.

First, the forcible out-of-office drinking time hours where food-cult like eating/drinking rituals are held centering topics regarding work and business ideas (or corruption ideas) that would extend late into night, followed by the take-it-for-granted-style of off-work-time-summoning, dictating workers to instantly reply to messages or calls regarding work in spite of being on holiday (failing to do so would lead to one being fired, opening a vacancy where other ant-like job-seekers fight to fill), both of which would in turn leave the workers’ free time fragmented if not completely compromised.

Combined, they would contribute to Japan’s Karoshi culture, death by overwork. The imposition of group identity contributes to a miserable population with invisible and visible wounds, or deaths such as mental illness, heart attacks, or suicides due to overwork (Karojisatsu), a closed system where anyone who dares to speak out against the dictated lifestyle that could mentally and physically be life-threatening, yet believed to boost productivity and sustain harmony within the ecosystem, would be met with a following execution suite, alienating them into the ‘national foreigners’, or simply direct them to taking their own lives.

Those who run the ecosystem, in sharp contrast, consider such phenomenon a chain reaction where a group of positive energy hook another, empowering a domain where fleshes of the culture is retained, whose chassis-remaining appearance falls invisible to the delusional eyes.

‘If the eyes possess different visions, they should be plucked out’, if I might add to the original saying.

A perfect full-stop for the first layer of the third irony (3-1). Oh, beg pardon, not full-stop, as it would be an insufficient analogy, it should rather be ‘If one dies of irony, then this should be it.’.

Side note:

It is widely accepted in contemporary East Asian societies that ‘Cool things, concepts, innovations, activities included, come from the contemporary West.’.

This could due partially to the ‘learnt hopelessness’ from the majority of the population in these societies not wanting to be that nail to be hammered, or simply letting self-doubt and insecurity, which they perceive as pragmatism, occupy them when brand-new possibilities of the world they have never seen are offered to them. In simple language, it is literally the,

‘Oh, I could never have done it.’,

‘it is because it is ‘‘them’’ that having that done is possible. Therefore, it is not for me.’,

‘That’s day-dreaming. Grow up!’,

‘Oh, you need to do that kind of thing, let me first focus on money-making (but then don’t know how to start step 2 when step 1 money-making is done, and retreat back into the comfortable step 1 and stay there infinitely).’

sort of self-hyptonising mentality without even giving anything considered different, or new a try.

Basically, jumping to conclusions without testing theories out through experiments. Experiments should be banned according to the values behind such mentality.

This would then contribute to the self limbs-chopping behaviours and erosion of their openness, optimism, adaptability, ability to innovate and create new things, leading them to materialise their stereotype on themselves — boring, plain, not-cool.

Drilling deeper into the second layer of the third irony (3-2), one would have to move the lens away from the Japanese archipelago to the southern half of the Korean peninsular, where the situation is exacerbated by an overwhelming authoritarian emphasis on the significance of career success as part of the widely recognised values of life-victory.

Life-victory, as the aforementioned nickname the Playbook of the Absolute Dogmas implies, is the values where every phase in life is deliberately catergorised as if industrial products in standardised procedures along with instructions to follow, which, when failed to be met, intentionally or unintentionally, would see the system authorise the activation of the complex unforgiving punishing mechanisms underneath, marginalising the Playbook violators. Clear-cut guidance as they might seem, the underlying layers of the Playbook tell a story that of extreme angst towards uncertainties and nothingness.

There is a reason why death in East Asian societies is banned from discussion, not by law, but by the Playbook, so much so that kids growing up not knowing the concept of it — a manifestation of the societies resorting to the extreme to wipe out anything abstract. As was mentioned in 2-1 and 2-2, the contemporary East Asian philosogion has only the chassis preserved, not the fleshes.

In the Oscar-winning 2020 Korean film Parasite, such mechanism is beautifully dramatised by showing us the firm motivation behind a poor Korean family to look pass morality and scam their way up of the social hierarchy ladder, with the family having themselves either killed or traumatised along the scamming scheme. Korea’s suicide rate at 13.4 in a 100,000 population tells the other side of story of the actual, less fortunate Korean families in poverty, who do not have the intelligence to deliver a scamming scheme, nor to have such a chance to parasitise an unsuspecting rich family.

Once they failed to secure resources required to be victorious in life by Playbook standard, they would face the fate of their kids not scoring high in a top-ranking school to weaponise their credentials in combating the hyena-like competitors in the credentialism only education system; adult kids failing to secure a respected position, an engineer, lawyer, doctor, finance worker, that pay well for them to be respected enough by their potential partners before they get married, own cars and houses, and reproduce; parents losing faces in their extended families, clans, neighbourhood, society and the kids’ subsequent lack of capacity to deliver the responsibility and respect to caring, accompany them for the rest of their lives.

These are all the opposite sides of the procedures written in the Playbook and when these scenarios are materialised, it is not hard to picture how staying alive is a torture far more excruciating than the instant pains of committing suicides, which is seen by the non-victorious in Korean societies as an eternal relief, yet demonic behaviour by the victorious as the topic of death, which belong to the uncertainties and nothingness, is instantly triggered. If not eradicated, they would have their more-than-hard-earned status shaken.

Successful, or failing in doing what are instructed in the Playbook, the Korean values have elevated its people to always be ready to sacrifice for it. While the failing families are facing the fate of bankruptcy, homelessness, starvation, and suicides, their successful rich counterparts only seem dazzling through hiding the story of them being dysfunctional.

This stems from the parents’ leisure time deprivation caused by working overtime, trading mental and physical wellbeing for the preferred lifestyle, a jouissance dictated by the Playbook, which would ultimately force them to throw their loved kids to money, creating Gatsby-style emptiness, loneliness, then revenge-bedtime-procrastination-styled relentlessness down the line through series of misunderstandings and affections having failed to reach one another.

The wonder of 3-2 is yet to deliver another spike.

While philosophical fleshes were actual efforts Lao Tzu and many more put into amplifying existing courage into the explorations of emptiness, all the abstractness that were so otherworldly and disturbing to think about (as human minds instinctively rejects uncertainties and look for comforts, pleasures, and certainties), offering an alternative to all-things-simplified gods and rituals in religions, the contemporary Korean ‘chassis approach’, like any other East Asian counterparts, seeks to eradicate that alternative to return to absolute certainties. Death and the nothingness that follows prove to be too big and intimidating an idea for it to savour as the chassis could not provide it enough courage to fuel the venture back into the point where a handful of explorations were done.

Coming to the point, such ‘chassis approach’, instead of earning the users more controls within the known domains of certainties, or certainties misinformationed as uncertainties to cover up that sense of sin in failing the ancestors, rather functions as a zombie hand that rises from underground, dragging their legs and shattering their capacity growth.

Parallel of similar reasoning behind such mentality could be drawn from a TV series adapted from Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. In it, the antagonist John Smith believes that serving the Reich is only a pragmatic way to protect his family, a temporary compromise at the price of casting morality aside, which then slowly infiltrates his mind and transforms him into a person who no longer knows how to stop conducting atrocities, all without him knowing it.

The lack of recording technology could be one reason why ancient eastern philosophies with fleshes slowly distorted into its current chassis form throughout time, yet the will to not use temporary compromise as an excuse, retreating into doing what feels instinctively good, could have altered the course, and steered the societies back into exploring the unknown based on what little achievements were in place, as courage amplifier left to them by the ancestral predecessor philosophers.

3-2: East Asian societies are paying dearly for the dental treatment, dealing with high suicidal rates, family units failing to meet the criteria of the Playbook, potentially moving towards the edge of collapse, and overall long-term retreats into the comfortable certainties that make such compromises irreversible.

This has cost a considerable chunk of their original lifestyle, culture, philosophy, without them being aware of it. If one should die of irony for the second time, this is the time to violate rules of this universe, revive oneself, then die again.

As one dies, or undergoes near-death experience, it is only fair that an antidote be provided to possible deaths by irony. Since they are the partial elements of satire, which is a unique form of humour that triggers laughter, one would only have to tame that desire to overdose laughing.

And that’s it. Don’t laugh too much, but laugh enough to turn that lemon life gives us into a glass of Irony Torquila.

But before the final, final full-stop lands, be advised that all of the above simply are not ironies for the residents of the unique ecosystems leading happy, Utopian lives.

Also, as authenticity is eroding in our time, the only thing to be done is to pay respect to Daniil Kharms and quote ‘Today I wrote nothing.’.

All the texts that comes along the pics in this very post are nothingness, which should be treated every carefully, and not talked about


AQAR Reports

AQAR 2010-2011
AQAR 2011-2012
AQAR 2012-2013
AQAR 2013-2014
AQAR 2014-2015
AQAR 2015-2016
AQAR 2016-2017
AQAR 2017-2018
AQAR 2018-2019
AQAR 2019-2020
AQAR 2020-2021
Metrics Supported Documents
1.1 Curricular Planning and Implementation
1.1.1 (Q1M) The Institution ensures effective curriculum delivery through a well planned and documented process
1.1.1 Upload
1.1.1 Link
1.1.2 (Q1M) The institution adheres to the academic calendar including for the conduct of CIE
1.1.2 Upload
1.1.2 Link
1.1.3 (QnM) Teachers of the Institution participate in following activities related to curriculum development and assessment of the affiliating University and/are represented on the following academic bodies during the last.
1.1.3 Link
1.2 Academic Flexibility
1.2.1 (QnM) Percentage of Programmes in which Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)/ elective course system has been implemented
1.2.1 Upload
1.2.2 (QnM) Number of Add on /Certificate programs offered during the last five years
1.2.2 Upload
1.2.3 (QnM) Average percentage of students enrolled in Certificate/ Add-on programs as against the total number of students during the last five years
1.2.3 Upload
1.3 Curriculum Enrichment
1.3.1 (QnM) Institution integrates crosscutting issues relevant to Professional Ethics, Gender, Human Values, Environment and Sustainability into the Curriculum
1.3.1 Upload
1.3.2 (QnM) Average percentage of courses that include experiential learning through project work/field work/internship during last five years
1.3.2 Upload
1.3.3 (QnM) Percentage of students undertaking project work/field work/ internships (Data for the latest completed academic year)
1.3.3 Upload
1.4 Feedback System
1.4.1 (QnM) Institution obtains feedback on the syllabus and its transaction at the institution from the following stakeholders 1)Students 2)Teachers 3)Employers 4)Alumni
1.4.1 Link
1.4.1 Upload
1.4.2 (QnM) Feedback process of the Institution may be classified as follows:
1.4.2 Upload
1.4.2 Link
1.4.2 Report
Metrics Supported Documents
2.1 Student Enrolment and Profile
2.1.1 (QnM) Average Enrolment percentage (Average of last five years) Number of students admitted year wise during last five years Number of sanctioned seats year wise during last five years
2.1.2 (QnM) Average percentage of seats filled against seats reserved for various categories (SC, ST, OBC, Divyangjan, etc. as per applicable reservation policy during the last five years ( exclusive of supernumerary seats)
2.2 Catering to Student Diversity
2.2.1 (QnM) The institution assesses the learning levels of the students and organises special Programmes for advanced learners and slow learners
2.2.2 (QnM) Student- Full time teacher ratio (Data for the latest completed academic year)
2.3 Teaching- Learning Process
2.3.1 (QnM) Student centric methods, such as experiential learning, participative learning and problem solving methodologies are used for enhancing learning experiences
2.3.2 (QnM) Teachers use ICT enabled tools for effective teaching-learning process.
2.3.2 Webpage Describing the ICT enabled tools for effective teaching-learning process Links
2.3.3 (QnM) Ratio of mentor to students for academic and other related issues (Data for the latest completed academic year)
2.3.3 year wise number of students enrolled and fulltime teachers on roll
2.3.3- M & M Ratio
2.4 Teacher Profile and Quality
2.4.1 (QnM) Average percentage of full time teachers against sanctioned posts during the last five years
2.4.1 - list of faculty members Authenticated by the Head of HEI
2.4.2 (QnM) Average percentage of full time teachers with Ph. D. / D.M. / M.Ch. / D.N.B Superspeciality / D.Sc. / D.Litt. during the last five years (consider only highest degree for count)
2.4.3 (QnM) Average teaching experience of full time teachers in the same institution (Data for the latest completed academic year in number of years)
2.5 Evaluation Process and Reforms
2.5.1 (QnM) Mechanism of internal assessment is transparent and robust in terms of frequency and mode
2.5.2 (QnM) Mechanism to deal with internal examination related grievances is transparent, time- bound and efficient
2.6 Student Performance and Learning Outcome
2.6.1 (QnM) Programe and COurse outcomes for all programmes offred by the institutions are stated and displayed on website and communication to teachers and students.
2.6.1 Course outcomes
2.6.1 POCO--link
2.6.2 (QnM) Attainment of Programme outcomes and course outcomes are evaluated by the institution.
2.6.3 (QnM) Average pass percentage of Students during last five years
2.6.3--or link
2.7 Student Satisfaction Survey
2.7.1 (QnM) Online student satisfaction survey regarding to teaching learning process. (online survey to be conducted )
Metrics Supported Documents
3.1 Resource Mobilization for Research
3.1.1 (QnM) Grants received from Government and non-governmental agencies for research projects / endowments in the institution during the last five years (INR in Lakhs)
3.1.1 Upload
3.1.2 (QnM) Percentage of departments having Research projects funded by government and non government agencies during the last five years
3.1.2 Upload
3.1.3 (QnM) Number of Seminars/conferences/workshops conducted by the institution during the last five years
3.1.3 Link
3.1.3 Upload
3.2 Research Publication and Awards
3.2.1 (QnM) Number of papers published per teacher in the Journals notified on UGC website during the last five years
3.2.1 PAPER_compressed UPLOAD
3.2.2 (QnM) Number of books and chapters in edited volumes/books published and papers published in national/ international conference proceedings per teacher during last five years
3.2.2_compressed. UPLOAD
3.3 Extension Activities
3.3.1 (QnM) Extension activities are carried out in the neighborhood community, sensitizing students to social issues, for their holistic development, and impact thereof during the last five years
3.3.1 additional_compressed LINK
3.3.1_compressed UPLOAD
3.3.2 (QnM) Number of awards and recognitions received for extension activities from government / government recognised bodies during the last five years
3.3.2, UPLOAD
3.3.3 (QnM) Number of extension and outreach programs conducted by the institution through NSS/NCC/Red cross/YRC etc., ( including the programmes such as Swachh Bharat, AIDS awareness, Gender issues etc. and/or those organised in collaboration with industry, community and NGOs ) during the last five years
3.3.3, UPLOAD
3.3.4 (QnM) Average percentage of students participating in extension activities at 3.3.3. above during last five years
3.4 Collaboration
3.4.1 (QnM) The Institution has several collaborations/linkages for Faculty exchange, Student exchange, Internship, Field trip, On-the- job training, research etc during the last five years
3.4.1_compressed UPLOAD
3.4.2 (QnM) Number of functional MoUs with national and international institutions, universities, industries, corporate houses etc. during the last five years
Metrics Supported Documents
4.1 Physical Facilities
4.1.1 (QnM) The Institution has adequate infrastructure and physical facilities for teaching- learning. viz., classrooms, laboratories, computing equipment etc.
4.1.2 (QnM) The Institution has adequate facilities for cultural activities, sports, games (indoor, outdoor), gymnasium, yoga centre etc.
4.1.3 (QnM) Percentage of classrooms and seminar halls with ICT- enabled facilities such as smart class, LMS, etc.
4.1.4 (QnM) Average percentage of expenditure, excluding salary for infrastructure augmentation during last five years(INR in Lakhs)
4.2 Library as a learning Resource
4.2.1 (QnM) Library is automated using Integrated Library Management System (ILMS)
4.2.2 (QnM) The institution has subscription for the following e-resources
  1. e-journals
  2. e-ShodhSindhu
  3. Shodhganga Membership
  4. e-books
  5. Databases
  6. Remote access to e-resources

4.2.3 (QnM) Average annual expenditure for purchase of books/e-books and subscription to journals/e- journals during the last five years (INR in Lakhs)
4.2.4 (QnM) Percentage per day usage of library by teachers and students ( foot falls and login data for online access) (Data for the latest completed academic year)
4.2.4 book essue
4.2.4 visitor register
4.2.4 accession register
4.3 IT Infrastructure
4.3.1 (QnM) Institution frequently updates its IT facilities including Wi-Fi
4.3.2 (QnM) Student – Computer ratio (Data for the latest completed academic year)
4.3.3 (QnM) Bandwidth of internet connection in the Institution
4.4 Maintenance of Campus Infrastructure
4.4.1 (QnM) Average percentage of expenditure incurred on maintenance of infrastructure (physical and academic support facilities) excluding salary component during the last five years(INR in Lakhs)
Metrics Supported Documents
5.1 Student Support
5.1.1 (QnM) Average percentage of students benefited by scholarships and freeships provided by the Government during last five years
5.1.1 upload self attested letter
5.1.1. upload any additional information
5.1.2 (QnM) Average percentage of students benefitted by scholarships, freeships etc. provided by the institution / non- government agencies during the last five years
5.1.2 upload any additional information
5.1.3 (QnM) Capacity building and skills enhancement initiatives taken by the institution include the following
  1. Soft skills
  2. Language and communication skills
  3. Life skills (Yoga, physical fitness, health and hygiene)
  4. ICT/computing skills

5.1.3 any additional information
5.1.3 Link to Instituional website
5.1.4 (QnM) Average percentage of students benefitted by guidance for competitive examinations and career counselling offered by the Institution during the last five years
5.1.4 any additional information
5.1.5 (QnM) The Institution has a transparent mechanism for timely redressal of student grievances including sexual harassment and ragging cases
  1. Implementation of guidelines of statutory/regulatory bodies
  2. Organisation wide awareness and undertakings on policies with zero tolerance
  3. Mechanisms for submission of online/offline students’ grievances
  4. Timely redressal of the grievances through appropriate committees

5.1.5 details of student grievances
5.1.5 Minutes of the meetings
5.1.5 upload any additional
5.2 Student Progression
5.2.1 (QnM) Average percentage of placement of outgoing students during the last five years
5.2.1 Self attested list of students placed
5.2.1 upload any additional information
5.2.2 (QnM) Average percentage of students progressing to higher education during the last five years
5.2.2 any additional information
5.2.2 upload supporting data for student
5.2.3 any additional informaiton
5.2.3 upload supporting data for the same
5.3 Student Participation and Activities
5.3.1- any additional information
5.3.1 e-copies of award letters and certificates
5.3.2-Paste Link for additional informaiton
5.3.2-uplaod any additional informaiton
5.3.3-Any other additional informaiton
5.3.3-Report of the event
5.3.3-Upload any additional informaiton
5.4 Alumni Engagement
5.4.1 (QnM) There is a registered Alumni Association that contributes significantly to the development of the institution through financial and/or other support services.
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La Nina is returning for Winter 2021/2022, with a watch now issued for the ENSO region, as we head towards the next weather seasons

Cold La Nina is returning for Winter 2021/2022, with a “La Nina watch” now officially issued for the coming months. New cooling in the tropical Pacific has begun, expected to intensify into Autumn and towards the Winter season.

But what exactly is this La Nina, and how can it be so powerful to impact the winter weather across the entire Northern Hemisphere? As you are about to find out, La Nina is actually a part of a large system that connects the ocean and the atmosphere called the ENSO.

We will also take a look at the first long-range forecasts for Autumn and Winter 2021/2022, to see if there is any hint of a La Nina impact on our weather.

To keep it as simple as possible, ENSO is short for “El Niño Southern Oscillation”. This is a region of ocean in the tropical Pacific, which is alternating between warm and cold phases, called El Nino and La Nina, respectfully.

ENSO has a major impact on the tropical convection patterns and the complex interaction of the ocean-atmosphere system. We can observe changes in large-scale pressure patterns in the tropics and with some delay also in the rest of the world, as ENSO shifts between its phases.

The image below shows the ENSO regions in the tropical Pacific. The main regions are 3 and 4 and together cover a large part of the tropical Pacific. Most forecasts and analyses are based on a combination of both regions, 3 and 4, seen on the image as the Nino 3.4 region. Region 3 covers the eastern tropical Pacific, while region 4 covers the central and western parts.

Each ENSO phase has a different effect on the weather in the tropics and the overall circulation and thus impacting the weather worldwide differently. A specific phase (cold/warm) usually develops in late summer and autumn and can last until next summer, or even up to two years in some cases.

The cold ENSO phase is called La Nina and the warm phase is called El Nino. The name La Nina literally translates to “the girl”, and the name El Nino translates to “the boy”, indicating an opposite relation between the phases.

We determine the ENSO phase by the sea surface temperature anomalies (warmer/colder) in the ENSO 3.4 region in the tropical Pacific, which you saw in the image above.

This way, ENSO has a major impact on the tropical rainfall and pressure patterns and impacts the ocean-atmosphere feedback system. Through this ocean-atmosphere system, the ENSO influence is distributed globally. We usually observe a global shift in pressure patterns during the emergence and duration of the ENSO phases.

Current global ocean anomaly analysis reveals a cooling in the tropical Pacific. This is exactly in the ENSO 3.4 region, seen earlier above. The “wave-like” shape of the cold anomalies indicates that this cooling is in its early stages.

Some of the cold anomalies are actually leftover from the strong La Nina that lasted from last Autumn and over Winter, ending this Spring. The image below shows the temperature progression in the ENSO regions, where you can see the La Nina phase in 2020/2021, ending this Spring.

What is perhaps also interesting in the image above, is that a lot of first-year La Ninas continue to evolve into a second La Nina next season. This is exactly what we are expected to see this year, as new cooling is emerging in the ENSO region. Such an event is called a second-year La Nina.

But it is not unusual to have two La Nina events follow each other. In fact, of the twelve first-year La Nina events, eight were followed by La Nina the next winter, two by neutral, and two by El Nino.

This transition is much better seen on the video animation below, which shows the ocean temperature anomalies from Spring into Summer. You can see the cold anomalies of the first La Nina waning over Spring, and new cooling now starting in July.

The current cooling has been quite substantial and persistent over the past weeks. The image below shows the sea surface temperatures in the main ENSO 3.4 region. We can see a steady temperature drop since early July, which is expected to continue, with some intermittent warming in-between.

But we have to remove the normal temperatures, to see the actual cooling, and the cold anomalies. The image below shows the temperature anomaly in the ENSO 3.4 region and reveals the ending of the first-year La Nina in Spring, and new cooling now starting the second-year La Nina.

Below we have a close-up image of the ENSO regions. You can nicely see the developing cold anomalies, as the pressure patterns are changing again, helping to initiate the wind-driven ocean cooling.

Looking back to last Autumn below as a comparison, you can nicely see the much stronger cold anomaly across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This is the strong La Nina from last season, which reached its peak in late November and early December 2020.

If we look at the actual current temperatures, they reveal a “cold-tongue” extending from South America, towards the west, directly across the equator. In this region, the surface waters are always colder than the surrounding regions, but during a La Nina event, they can be up to 4°C colder than normal.

Next image below shows a cross-section by depth along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, from the Asian side on the left to South America on the right. The full vertical profile over the ENSO regions reveals the ocean temperature anomaly by depth. You can see that the strongest anomalies are found between 50 and 150 meters below the surface.

It is nicely evident how there were actually warmer than normal ocean temperatures below the surface this Spring. This has helped to end the La Nina event. But you can see that by July, the warm anomalies have substantially weakened, and cooling has begun at around 50 to 100 meters below the surface.

The latest depth analysis over the ENSO regions shows the cooling is continuing steadily. The large cold pool is now extending further west and going deeper, now reaching between 50 and 150 meters deep.

Based on all the available data, an official La Nina watch has been issued by the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center:

“ENSO-neutral is favored through the Northern Hemisphere summer and into the fall (51% chance for the August-October season), with La Niña potentially emerging during the September-November season and lasting through the 2021-22 winter (66% chance during November-January).”

To fully understand the ENSO, we also have to look at its warm phase. Below we have two images of ocean temperature anomalies, one is the last La Nina in October 2020. The second is the strong El Nino event of the 2015/2016 winter season.

We can see a completely opposite situation and two different phases over the same area of the ocean. Cooler than normal ocean temperatures during a La Nina, and warmer than average temperatures during an El Nino. As we will see later, their influence on the weather is also diametrically opposed.

Looking at the actual temperature instead of the anomalies, we can also see a big difference in the temperature of the ocean surface. The first image shows the sea surface temperatures in the last La Nina, and the second image shows the temperatures during the 2015/2016 El Nino event.

Obvious again is the “cold tongue” of cooler ocean water during a La Nina, which creates these negative anomalies. The ocean temperature difference between the La Nina and El Nino can be quite large, up to 10 degrees Celsius in some places.

You can briefly see the “cold tongue” also in the warm phase below, but it is very suppressed, and much weaker than normal. This cold tongue is actually normal, but it is much stronger during a La Nina and much weaker during an El Nino.

But what causes these cold and warm phases? There is no simple answer, but we can say that it is a result of the complex dynamics between pressure patterns and winds. The tropical trade winds can usually initiate or stop a certain phase, as they mix the ocean surface and alter the ocean currents.

To keep it simple, the trade winds are steady, and persistent winds, which blow towards (and along) the Equator in both Hemispheres. The image below from nicely shows a simplified version of the global prevailing winds. Trade winds are in yellow and red, depending on the Hemisphere.

When these easterly winds get stronger, they can actually start changing the ocean surface currents, and they can start pushing the water from east to west. This moves warm surface waters towards the west, replacing them with the cooler waters from below the surface.

The image below shows the latest ocean surface currents in the ENSO regions. We can see strong easterly currents, which are pushing the water towards the west, and cooling the ocean surface. Also notice the nicely seen Gulf Stream, running from the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida, continuing towards the northeast, up the east coast of the United States.

But the secret is not just in the winds themselves, as they are being driven by pressure changes. The ENSO phase directly responds to a special atmospheric pressure variability, called the Southern Oscillation Index.

The Southern Oscillation Index or SOI represents the difference in average air pressure measured at Tahiti (French Polynesia) and Darwin (Australia). The image below shows the location of the two pressure zones.

Positive SOI values indicate that the pressure over the Tahiti side is higher than over Darwin in Australia. This corresponds to La Nina conditions. But during an El Nino, we see lower pressure in the eastern Pacific and over Tahiti, and higher over Darwin, Australia. This produces a negative SOI value.

The SOI tells us what the pressure pattern looks like in the tropical Pacific, which then affects the trade winds, warming or cooling the ENSO regions.

We have the 30-day and 90-day average SOI values on the image below, which show the increasing positive values and confirming the new development of the La Nina. The SOI can be used to determine the potential effect or influence of the ENSO phase on the climate in the western Pacific and Australia.

We can see this pressure change in the trade winds if we look at zonal (west-east) winds over time. The next image below shows the west-east movement of winds over the equator over time. The main ENSO regions are between 90W and 180W.

Positive zonal wind anomaly (red colors) mean weak easterly winds or even westerly winds. A negative zonal wind anomaly (blue colors) indicates stronger than normal easterly winds. We can obviously see for the next two weeks, there will be stronger than normal easterly trade winds present over the ENSO regions. That will support persistent cooling across the central ENSO regions. The graphic is by

Strong trade winds are also important because they affect the food chain across the tropical Pacific regions. Strong trade winds mean that deeper and cooler water rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away.

This process is known as “upwelling.” Essentially this is a vertical transport process, as shown in the image below, which transports cooler waters and nutrients to the surface.

Water that rises to the surface as a result of upwelling is typically colder and is quite rich in nutrients. These nutrients can “fertilize” the surface waters, meaning that these surface waters often have high biological productivity. We can track that by looking at the amount of chlorophyll (phytoplankton) in the ocean.

The comparison below shows the Chlorophyll concentrations in the last La Nina (first image) and during the same period in the 2015 El Nino event (second image).

We can see that during La Nina, much more nutrients are available along the entire ENSO region, and also by the coastal areas of Middle and South America. This means more food is available for the fish, indicating a potentially good fishing season in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

We can nicely see this upwelling effect when looking at the temperature by depth during a La Nina and an El Nino event. The first image below shows the water temperature by depth during the 2015/2016 El Nino event.

Below is the temperature during a La Nina event, and you can nicely see how the 20°C threshold is much closer to the surface during a La Nina. This is due to the upwelling effect, as the trade winds cause the deeper colder water to rise towards the surface.

At this point, we have to add, that an ENSO phase is not just a pure “influencer” only for our weather. It can also be viewed/interpreted as somewhat of a response to the overall global state of the atmosphere. Almost like a “warning light” on the dashboard of a car. But generally, ENSO does indicate an important influence on the Jet stream in the Pacific Ocean, and consequently also around the world.

The jet stream is a large and powerful stream of air (wind) at around 8-11km (5-7mi) altitude. It flows west-to-east around the entire hemisphere, affecting the pressure systems, their strength, and thus shaping our weather at the surface.

Comparing the two phases of the ENSO on the next image below, we can see that they can produce an entirely different winter weather pattern across North America, as they have a major influence on the position of the jet stream.

La Nina features a stronger and extended polar jet stream from Alaska and western Canada into the United States. While the El Nino features a stronger Pacific jet stream and an amplified storm track over the southern United States.

Looking closer at La Nina, we can see that its main feature is a strong and persistent high-pressure system in the North Pacific. It bends the jet stream from northwest to the southeast, creating a dipole pattern over the United States.

Alaska, western Canada, and the northern United States usually experience colder than normal winter, with more precipitation. Southwest and the southern United States usually experience warmer and a bit drier conditions during La Nina winters.

The shifted jet stream also means a different snowfall potential. The colder air is more easily accessible to the northern United States, which also shows to have an increased snowfall potential during the La Nina winters. Especially areas like Alaska, Canada, and the northwest United States benefit from the northerly jet stream to produce more snowfall. The graphic below is by NOAA-Climate.

We have seen that the main feature of La Nina winters is a strong high-pressure system in the North Pacific. On the image below you can see the average winter pressure pattern during first-year La Nina events. First-year La Nina means that it was not preceded by another La Nina event like this year.

Winter 2020/2021 also had a first-year La Nina. But as you can see on the reanalysis image below, the pressure pattern was quite different than the normal La Nina pattern. There was no dominant high-pressure system in the North Pacific, with even some low-pressure over the Aleutians.

Looking closely at the North Pacific and North America, you can see that the Winter 2020/2021 did not play nicely with the La Nina. Below you can see two graphics. The top one shows the air pressure anomalies during the first two winter months in Winter 2020/2021. The bottom graphic shows the average air pressure anomalies during the strongest 13 La Nina events in the past 70 years.

You don’t have to be a professional meteorologist or to see that they do not fit together very well. The actual winter patterns were not showing a strong La Nina influence. In comparison, the main difference was the strong Greenland/Arctic high-pressure system this winter.

Next below is another image, which shows a comparison of the strongest 13 La Nina events since 1949, to the average La Nina winter pressure pattern. Basically, this image is a rough approximation of how strong was the La Nina signal or influence during its winter season.

Below we have a simple graphic that shows the pressure anomalies in the lower atmosphere over the polar regions. The red colors indicate higher than normal pressure, which started in the stratosphere and made its way down towards the surface, changing the pressure patterns across the hemisphere.

This process packs a lot of energy and can cause a big shift in the weather patterns. There were more things at play this winter, but this stratospheric warming event is standing out as one of the main influencers, that heavily disrupted the La Nina influence.

These stratospheric warming events do not happen every year. Considering that we have now experienced two winter stratospheric warming events in a row, it is currently a low chance that we will witness another stratospheric warming event this Winter. This means that the La Nina 2021/2022 should see less disruption to its influence.

Looking ahead towards Autumn, we have the ocean forecast below from the Australian BOM office. It shows the global ocean temperature anomaly forecast for October. You can see the developing cold La Nina in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The ENSO forecast from BOM shows the cooling extending into late Autumn, reaching the La Nina threshold. A more accurate forecast will be released in the next two months, but this is an early indicator that supports the development of the second year La Nina.

The European ECMWF seasonal forecast also shows the presence of the La Nina from Autumn towards Winter season 2021/2022. This does not look like a particularly strong La Nina, but second-year La Ninas are usually weaker than first-year events.

The ENSO region ensemble forecast below from ECMWF shows the La Nina starting to develop during late Summer, but it has a wide range going into Winter. Most scenarios support the development of the La Nina, but the ECMWF forecast still doesn’t show high confidence, which is normal for this time of year.

The CPC/IRI official probabilistic ENSO forecast shows the high probability for the development of the La Nina from Autumn into Winter. This is the forecast from early July and has an increased La Nina probability compared to previous forecasts from May and June.

Looking at the late Autumn-early Winter pressure pattern forecast by CFSv2, we can see a moderate high-pressure area developing in the North Pacific Ocean. This corresponds to the expected developing La Nina influence from Autumn into Winter.

The ECMWF forecast for the same period also shows the strong presence of a high-pressure system in the North Pacific, with a hint of a low-pressure area over western Canada. This is a quite typical La Nina pattern developing on the transition from Autumn into Winter 2021/2022.

Below we can see the average pattern during second-year La Nina events. As we have seen earlier already, the main sign of a La Nina winter is the strong high-pressure system in the North Pacific. This helps to bend the jet stream, creating a low-pressure system over western Canada and the northwestern United States.

But there is another anomaly that stands out during second-year La Nina events, and that is the high-pressure system over northwestern Siberia. That can have a major role in the European winter pattern, as we can see lower than normal pressure over much of mainland Europe, which would mean colder weather.

The actual early winter forecast from CFSv2 shows the high pressure in the North Pacific, and the hint of a low-pressure system over western Canada and the northern United States. Much more impressive is the high-pressure anomaly over the Polar Regions. This is just a first look forecast, with major changes likely as we will get closer to Winter.

The temperature forecast for the same period shows the warmer conditions over much of Europe and the western United States. But we can see the typical La Nina colder weather in western Canada, hinted to extend into northeastern United States.

Unlike North America, this forecast does not correspond directly to an expected second-year La Nina influence over Europe. But Europe is much further away from the ENSO region and does not have a direct connection to its influence. Over Europe, the ENSO influence comes mostly distorted, changed by the pressure patterns in the North Atlantic and the Polar regions.

We will keep you updated on the developing La Nina and its Winter 2021/2022 influence, so make sure to bookmark our page. Also, if you have seen this article in the Google App (Discover) feed, click the like (♥) button to see more of our forecasts and our latest articles on weather and nature in general.

An extensive heatwave develops as a powerful heat dome dominates the weather pattern across the United States


Research points to second chance for rejected antibiotic candidate

The wider class of pantothenamides have broad spectrum activity against many bacteria but this one particular molecule is much more effective against E. coli. Exactly what it was doing remained a mystery, but now an international team, led by the University of Leeds, has found the answer.

Their findings, published in the journal Biochemistry, open up the possibility of designing new drugs that use the same means to attack E.coli, but in a more effective way.

Lead researcher, Dr Michael Webb from the Astbury Centre and School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds explained: “Fifty years ago there seemed to be plenty of antibiotics to choose from, so the less promising, like pentyl pantothenamide were often put on the back of the shelf.

“With the rise of antibiotic resistance, we no longer have that luxury. However, scientific advances mean we can now look at these drugs in a new way, and – in this case at least – expect to find a way to make them effective in treating bacterial infections.”

The key to the mystery was Vitamin B5, which is used to metabolise energy. Humans – and indeed all mammals – find it in their diet, but bacteria have to make it and a key part of the machinery they use is called the PanDZ complex.

During a Wellcome-funded sabbatical at the National Institute of Genetics in Japan, Dr Webb showed that pentyl pantothenamide targets the PanDZ complex, preventing E.coli from making Vitamin B5 and so starving it of the means to grow and resist the broad spectrum toxicity caused by the whole pantothenamide class.

The team, which also involved scientists from the University of Hamburg, then used X-ray crystallography to map the structure of the complex. They discovered that the antibiotic binds to the bacteria only in the presence of a particular compound which is created by the bacteria using three different enzymes.

The aim now is to find a molecule that can mimic this final compound, as this could strengthen the action of the antibiotic to make it more effective against this and other related disease-causing bacteria such as Klebsiella and Salmonella which also have a PanDZ complex.

Dr Webb added: “An antibiotic that kills E. coli may not be the only option, because if you can stop the bacteria from growing for long enough, then our own immune system can kick in to finish the job. Now we fully understand how pentyl pantothenamide is working, it may be possible to either identify, or create, a more effective version that could be used to treat patients.”

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Research points to second chance for rejected antibiotic candidate

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