One of the most significant battles of the World War I was the battle of Verdun. The summary of the events that kick started World War 1 is mentioned below.

Image of Verdun Battle

BATTLE OF VERDUN

In December 1915, German Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, devised a plan to win a quick victory on the Western Front. Besides launching a submarine war and cutting off all supplies approaching Britain by targeting merchant vessels, he also planned to lay siege to Verdun, France. Verdun was historically a French stronghold. With eighteen major and twelve minor forts around the city, the loss of Verdun would impact the morale of France and the country would fight tooth and nail to salvage the city, Falkenhayn argued. His intent to “bleed France white” was sanctioned by the Kaiser.
Crown Prince Wilhelm and the German Fifth Army led the attack on February 21, 1916. Verdun was bombarded for about two days before the launch of the attack. Having received prior information about the attack, French General Joseph Joffre assigned Lieutenant Colonel Emile Driant to lead the defense. Over 200,000 French soldiers guarded Verdun against a million German troops. Crown Prince Wilhelm targeted Verdun with over 1,400 guns and millions of shells. When he received information that the shelling and bombardment had not caused much damage, Wilhelm decided not to attack Verdun. He decided to continue with bombardment. Consequently, only the first line of trenches defending Verdun had been taken by the Germans. The French troops, having lost Lieutenant Colonel Driant, defended Verdun bravely. By February 24, 1916, the German troops had reached within five miles of Verdun. Douaumont, one of the important forts surrounding Verdun, was taken over by French troops. Joffre then placed Verdun under the command of General Henri-Philippe Petain who became known for his declaration, "They shall not pass!" Petain organized the defenses of Verdun efficiently while taking care to dedicate troops for the safeguard of the supply route known as the “Sacred Road.”
Starting March 6, 1916, Wilhelm launched a number of offensives at Verdun but each was successfully repelled by the French troops. France deployed most of its army to fight at Verdun. Petain’s plan to inflict heavy damages to the German army was successful, but the French lost almost as many men as their enemies. In their third attack, starting April 9, 1918, the Germans made slow progress. The forts at Homme Hill and Fort Vaux were captured. At the same time Petain was replaced by General Robert Nivelle.
By June and July of 1916, the Germans came dangerously close to capturing Verdun. They then launched a gas attack with the much-feared phosgene gas. The BEF came to the rescue of the French army by launching the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, thus diverting the concentration of the German troops at Verdun. The Russian army also launched simultaneous offensives on the Eastern Front, making it necessary to move troops away from Verdun.
You may also like to read: The battle of Tanneberg: Historic World War 1 battles
Back home in Germany, Falkenhayn came under heavy criticism due to a lack of breakthrough at Verdun. Paul von Hindenburg replaced Falkenhayn as Chief of German Staff. General Charles Mangin was appointed by the French to take charge of the forts at Verdun. His able leadership enabled the French troops to recover Douaumont and Fort Vaux. With the French recovering all lost ground and capturing 11,000 German soldiers, Hindenburg called off the battle on December 18, 1916. While the Germans estimated a loss of 434,000 soldiers, the French pinned their losses at 550,000. The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I and drained both sides by causing huge losses.

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Internet technology has become a major part of education infrastructure in today’s world offering online degree programs, education courses, accredited online degrees and knowledge data base. The education websites in Pakistan also act as metamediaries have emerged during the past half a decade and help to lessen the academic problems of Pakistan.

The education in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is under the governance of the Ministry of Education and under the provincial governments. The educational infrastructure currently in practice in Pakistan can be divided into 5 tiers, namely primary school, middle school, high school or O’ Levels, Intermediate level or A’ Levels and then university level which includes both undergraduate and post graduate programs.

If we refer to the global rankings of universities on the internet, we get to know that 8 universities of Pakistan fall under the top 100 Technology universities of the world giving online degree programs and accredited online degrees. Moreover, 1 Pakistani universities fall under the 200` top universities around the globe.

List of Education Websites in Pakistan

Ministry of Education (Med)

Med is one of the best education websites in Pakistan. The Ministry of Education, also known as Med, is the cabinet-level ministry which is the organization which is responsible for the advent of education and the abolishment of illiteracy in Pakistan. This information is available on the official website of the Med, http://www.moe.gov.pk/. The objectives of the Ministry are clearly defined under the section “Functions”. Some of these functions include the process and the protection of copyrights in Pakistan, to conduct external examinations in Pakistan and provide equivalent degrees and diplomas to seize job opportunities and to continue further studies inside and outside of the country, to provide the medium of instructions in the National and Official language, providing military training to students, providing aid and grants and monitoring state educational institutes and libraries to the areas of Pakistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and to process and approve plans proposed by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. The site also includes the addresses of the different offices and departments of the Ministries and their contact details. Moreover, the site also has forms available for download for various purposes, some of which include the form to change one’s subjects or subject group, the form to change personal details in the state’s educational institute’s registry, etc.

Higher Education Commission (HEC)

The University Grant Commission or the now referred to as the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is the head regulatory authority if education in Pakistan. Its main objective is to provide necessary facilities to higher education institutes in Pakistan so that they can provide quality and international standards level of education. The economy that has been built in Pakistan due to the advent of knowledge can all be credited to the role that the HEC has been playing since the past couple of years. It has been providing the bridge between the universities in Pakistan and those abroad and the students of Pakistan.

The HEC website http://www.hec.gov.pk is updated regularly and the latest news regarding the new researches and new education opportunities and scholarships worldwide is available on the website. The site provides the latest state and private university rankings of Pakistan and the trained, approved and registered doctorate faculty present in the country. The site also shows the opportunities available for students in extracurricular programs. These include scholarships in sports various other co-curricular activities. The website also has links and information about other universities currently providing high quality education in Pakistan.

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Much like US- Vietnam Relations, Cuba’s relationship with the United States has always been a roller coaster ride. From the peak in the early 1900’s to the hostility of the 1960’s; US-Cuba relations are indeed an exceptional thing in international politics. In this thesis we are going to chronologically illuminate each of the important historical events that took place in this paradoxical relationship and dig deep into some of the more important ones such as the US support of dictators in Cuba, the successful rebellion led by Fidel Castro, the nationalization of the mainly US private enterprises in Cuba, the subsequent trade embargo and its long history, the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crises, and the refugee crises that Cuban emigrants have created. This paper will only give out facts and verifiable information and not delve into the volumes of propaganda spread by each side, insofar only analyzing and giving statements that are neutral and accepted as correct by the international community. Any extended commentary is given only after an in-depth research of US-Cuba relations. Moreover this paper will attempt to understand why these relations have remained so, even though the United States and Cuba are practically next door neighbors with a strong history of cooperation and, especially on Cuba’s part, of dependence.

History of U.S and Cuba Relations

In 1898 a decadent Spanish empire was faced with war against the United States on many fronts. This war began with the sinking of the American Battleship Maine in Cuba under unexplained circumstances which finally convinced or forced the American government to intervene into Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain. Cuba had been one of the last colonies of the Spanish Empire and Spain had always been reluctant to give it up even though the United States had tried to purchase the colony for costly amounts. The United States saw Cuba as one of its own states, due to geographical, economical and political reasons and felt very strongly about Spanish atrocities being carried out prior to the independence movement of Cuba. Hence with the sinking of Maine and within four months of majorly American victories in battle, Cuba was taken as a protectorate of the United States, Spain having renounced all claims to the territory in accordance to the Treaty of Paris according to Claire Suddath (2009). Till 1901 the United States had a military government in Cuba. Then in 1901 Cuba was granted freedom albeit with some restriction under the Platt Amendment which were incorporated into the Cuban Constitution. The Amendment granted the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuba's internal affairs and stated that Cuba cannot enter into treaties or financial relationships with other countries. It also contained a provision for an American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which would later become infamous for the terrorist suspects held and tortured there. Hence Cuba became an independent country with Tomas Estrada Palma as its president but with indirect control of intervention through any means by the United States for the purpose of ‘protecting’ the Cuban people.
In the following 20 years the United States repeatedly intervened militarily in Cuban affairs. The first one was in 1906 – 1909; which took place after the collapse of President Tomas Estrada Palma's government, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered an invasion of Cuba and established an occupation that would go on for nearly four years. The objective of the operation was to thwart fighting between the Cubans, to protect U.S. economic interests, and to conduct free elections. Following the election of Jose Miguel Gomez, in November 1908, Cuba was considered to be stable enough to allow an extraction of American troops, which was completed in February 1909. Three years later in 1912 the Negro Rebellion occurred which was an armed conflict in Cuba, taking place mostly in the eastern region of the island. The conflict involved the extensive massacre of Afro-Cubans, by the Cuban Army, and an intervention by the United States military. Both the massacre and the presence of American troops quashed the violence so the strife and the occupation ended after only a few weeks. Lastly in the war of 1917 – 1922 the U.S. was again forced to intervene to put down another rebellion against the Cuban government.
By 1926 the U.S. interests in Cuba had become too intensive for the U.S. to not support the government(s) in Cuba. The U.S. was the main economic partner of Cuba as well as owning a considerable share of the Cuban economy itself; the United States owned more than 60% of the Cuban sugar industry which was the primary source of good being produced at that time. Therefore the American policy became more and more pro-government in Cuba, irrespective of how corrupt or dictatorial that government was, as long as it served American interests. This policy eventually led to Ramon Garu’s government being denied acceptance by the American government and to the rise of General Fulgencio Batista dictatorial regime which would eventually cause a revolution in Cuba. Batista ruled from 1940 to 1944 in his first tenure and was then, through a military coup orchestrated with the backing of the then American President Harry Truman. Batista was viewed as a very pro-American leader and especially in his second tenure strived for a great amount of cooperation with the United States. This ended up with the total domination of the Cuban economy by U.S. corporation as well as increased U.S. intervention in Cuban politics. Batista was accused of being highly corrupt and belligerent by the Cuban people but the U.S. was determined to keep his regime in power. Rebellions constantly took place in the 1950’s, and when finally in 1958 the U.S. government stopped the trade of arms to the Batista government, the rebels under Fidel Castro gained an insurmountable advantage over the government troops and soon overran the forces of the Cuban government. This would mark a new chapter in the history of U.S.-Cuban relations. Claire Suddath (2009)

Ending of diplomatic relations 

Fidel Castro was not the type of leader that Cuba had had before, he was a dedicated socialist who believed in Cuba’s national identity and was ready to take action against all those forces that would stop him from achieving his aims. One of the first things he did when he came into power was to start the nationalization of the Cuban economy, which essentially meant that he confiscated all privately held enterprises (almost all of them belonging to the U.S.) and do so without giving any sort of compensation to their original owners. Secondly Castro introduced agrarian reforms, effectively ending U.S. control of cheap labor working on U.S. held farms in Cuba as per Lana Wylie (2011). This caused uproar in the U.S. which stood against nationalization on not only an ideological point of view, but also on the basis that this alone caused billions of dollars of investments to be lost. The U.S. government reacted harshly to this, putting various trade and economic embargoes on Cuba eventually leading to a curtailment of the import of Cuban sugar and export of oil to Cuba, devastating Cuban economy and further worsening relations between the two countries according to Rens Lee (2008). In 1960 President Eisenhower of the United States authorized covert action by the CIA to facilitate the removal of Fidel Castro and his communist government through any means; which eventually amounted to assassination, support of anti-government forces and finally an invasion. Castro decided to align Cuba with the Soviet Union which finally led to all diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba being broken off. The embassies of both nations were closed off in each other’s capitals and ambassadors were recalled.

Bay of Pigs Invasion 

The hostility came to a head with the invasion of Cuba planned by the U.S. later named the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Bay of Pigs was not originally President John Kennedy's idea. As the communist nature of Fidel Castro's regime became apparent, the urge to bring down his government grew. President Eisenhower's administration had already designed the invasion, which would be handled by the CIA. By the time of Kennedy's inauguration, the order to invade was the only remaining piece of the plan to put into place. Planning for the invasion began in 1960, before diplomatic ties with Cuba had been broken. The state of affairs was delicate, since the plan was to overthrow a government with which the United States was not at war. Various aspects, including propaganda and military strategies, were included in the plan, along with the directive that the U.S. should not appear to be involved. Cuban and hired Americans were to be used in the invasion with equipment being provided by the CIA.
On April 12, 1961, Kennedy told a press conference that the United States clearly had no intention of intervening in Cuban affairs. Five days later, the invasion took place. This only showed the Cuban populace and government that U.S. could no longer be trusted with anything it stated. Adlai Stevenson, the American ambassador to the U.N., emphatically denied the Cuban ambassador's charges about the attack. Unfortunately, the truth came out within a few hours and Stevenson along with the U.S. government was greatly embarrassed.
The invaders surrendered on the afternoon of April 19. More than 200 people been killed; another 1,197 were taken captive. The failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion set the stage for further hostility against Castro from the United States. President Kennedy made little attempt to hide his persistent aspiration to see Castro deposed. Castro’s insecurity about the prospect of his rule over Cuba led to the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles there, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Another operation code named Mongoose was also carried out by the CIA and was also a failure and was made public.

Cuban Missile crises 

In August 1962, after some failed operations by the US to bring down the Cuban government of Fidel Castro, the Cuban and Soviet governments clandestinely began to construct bases in Cuba for a number of nuclear missiles with the capability to target most of the United States; thereby changing the balance of power in the cold war since the USSR did not have this ability of directly threatening the U.S. The thirteen days referred to as the Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other in October 1962. This action was also due to the deployment of nuclear missiles in the UK, Italy and Turkey in 1961; which meant that the United States had the capability to strike Moscow with nuclear warheads. On October 14, 1962, a U.S. aircraft on a photoreconnaissance mission captured photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases under assembly in Cuba. Mark L. Haas (2001)
The United States considered attacking Cuba through the air and sea, but decided on a military blockade instead, calling it a”quarantine" for legal and other reasons. The U.S. announced that it would not allow offensive weapons to be transported to Cuba and demanded that the Soviets dismantle the missile bases already under assembly or completed in Cuba and remove all offensive weapons.
Both the Soviet and American forces prepared for war as it seemed that neither side was willing to back down from its position; both fearing humiliation and a weakening of their power on the international arena. The USSR was determined to protect Cuba from what was an imminent invasion by the U.S., whereas the U.S. was not willing to be threatened by nuclear weapons so close to its mainland and Soviet armed presence in what it considered its own backyard.
Eventually an agreement was reached whereby the U.S. promised to not invade Cuba and remove its nuclear warheads from Turkey and Italy in return for USSR pulling back. This allowed Cuba to be safe from anymore blatant aggression from the U.S. and further strengthened the anti-American view of the Cuban population and government. Till the 1980’s the relationship of the two countries would generally remain strained although some improvements were made.

Refugees 

Migration from Cuba to the United States started since Castro took control, and the categorization of those leaving as refugees, has been heavily affected by U.S. foreign policy. During the 1959-62 migration wave, particularly preceding the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Cubans were welcomed as short-term exiles, liable to bring down Castro and return home. The second key migration wave began in 1965, in the middle of a U.S. campaign for methodically isolating and economically depriving Cuba and its populace. When thousands of that populace left Cuba, mainly to improve their economic conditions and reunite with family members, they were welcomed as refugees because of the iconic value of their denunciation of Latin America's sole communist state; Cuba. The third migration wave occurred in 1980, after a decade of peace and steadily improving U.S.-Cuban relations. Since it did not serve any U.S. foreign policy plan and was alleged to as helping Cuba rid itself of criminals and unwanted people. Therefore those arriving received little public support. David W. Haines & Karen E. Rosenblum(2009).

1980’s onwards 

With the diminishing of the cold war, Cuba lost its perch as an important outpost of communist operations and the United States relegated its importance as related in Jorge I. Dominguez (1985). In 1990’s the U.S., in supporting democracy in Cuba hiked up sanctions and embargoes against Cuba leading up to the Helms-Burton Act which made the sanctions law in 1996. However by 2010 the U.S.-Cuba relations had thawed considerably enough to allow U.S. corporations to export goods to Cuba. The illness and resignation of Fidel Castro also paved way for speculations that Cuba would now move closer to aligning itself with the U.S. but that has not happened under Raul Castro’s new government. The U.S. is adamant that Cuba cannot be considered a good nation in the international community until it holds democratic election and stops its human rights abuses. Cuba on its behalf has stated that impositions and coercion will not ferment any change. Cuba has also demanded that the U.S. also withdraw from Guantanamo Bay since that infringes on Cuba’s territorial integrity. 

You may also like to read: 

1. Vietnam War: United States and Vietnam Relations

2. Detente Policy during Cold War
References 
i. Claire Suddath (2009). U.S.-Cuba Relations. Time magazine.
ii. Lana Wylie (2011). Perceptions and foreign policy: A comparative study of Canadian and American policy toward Cuba. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal.
iii. Rens Lee (2008). RETHINKING THE EMBARGO. Foreign Affairs, Vol. 87, No. 6 (November/December 2008), pp. 180-182Published.
iv. Mark L. Haas (2001). Prospect Theory and the Cuban Missile Crisis. International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Jun., 2001), pp. 241-270
v. David W. Haines & Karen E. Rosenblum (2009). Perfectly American: Constructing the Refugee Experience. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
vi. Jorge I. Dominguez (1985). US-Cuban Relations in the 1980s: Issues and Policies. Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Feb., 1985), pp.17-34
vii. Timeline: US-Cuba relations. BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12159943 U.S. State Department. http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/cuba/policy.html

After reading United States - Cuba Relationship Analysis, you may also like to read: 

1. Vietnam War: United States and Vietnam Relations

2. Detente Policy during Cold War

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Main concepts: Labor force, Labor force participation and developing countries

Labor force: The total number of People employed or seeking employment in a country or region also called work force.
Labor force participation: Measures the proportion(women) of a specific population (15 and above) considered to be either working or actively searching for a job.
Developing countries: A developing country, also called a less-developed country (LDC), is a nation with a low living standard, underdeveloped industrial base, and low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries.

Women Participation in the Labor Force of Pakistan

Women Participation in the Labor Force of Pakistan Women participation in the labor force in Pakistan has remained substantially lower than that of men’s in the world. However, women participation rate is high and gender gap low in many developing countries, because mostly women are involved in unpaid subsistence farming, and only a few are involved in other paid economic activities. In Pakistan, female labor force participation has risen at a greater rate than that of men since 1980. Pakistan average annual growth rate of FLFP was 4 percent in 1980 90, 4.9 percent in 1990-95 and 5.1 percent in 1995-98, whereas the growth rate of male labor force declined from 3.2 percent in 1980-90 to 2.5 percent in 1990-95 and 2.7 percent in 1995-98. Compared to other South Asian countries, FLFP rate is low in Pakistan. For example, FLFP rate is over 40 percent in Bangladesh and Nepal, 32 percent in India and Bhutan, 36 percent in SriLanka and only 27 percent in Pakistan (World Bank and UNDP).Pakistan being characterized as a developing country has a low incidence of women labor force participation compared to other low income countries. Even though women work from dawn to dusk performing household chores, yet their hard work is considered non-productive and go unrecorded in the respective system of national accounts, thereby making very less or no contribution to the socio-economic development in Pakistan. In Pakistan women, participation in the labor force remains low, merely because women are expected to perform household chores for example cleaning, cooking and taking care of children.
 Labour supply is not only a key component of socio-economic development, yet is an important factor for the advancement of women. Since in Pakistan half of the total population comprises of females, women participation in the labor force is an important factor determining the level of development. Pakistan comprises of a major chunk of female population, so them being jobless indicates a higher unemployment level in the country which defeats the purpose to develop. Also, there are certain industries such as clothing where women have broader spectrum and varied skills so they must be employed in accordance to their capabilities so that there is decreased opportunity cost of production. Participation of women in Pakistan can easily be increased in cottage industries due to our cultural and traditional skills. The participation of female labor force is desirable for both equity and efficiency reasons. Equity aspect shows that women’s participation in the labor force ultimately improves their relative economic position and increases the overall economic efficiency by enhancing the development potential of the country. In Pakistan, women are mostly unpaid family workers in the agriculture sector. However as their education improves so do their opportunities in the manufacturing and services sector. Moreover, to overcome severe economic crisis, women must be encouraged to actively participate in economic activities. Also a greater proportion of income earned by women themselves is used on the up-bringing of their children, providing them with quality education.

Factors of Labor Supply

Factors shaping the labor supply decisions of women in Pakistan include the following: Education, marital status, family size, households financial status and mobility of labor. All these explanatory variables can be better described and analysed by dividing them in various groups. First one being the women characteristics, including age of women, completed level of education, training/skills and marital status. Second is the household’s characteristics which might play a critical role in the decision making process and participation of women in economic activities. This includes whether the woman is the head of the household, the number of pre-school age children in the house, the type of family arrangement ( joint or nuclear), total members living in the house (male and female). Third is the financial status of the household based on the monthly expenditure. Last but not the least mobility of labor (occupational and geographical). A detailed in-depth study of the above factors will help give a clear picture of women participation in the labour force in Pakistan.
Women’s age positively influences the possibility of their involvement in economic activity. The more experienced and skilled they are, the more likely they are to participate in labor force. At the individual level women’s decision to work is subject to such factors as the availability of jobs, education level and skills. Human capital such as experience and job-training enhance productivity providing many job opportunities. Education is an important factor affecting women’s decision of labour force participation. Education qualifications enhance job prospects for all individuals and women, making certain jobs more easily available to them.Thus career oriented women with quality education are more likely to participate in labor force. On the other hand, married women are less likely to participate in economic activities. The opposite is true for the widow or divorced women.
Household characteristics play important role in determining women participation in the labour force. In households with illiterate male members, women are more likely to participate in economic activities or are forced to participate to support the family financially. Women’s participation increases if the male members of the household have low human capital. With an increase in number of pre-school children, women are less likely to participate. As the reproductive responsibilities in the home increases, women are most likely to postpone or abdicate participation in economic activities so that there is no hindrance in the up-bringing of children. In addition to this an increased number of family members of the households require women too to actively participate in economic activities to help male members support the family.
The economic status of household is another factor indicating the need for additional economic resources in the household. When the household heads are male employer or employee, women are less likely to participate in economic activities. However, with unpaid family members and male head of the household, women are more likely to participate.
Mobility of labor including both occupational and geographical factors also helps in determining the women participation in the labor force of Pakistan. Lack of information of job opportunities and unwillingness of women to move to another area for work reduces women participation in the labor force of Pakistan.

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This article is a complete guide on:
1. What is Insomnia Disorder
2. Types of Insomnia
3. Causes of Insomnia
4. Effects of Insomnia
5. Insomnia Treatments: Natural Ways and Home Remedies
6. Therapies for Treatments

Insomnia: A Sleeping Disorder

Sleep Troubles

Insomnia disorder is defined as difficulties in initiating, maintaining sleep and non-restorative sleep accompanied by decline in work efficiency. For many patients suffering from depression and anxiety, insomnia is a pervasive problem. Insomnia can be short term or ongoing. There are many causes of Insomnia. Insomnia is a symptom, much like fever or stomachache. Certain causes of insomnia can be categorized into three major categories which include lifestyle, health and environment. Experiments were carried out to see how insomnia affects quality of life and the conclusion reached was that people suffering from insomnia report greater quality of life impairment in contrast to people without insomnia because all animals, be they mammal, amphibian, aquatic, etc., need some form of sleep in order to rejuvenate their body and/or mind. Without sleep our bodies tend to experience some type of mental or physical malfunctions. Some of us human beings can even become down right incapable of proper social function. Sleep disturbance can exacerbate the condition, disrupt Insomnia treatment, cause further complications and add to the social disability associated with chronic illness. Insomnia can result in mental illness and can have a huge impact when it comes to efficiency of a subject. Personality traits can be a major differentiating point when it comes to comparison between subjects with and without insomnia however personality differences between insomniacs and controls might rather be state-dependent instead of trait-dependent. Treatment of Insomnia can be by two major ways namely Pharmacotherapy and Nonpharmacologic interventions. The underlying statement is that one can get rid of Insomnia and other sleeping disorders.

What is Insomnia: Definition

Insomnia is derived from the Latin word which means “no sleep”. Insomnia is characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in staying asleep, waking up too early, poor quality i.e non-restorative sleep or maintaining sleep at least 3 nights per week, in addition to complaints of sleep related daytime impairment. Sufficient and restful sleep is a human necessity. And if one does not get enough sleep factors related to quality of life gets affected. In short, insomnia is a serious and pervasive health condition that lowers overall life satisfaction and can lead to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Types of Insomnia

There are two types of Insomnia: primary or secondary. Primary insomnia means that the inability to sleep is not caused by other health problems, medicines, or other substances. It is its own distinct disorder. Many life changes can trigger primary insomnia, including long-lasting stress and emotional upset. Secondary insomnia is due to other health conditions, medicines, sleep disorders that interfere with sleep. It is also called “co-morbid insomnia.”
Insomnia is often categorized by how long it lasts. Although there are several different degrees of insomnia, three types of insomnia have been clearly identified: transient, acute, and chronic. Transient insomnia lasts for a few days to a few weeks. This condition is sometimes referred to as adjustment sleep disorder. The trigger could be a major or traumatic event or a minor event. Short-term (acute) insomnia lasts for no more than 3 weeks. Chronic insomnia is characterized by insomnia that lasts for months and years. Its effects can vary according to its causes. They might include sleepiness, muscular fatigue, hallucinations, and mental fatigue but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness. Insomnia can affect all age groups and is more common in adult women than adult men.

Researches around the Globe:

The article, “Chronic Insomnia as a Risk Factor for Developing Anxiety and Depression” focuses on relations of insomnia to the development of anxiety disorders and depression. The author clearly states that insomnia and major depression among adolescents indicates the two are reciprocally related but exactly how they might be causally linked is uncertain. All three sub-types of insomnia are associated with anxiety disorders. Individuals entering depression are known to often develop concurrent insomnia, and that individuals with insomnia are at risk for developing depression. Some of these bidirectional connections clearly involve associations of insomnia and depression with co-occurring anxiety states, other psychiatric or general medical comorbidities, or substance-related factors. Persistent sleep problems in childhood may be an early risk indicator of anxiety in adulthood. The severity of depression is significantly associated with non-restorative sleep and decreased total sleep duration. The severity and duration of depression will be exaggerated if patient depression is combined with chronic insomnia. The close relationship between insomnia and depression is also observed in the elderly. Sleep disturbance is also associated with more severe and later onset depression, where elderly patients with depression had longer awakenings, poor sleep efficiency. Therefore, patients with insomnia should be carefully evaluated for the presence of comorbid depression, which can facilitate the early detection and management of insomnia. (Dag Neckelmann, Amstein Mykletun and Alv A. Dahl)

Effects of Insomnia on Quality of Life

 The conclusion is that insomnia does have negative effects on the quality of life as it causes health issues such as muscle fatigue, loss of stamina, weakness of immune system etc. Moreover, insomnia severely affects mental health too. It is a cause of other disorders and one of the biggest risk factor for depression. People suffering from insomnia are mostly found to be pessimistic, fearful, shy and easily fatigued. Without sleep our brains deteriorate. Insomnia may cause memory weakness and memory loss. When we are sleep deprived the brain starts to get disorganized and makes it difficult to concentrate. Not only it creates hallucinations but also makes it difficult for the brain to learn and process information. It can also cause emotional damages like mood swings, severe anxiety, depression, difficulty in understanding and responding to crucial situations. As a result of these effects insomnia directly affects the wellbeing and life style of any individual suffering from the disease. People who sleep less than five hours have been found to be more likely to gain weight. Work performance is also affected that is why insomniac patients have a very hard time succeeding in their fields of work. It leads to higher absenteeism. Accidents often occur especially when operating motor vehicles, while suffering from insomnia. Similarly, the psychological and emotional conditions make it very difficult for the insomniac patients to hold their nerves in pressure situations which make their social life more difficult. There are a number of ways to get rid of Insomnia and many other sleeping disorders.

Insomnia Treatments: How to treat Insomnia?

There are both non-pharmacological and pharmacotherapy treatments for insomnia patients. Any treatment for insomnia should accomplish three goals: induce sleep, maintain sleep, and promote functionality the next day. Many doctors recommend a number of behavioral methods and prescription medications as the main insomnia treatments. And doctors believe that these insomnia treatment options can improve both quality and quantity of sleep for people with insomnia.
Doctors also recommends behavior therapy. Behavioral treatments teach new sleep behaviors and ways to improve your sleeping environment. Behavior therapies are equally or more effective than are sleep medications and effectively get rid of insomnia. Behavioral therapies include:
o Stimulus control
o Cognitive behavioral therapy
o Relaxation training and biofeedback
o Sleep restriction

Goals of Sleep Disorder Therapies:

o To reduce the time it takes to go to sleep to below 30 minutes
o Reduce wake-up periods during the night

Stimulus Control to get rid of Insomnia:

The primary idea behind stimulus control is to establish the idea that the bed is meant only for sleeping. It emphasizes not watching TV or reading in bed. It includes some of the following practices:
· Use bed only when you are ready to sleep.
· If unable to sleep within 15 - 20 minutes, get up and go into another room.
· Maintain a regular wake-up time no matter how few hours you actually sleep.
· Avoid naps

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:

This is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying unwanted feelings or thoughts and replacing them with more positive thoughts. It involves actions that are intended to alter the behavior. It is a type of counseling that can help you understand why you have sleep problems and can show you how to deal with them. It is one of another effective home remedy for insomnia treatment.

Relaxation training and biofeedback: Natural Home Remedy

Relaxation therapy; as the name suggest is associated with physical relaxation using different techniques to you calm your mind and body. Approaches include meditation, hypnosis and muscle relaxation. Whereas biofeedback method allows observing biological signs such as heart rate and muscle tension. It involves being monitored with a device that measures brain waves. This information can help identify patterns that affect sleep.

Sleep Restriction:

Lying in bed when awake can become a habit that leads to poor sleep. In this home remedy for sleeping disorders the time spent in bed is limited to the time spent in sleeping. As sleep improves, the hours spent in bed are increased.

Other than these behavioral therapies drugs and medicines are also used to recover from insomnia.

Drug Therapy:

In drug therapy different approaches might be used. Initially medications are used to decrease the anxiety and stress caused due to insomnia. Most commonly used drugs are Zolpidem, Temazepam, Zaleplon and Flurazepam. However, in rare cases, these medications may cause severe allergic reactions, facial swelling. These drugs may also cause hazardous or unusual behaviors, such as driving or preparing and eating food while asleep. Side effects of prescription sleeping medications are often more pronounced in older people and may include excessive drowsiness, impaired thinking, night wandering, agitation and balance problems. As a general rule doctors discourage the usage of sleeping pills on a daily basis. Patients over the age of 60 are usually not given sedatives. The medication is decreased gradually and sometimes patient might face insomnia rebound after the medication is being stopped.
All these therapies and natural home remedies to get rid of Insomnia are valid and science has proved their positive effect on the life of people suffering from sleeping disorders.
References:
1. Natural Depression Treatment: How to get rid of Depression?
2. Causes, Types and Symptoms of Depression

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Vietnam War

Introduction:

Vietnam war was the longest and most unpopular war in the American history. The war stretched over 19 years from 1954 to 1973. The primary American motive was to stop spread of communism in the world. 58000 Americans lost lives, 304k wounded and 75k were severely disabled. The total cost of Vietnam War that United States suffered in monetary terms was 200 billion dollars.

Causes of Vietnam War

1. Communism in North supported by USSR and China
2. French defeat in 1954 and Geneva Peace Accords. According to the agreement the country was divided into 2 halves at 17th parallel and an announcement of elections to be held 2 years later in 1956. US opposition of elections after it emerged that the communists would win the elections.
3. Southeast Asian Treaty Organization was set up with the help of U.S. Military  political and economic aid was provided by the U.S to South Vietnam and Republic of Vietnam was born on 1955. Ngo Dinh Diem became the 1st president.
4. Justification for U.S involvement was Domino Theory which stated, “IF South Vietnam falls to Communists, then Laos, Cambodia  Thailand, Burma, India would also fall like Dominos. The Pacific Island and even Australia could be at a risk.

Events in Vietnam-U.S War: 

Diem declared, S.V was under threat from communists residing in North. 1957: Diem counterattacks with US military help. Passed series of acts known as 10/59 which made it legal for holding communists behind bars without bringing formal charges. It was met with hostility in the native land as Monks, students and intellectuals protested unfair laws and oppression
National Liberated Front was created in 1960 in opposition of government. Anyone could join as long as they wanted a United Vietnam and were against Diem’s rule. Americans labeled the movement “Viet Cong” which meant Vietnamese Communists.
December 1961: Kennedy sends team to Vietnam to asses further American aid requirements.
Strategic Helmet Program (US and South Vietnam joint operation): Placed the villagers in safe helmets (places) isolating the communists from the villagers. It proved counter effective and further consolidated NLF as more people joined the movement.
Summer 1963: Evident that the South Vietnam government would fall. Diem’s brother raided Buddhists Pagodas (place where they lived) and accused them of harboring communists and creating instability. Monks protested by self immolation (setting themselves on fire). IT made world headlines. Coup in South Vietnam with US military help; Diem and his brother was arrested and later killed. Kennedy was also assassinated after 3 weeks of Diem’s killing.

Johnson becomes U.S president. 1964: 2 US ships shot down in Gulf of Tokin on 2nd and 4th August. Gulf of Tokin resolution was signed in US which gave president broad war powers. AIR ATTACKS on North Vietnam.
1965: 2 US installations destroyed in North Vietnam. Operation ROLLING THUNDER begins, Phosphorus and Napalm bombings results in thousand of civilians getting severe burns.
Operation RANCH HAND: Chemical bombings containing Dioxin destroyed millions of acres of jungles but also contaminated the crop which caused chromosome damage to humans. Children were born with deformities.

North Vietnamese Tactics to fight back:

1. Maoist Guerrilla tactics which meant the NFL people would be hard to distinguish from the villagers.Lands were distributed to the peasants. By 1973, NFL had control over half of South Vietnam.
2. Use of AK47 outperformed American M16 guns. Rocket launchers destroyed vehicles. Recycled US bombs and used them against them.
3. Built large tunnel complexes to remain safe from bombings. US countered with Search and Destroy tactics. Burnt down villages.
4. War Strategy was to entangle US in a war they could not win militarily.

What was happening around in America:

Protests against Vietnam War

Johnson lost support. Antiwar protests and sentiments. Protest by Democratic party’s leader in 1968. Hundreds of thousands of people joined in.
Tet Offensive attacks on southern cities by NFL to bring Americans to the bargaining table. MY Lai Massacre in 1968. Photos caused huge uproar in the world.
Nixon wins elections in 68 “Secret plan to end war”. The secret plan was “Vietnamization”. Increase in air war over NV and use of SV soldiers for ground attacks.
Protests increased. Kent shootings and Jackson state shootings result in death of students

End of War 

1972: Christmias bombings. Seiries of deadly bombings. International community condemns.
1973: Paris Peace agreement is signed. US convinced South Vietnam, they would not leave their support if they signed it. January 23: war ends between US and North Vietnam but not between NV and SV.
April 30, 1975: Communists take over South Vietnam.

Why US lost Vietnam War? 

The main reason for US loss in Vietnam War are as followed:
1. Underestimated NV and NLF.
2. 2. Could not stop the movement of the troops despite heavy bombings.
3. NV fought people’s war
4. American public did not support the war.
5. Deep questions about US troops’ efficiency
6. Never understood Vietnamese culture.
7. Could not lose any more soldiers in a jungle war they were never prepared for..
8. Strengths and resourcefulness of NLF. Tunnels etc

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After the world war II, the tensions between the communist world and the capitalist world exacerbated. U.S and Soviet Union emerged as the super powers in the world and the cold war at many intervals ws close to turning into a nuclear war, specially in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis. There was a need to for healthy relationships among the communists countries and capitalist countries (most importantly US and USSR) to promote peace and safety, so that a third world war was prevented. Wars cause mass destruction, cost a fortune, and millions of people brutally lose their lives. It’s worthwhile to notice that disputes should be resolved through dialogue rather than military actions.
Detente is the policy that aimed at reducing the cold war tensions in the world. It is defined as the dealing with other nations in a practical and realistic manner. It was carried out between 1969-80. The policy required showing of flexibility at both ends so that it could be effectively implemented.
Richard Nixon realized the importance of reduced tensions, and he was instrumental in initiating the policy. He was the first president to visit China after World war II. He also visited Soviet Union in 1972. His visit to the Soviet Union was of paramount importance due to the fact, he was there to sign a treaty that would limit the number of ballistic missiles each country could hold. The treaty was called Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty or SALT I. He, and his Russian counterpart Brezhnev signed the treaty that was a historical achievement.
In the Western world, Willy Brandt (Chancellor of West Germany) quickly realized that healthy relationships would be beneficial for West Germany and his policy showed great flexibility and commitment to reducing the Cold War tensions. He showed desire to improve the relationships with Soviet Union for the promotion of peace. He was also willing to recognize East Germany and Poland’s West border. Having profitable and good relationships with the neighbours is the key to the economic and socio-political growth of a country.
After Nixon’s tenure ended, Jimmy Carter assumed the duties of presidency in the United States and he continued with the policy of Detente as a part of his foreign policy. His attempts were directed to negotiate further reduction in nuclear missiles. Although Carter’s efforts were honest, his attempts to put further limits on nuclear ammunition by signing SALT II in 1979 were hampered because the Congress refused to pass the SALT-II treaty.

End of Detente Policy:

The basic reason cited for the rejection of SALT II by the Congress is the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Union in 1979. The Communist government of Afghanistan was falling on its feet and Soviet intervened to prevent its downfall.However, the efforts ended in failure and Soviets had to retreat in 1988. It was also seen as the 1st sign of Soviet weekness and kick started the downfall of the Soviet empire. After the Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, U.S boycotted the 1980 Olympic games which were to be held in Moscow to register their protest. The invasion effectively ended the Detnte policy there and then in 1980.

The Iranian Revolution:

In addition to that, the regime of U.S supported Shah of Iran was overthown in 1979. Iranian Revolution lead by Ayat Ullah Khomeni swept accross and Religious dictatorship came into power. 60 American hostages were held for 444 days and as a consequence of that, President Carter lost popularity in United States. Iran became a strict Islam law state there and then. That was a brief overview of the Detente Policy. Leave your feedback. :)

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Importance of relationship building and executive coaching:

The terms Relationship building and Servant Leadership go side-by-side for all types of businesses. It may be a corporate firm, a service sector, a tertiary industry or even a home-based industry. The development of a servant leader is very crucial for the success of a firm and this success is not dependent on the size of the firm. Creating your personal brand-servant leadership will progress your relationships with vendors, clients, suppliers and many other people linked to the supply chain. The importance of Business leadership programs and executive coaching in today's competitive world is extremely high and corporate firms are trying to excel in this department to create a competitive advantage for themselves. For that very reason, corporations are now introducing extensive executive coaching and management skills development programs.

Executive coaching

The concept of a servant leader is an old one. If we talk on a religious level, Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and Jesus preached to his disciples about success. Jesus Christ advised the people that if they wished to become successful leaders, they must first learn to become servants. An executive at the telecom firm AT&T, Mr. Robert Greenleaf actually introduced the term while elaborating on the steps of heading and progressing businesses and corporations.

What is a servant leader?
A servant leader can be defined as a person who, present at any position or rank in an organization, progresses in his work by fulfilling the needs and requirements of the team. This article discusses the possibility and creation of such an environment in a home-based business where mostly teams are not present.
An author writes in his article that true leaders are born with special traits. However, according to many theories, leaders can be trained as well. When one commits himself to inspire others and act as role model for them, the basic servant leadership principles is established and followed. The author points out that this person develops personal ethics which identify true values, rather than slippery cover-ups. Today's corporate firms enhance and polish these skills through executive training programs.

Building Business Relationships

While building profitable business relationships, the best place to unveil these qualities is to question the client regarding what they want in a product or a service. If one is aiming to be a servant leader, providing value to the client is the best place to initiate the process. There are times, when the client is confused on what he wants, and looks on to the seller for advice. An SL must make his priority to fully aid him in this process. Like in executive coaching programs, this aid includes providing the customer all the knowledge that he should know be aware of, such as benefits and disadvantages of something or how could he improve his current position by not buying something new. 

Servant Leadership: Examples and Practices

Alliance

It can also be practiced with vendors. Neglecting the pursuit for the lowest price, you can get to know what the vendor actually desires or how he wants to increase his current business position, and then offer him assistance in what you can do. When a vendor requires some exposure, you can suggest showing them the company name as a project partner.

Volunteer Work

Home based businesses have trouble practicing servant leadership, so an alternative for them would be to volunteer to work in a situation that lies outside one's jurisdiction as a professional, but in a non-profit manner. An example could be of an accountant or a doctor volunteering to help organize a charity even for disabled children without receiving any compensation or stipend for it. 

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Education System in Pakistan

In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49.9% educated population. In addition to that, Pakistan is ranked at 113th out of 120 registered UN members according to the research conducted by UNESCO et. all. Some of the very basic flaws of the education system in Pakistan contribute to the economic, ethnic and sociopolitical crisis within the country.

Flaws of Education System in Pakistan

Firstly, the education system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This create a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments. Such a distraught infrastructure is a basic cause of high illiteracy rate in Pakistan and high drop out rates in rural areas and public school.

Secondly, regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Balochistan (the largest province of Pakistan by Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (the largest province Of Pakistan by Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29.5% in males and 3% in females.

The third major cause of flawed education system in Pakistan is gender discrimination. The current primary school ratio of boys and girls is 10:4, which is a cause of huge concern. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. It is believed that Pakistan is among the most prominent states affected by gender discrimination. That not only harms the quality of education in Pakistan but create a gap among haves and have nots. 

Fourthly, the lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the education policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people means low standard of education. 

Fifthly, the allocation of funds for education are very low. It is only 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP. At that budget allocation, the illiteracy rate in Pakistan would not decrease but rather increase. The federal and provincial governments need to cut down their expenditures in other areas and spend a bigger proportion of income on education.

Moreover, the quality of education in most of the public schools and colleges is well below par; the teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation.Quality of teaching needs special attention in rural areas where the teachers lack in all departments. 

In America, Europe and most of the developed countries, the emphasis of the states is on developing virtual education systems i.e. provision of education through online networks. The idea of online education is gathering momentum and many online institutions have been set up which offer online courses and online degrees. The Higher Education Commission and Education ministry need to focus on developing a strong online education network so that students through out the country can benefit. Universities such as Harvard, Berkley and MIT are offering online courses and degrees. It reflects the importance of online education in today's modern high tech world.

Finally, Poverty is also another factor that restrict the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to Madrassas where education is totally free. The government has to make changes to financial infrastructure to improve the situation. Bank loans for education purposes should not be interest based as it discourages the people of Pakistan to acquire loans. Education loans are offered at low rates through out the world and it enable people to acquire quality education.

Social awareness regarding all these issues need to be spread and we, the people of Pakistan have to work hand in hand with the government authorities to improve the current system. Our children should not be deprived of their basic right to acquire knowledge.

All these issues contribute to high illiteracy rate, which in turn result in economic crisis in shape of high unemployment rate and below-par quality of labor. Moreover, the country suffers on social, political and technological front! There are hundred other problems which need attention but the core-issues need to be addressed as soon as possible. You can read my article Pakistan's Educational System which is an overview of the education infra-structure within the country.

In today's world, the benchmark for excellence is education. Moreover, if a country has a distraught academic infrastructure, the chances to survive in current competitive world are petite. The illiteracy rate in Pakistan is alarmingly high which calls for critical attention. The federal and provincial governments need to work  together towards elimination of flaws of education system in Pakistan.

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Education Budget in KPK is below expectations

Education budget in KPK has been lauded as revolutionary by PTI leadership and the media. Their claim of increasing the education budget from 6 billion rupees to 66 billion rupees is nonfactual and wrong. The realities of the education budget in KPK are different.

Related News: Pakistan budget 2013-2014 debate: Is'haq Dar answers the questions in Capital talk

education budget in kpk

After analyzing the KPK budget document, it's evident that the 66 billion includes salary expenses of the teachers and all the concerned people. The salary expenses mount to 60 billion and only 6 billion rupees have been allocated for development. The previous ANP government had allocated 60 billion rupees to education if we include salary expenses, out of which 56 billion were reserved for paying the salaries.

Related News: KPK Budget: Taxes uplifted from NATO supplies
PTI candidate exposed for filing a fake FIR

The allocation of finances for development of education is 13 billion rupees under the Annual Development Program. The previous government had allocated Rs. 12 billion for education development in that respect. An increment of 1 billion does not by any means justify the education emergency claim.

Realities of Education budget in KPK

Moreover, no new maga project has been initiated under the new KPK government and only previous projects have been continued. Rs. 2 billion rupees have been allocated for the improvement of existing education infra-structure. However, this is not a new a step as previous governments have also focused on improvement of existing infra-structure.

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Pakistan's Educational System

If we look around and among ourselves, our friends and our seniors, we all come from very different schools, colleges and universities. Some are privileged enough to study like our fairer skinned brothers living across the seas. They have the access to everything and anything they might feel like doing while studying in that particular institution. We have indeed created a youth living deep in the now proud act of discrimination.

Because on the other hand you have schools where they have never even seen a chair let alone an Iphone!

The UNs biggest and the most fruitful venture declares that primary education should always be equivalent to everyone ! No matter if you are a son of a politician or a clobber, you will get the same level of education. You will get to sit next to each other. And when I say each other i am referring to big social gap among us today. In some societies we are judged by the names of our clothes and in some by harsh living standards.

We have divided our youth in such a way that the socially acceptable do not even feel the need to look at those who are not, let alone care for them. And the people who are branded socially unacceptable because of their beliefs and traditional culture values blame that everything wrong and corrupt is the doing of the rich and powerful.

In Pakistan, at 54%, the literacy rate is well below par. Moreover, if a person can write his name, he is classified as a literate. The drop out rates in public schools are at all time high due to rising costs of living for an ordinary man. Governments have always emphasized on surface level, the importance of education. But never has a proper implementation taken place. Even now, when the country is standing on thin pillars, only a petite proportion i.e. 2% of the GDP is allocated to education.


We should have a fair and unbiased educational system which provides balance and equality for every fellow pakistani student. Then this hatred of the two societies would end and people will again start to care and respect like our old culture.

If you have good writing skills and want to earn online, Click Here!

You can also read Flaws of Education System in Pakistan!

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The fascination which the current day human strives for are somewhat the consequences of modern day buck for being up to date. History has always been so kind to teach of disparity which follows after undeniable action to suit and nourish deceptive ideas.
Here we are to emphasis on describing how the youth is getting away from doing study based work themselves and being more reliable on modern gadgets and services, tricking the education system and deceiving themselves. Though with the advancement in technology, world is being a more better place to live but the negative impact of these strategies on youth cannot be denied as far as the mind exploring strategic study curriculum nowadays is concerned. Today youth has gotten so much in the tangles of modern gadgets that logging into a circle of mind and physical skills is left somewhere far behind. These modern gadgets, though the usefulness of them cannot be challenged, has made the existence of self made ideas and innovative models impossible.
One would rather rely on using a time spacing techniques for some work than being on self doing test in the present day. Not only this is cracking the mind but also diverting the necessary use of mind to unnecessary use of hands. There is a huge lot of youth today which uses their skills on internet for coping up with a work than to use their skills on some innovation – one such example of aforesaid practice. Using modern gadgets like iphones, androids, windows phones and services as black berry services which allows the users to use secure links on internet all the day anywhere are making this generation more depended on pre laid material than to compose something new which would open their minds to the world more widely. Having said that it becomes customary to mention that this whole scenario is bounding us to one source that is internet, its making us to get rid of engaging our mind into something creative and useful. Ancient people use to say that things long been not in use vanishes like air someday, this is what seem to happen with the mind one day if the modern era still continues not to focus on the problem.
Technology such as laptops, tablet PCs, micro-computers have made life more easy on one theme line but restriction of youth to widen their minds to world as in to use the minds is making whole abusive use out of it. The thing being sticking to one particular use of a source such as internet would not let youth make use of their skills. The present education system demands mind to mingle up with struggle to strike a target, not the hands to jot down from internet.
The solution to come up with is to make self make strategy possible either by prompting change to education sub system or by banning the retrospective revival of downloads in study based projects.

Abdul Raheem

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Variation in the school fee and in standards of education in Pakistan force the poor people to choose whether to send their children to government school, private school or no school.
Even the poorest families send their children to private schools extensively because the standard of education in public or government schools is very low. In spite of the fact that the fee charged by the government schools is not that expensive but the education given in these institutes is like that there is no education as it is proved by our surveys with the public & private schools and through questionnaire and interviews.
The amount of students which go to private schools is greater than the public school students. People thinks that the quality of education in public schools of Lahore is not up to the standard and most of them think that 5 out of 10 students enrolled in government schools hardly complete their education up to matric standard. Owing to the poor education standard in public schools of Lahore people are now preferring private schools over public schools.




The quality of education in private schools of Lahore however is better than the public schools. Private schools have more professional and capable teaching staff. But, most of the people think that the fee charged by the private institutions is not fair and not in accordance with their incomes at large. Moreover most of them think, if they were to start a business then they would surely consider a private school as a good and safe investment.
On the other hand private school ownership completely understands that the parents do understand the difference of quality education and the poor education being provided in the private schools and the public schools relatively. Moreover, they claim that to provide the quality education, a good environment has to be provided to them is a must type of thing for which they have to make some big expenses towards infra-structure of the school, complete facilities in the school like air conditioner, complete furniture etc. Above all, they have to engage some outstanding highly qualified teaching staff to provide the quality education to the students.
Having seen the point of view of these kind of school’s administration on the topic and having seen their fee structure I am of the view that ok they provide better facilities of education than public schools but beside their heavy tuition fee they also charge some extra unnecessary charges towards various heads to increase their profit further which is according to me is unfair.

(YILMAZ DAR)
10u0501

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'THE ONLY HOPE' 

 Martin Luther King said, "I have a Dream" and the dream came largely true. The problem with our society has always been that we never had any vision or for this matter even time to dream. Many imperialists all over the world eye Pakistani youth as one of the most intellectual manpower.

Times have started to change for the young generation of Pakistan. However, recently we have come across a paradigm shift in the like they call ‘josh’ and ‘jazba’ of our Youth. The fervor has been relit.
Lately, not many are seen sitting at home and staring at the television set for straight 10 hours. They have started to realize a great conscientiousness that had to be looked upon a longer while ago. They are now conscious of the fact that their country’s potential and their own future depends on them majorly.

They know that they are the back bone to the nation and that they can change the future of the society with their well being and valor. They are finally looking at which they have not been willing to look at in decades when this country fell to pieces.

On an individual as well as widespread scale they have started to show their presence of mind and actions in various aspects of the community. Youth activism has become an important and essential part and has brought a refreshing change to not only the community of Pakistan but globally as well.
From political support to supporting social issues to the business minded young entrepreneurs or to simply spreading awareness on a particular issue that maybe affecting the individual on a personal level or affecting the country as a whole. The youth of today in Pakistan has the knowledge to have an opinion and the creativity and confidence to convey their opinion to the masses. The youth is not only engaged in striving for their personal interests, but have started to realize the responsibility of strengthening and developing the country relies on their shoulders.
Every individual, in some way or the other is playing his or her part in developing the country at different levels.

The best examples could be the increased percentage, interest and enthusiasm of youngsters in political matters in the recent few months. Their strapping presence at political rallies has shown how serious and gritty the Pakistani youth is in selecting a leader for their country, someone they can look forward to.  Pakistani youth has a say, a say that gives their opinion a strong base and structure. This is the reason why political parties have aimed the youth at a larger level as they pretty well know what the level of importance the youth of Pakistan holds for the country. The future of the country relies majorly within the hands of the youth.
Even the recent making of the biggest painting for World record’s that took place in Lahore shows us how fervent and avid our youth happens to be.

Health and social issue programs have taken place more widely and with a lot of effort put into the, so that not only the words gets around but people start to act on it. Such events and programs have led a large number of students and young workers to work for and support these issues.

Unfortunately though, still today we find some youth which happen to be in a phase of denial. They still happen to be more interested in things and places which are not really useful for them. They prefer to spend their days doing drugs, playing video games because it’s their belief to ‘live in the moment’. I being a young guy myself, 21, who also loves to do all this, couldn’t agree more with spending every moment like it’s our last. I’ve always believed in living eternity in one moment. But we do need to realize that with the way things are going, these moments won’t ever return. More and more young men are sitting at home in front of their televisions playing games all day instead of bettering themselves or going to work. Excuse is, Job markets down, Electricity’s out, Global warming whatever excuse they can find. The question is, what are they doing about it? They have no vision and if they do have dreams they do not have the drive to make any attempt at achieving them. Let’s just pray they don’t keep their eyes closed for too long because what they are going to lose, God forbid, is just about the most precious thing they’ve ever had whether they realize it or not.
“That's where the future lies, in the youth of today.”
Willie Stargell

                                                                       Talha Khalid
                                                                         Section F
                                                                       ID: 10u0114

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