Birds of the Corvidae type, including magpies and crows, have been observed incorporating anti-bird spikes into their nests in Scotland, Holland and Belgium, effectively repurposing the hostile architecture designed to prevent them from perching.
A recent study published by Auke-Florian Hiemstra, the lead author of the study, highlights the remarkable behavior.
The metal spikes provide structural support to the nests, creating dome-like roofs, and also serve as a defense mechanism against predators. Hiemstra’s study, featured in the online journal Deinsea, suggests that birds may be seeking evolutionary advantages by utilizing human-made objects for nest construction.
The findings have astounded researchers and shed light on the cognitive abilities of the clever birds.
While anti-bird spikes are commonly used in various urban settings to deter birds from perching, it appears that birds are turning the tables on humans and repurposing these materials to their advantage. Jim Reynolds, an ornithology and animal conservation expert, believes that this adaptive behavior is an effective strategy for birds that inhabit urban environments.
Furthermore, the presence of shiny and spiky nest materials may serve as a signal to potential mates, indicating the quality of the nest and the suitability of the bird as a partner.
Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has cast doubts over his party’s ability to sweep the upcoming general elections. In an interview with Geo News, the disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that he believed whether Pakistanis have Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari or martial law, nothing will improve the system until “we make systemic changes”.
Talking about the upcoming general elections, Miftah said that he doesn’t see any party sweeping the elections; however, the PML-N leader was sure that he “absolutely does not see PML-N sweeping the elections.”
Miftah said that any political party be it PML-N, PPP or PTI needs to talk to the people of Pakistan asking them about their real problems and needs.
“When you hear the leaders today, you hear them say that I want to be the prime minister, there is one leader who is more into I, me and myself than others but it is all about them,” he said.
“Nobody is talking about the people of Pakistan. What about the 60 per cent of people who earn Rs40,000 a month? What about the young people who cannot find jobs? What about the people living in rural areas? What about an average Pakistani child failing in science and mathematics,” he asked.
Declaring that nobody is talking about real solutions, Miftah Ismail slammed politics as “just a fight for power, nothing else.”
There are no new ideas and absolutely no competence, he maintained.
American supermodel Bella Hadid has revealed that she wept “every day” and was stricken with eating disorders and chronic anxiety as a teen before she shot to fame as a model.
In an interview with i-D magazine, the 25-year-old opened up about her youth as she said that she was smoking heavily from the age of 14 and suffered body dysmorphia after she found success, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“Growing up, I thought it was normal that I had this chronic anxiety and this disassociation, crying every day and not knowing who I was,” Bella Hadid recalled.
“Whether it was eating disorders or smoking a pack of Marlboros since the age of 14, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is what all of the kids are doing’. I realised that maybe that was me trying to figure out why I felt that way. And in reality, all I needed was therapy.”
Hadid went on to talk about struggling with body dysmorphia in her early days as a model. “During that part of my life, I was so out of body, disassociating so much… I was so confused by what people saw of me,” the younger sister of model Gigi Hadid added.
Bella Hadid is now getting ready to make her acting debut in series ‘Ramy’, which tells of a first-generation American-Muslim is torn between his family’s traditional and modern American culture.
Bella Hadid said about revelling in her Palestinian heritage during the shooting.
“To go onto a set and see multiple Palestinians, Arabs, and people that are cut from the same cloth as me was really, really beautiful.”
She added about her belief speaking out for Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict with Israel previously costing her work. “A few companies won’t work with me anymore, and a few people may think I’m crazy. But that doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t compare to what Palestinians suffer on a daily basis.”
Earlier this year she admitted to regretting her decision to get a nose job at the age of 14. The beauty standards in the modelling industry have always been controversial for promoting unrealistic body types. Hadid, who has opened up about her anxiety and depression previously, speaks about her cosmetic surgery, and how she felt while being compared to her older sister Gigi Hadid.
Both Bella and Gigi have become big names in the fashion industry. The sisters have modelled for many big luxury brands like Chanel, Givenchy, Versace, Dior, Gucci, Saint Laurent, and more. They have also been on several magazine covers.
As exciting it may seem, being a fashion model comes with its own cons, and Bella Hadid has certainly faced them. During an interview with Vogue, Bella detailed her struggles with body image and mental health. She further admitted feeling “ugly” and “uncool” in comparison to Gigi Hadid. “People think I fully f*cked with my face because of one picture of me as a teenager looking puffy,” she said.
“I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it,” Bella added. She then went on to talk about being compared to Gigi Hadid. “I was the uglier sister. I was the brunette. I wasn’t as cool as Gigi, not as outgoing,” she said. “When you get told things so many times, you do just believe it. I always ask myself, how did a girl with incredible insecurities, anxiety, depression, body-image issues, eating issues, who hates to be touched, who has intense social anxiety – what was I doing getting into this business?” Bella continued.
While the fashion industry can be harsh, so can be the fans and netizens who reacted to Bella admitting to getting a nose job. People on Twitter are now criticising Hadid’s mother, Yolanda, for allowing the model to get nose surgery at such a young age.
In 2021, Scientists ‘measured’ that Bella is the most beautiful woman in the world. The 24-year-old was found to be 94.35 percent ‘accurate’ to the Golden Ratio of Beauty.
The list was compiled back in 2019 using computerized mapping techniques by Harley Street facial cosmetic surgeon Dr Julian De Silva, who utilises the technology in his work.
Bella’s eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin, jaw and facial shape were measured and came closest to the Greeks’ idea of perfection.
Singer Beyoncé, 39, was second, coming in with a 92.44 percent match-up to those standards, while actress Amber Heard, 33, was third with 91.85 percent and pop star Ariana Grande, 26, was fourth with 91.81 percent.
De Silva said Bella Hadid holds the crown for the most beautiful woman in the world.
On August 16, 2021, Prime Minister Imran Khan officially launched the Single National Curriculum (SNC). The newly launched curriculum was prepared by the National Curriculum Council (NCC) and the Ministry of Federal Education, in consultation with the provinces. According to PM Khan, “SNC would transform the nation into a unified one.”
What is SNC?
According to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, the SNC is a ‘uniform’ system of education, which means the same curriculum for everyone. All public schools, private schools, and madrassas were meant to have the same curriculum so that the learning outcomes are similar and without any discrimination in teaching standards. This is not the first time SNC was imposed in Pakistan. It was previously introduced in 2006 by Former President Musharraf. Whereas the previous SNC was a curriculum-based initiative, the one introduced by the PTI government is imposing the use of the textbooks produced by the provincial boards.
Is it being implemented across the country?
No. Sindh has decided not to implement the curriculum since education is a provincial issue. Only Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have enforced it so far. However, many schools in both provinces — including the prestigious Aitchison College, Lahore — expressed their concerns over the books in the curriculum. The Director of the National Curriculum Council (NCC), Dr Mariam Chughtai, has also said that madrassas will implement the SNC syllabus in five to six years, which undermines the reason why the government had wanted to introduce the SNC in Pakistan – to bring madrassas into the mainstream so students would be able to get jobs in other professions after they graduated.
Controversies surrounding the SNC
After the SNC syllabus was imposed on schools across Punjab, many controversies surrounding the books and the curriculum came forward. From the disparity in gender representation, the reinforcement of patriarchal gender roles, the lack of female heroes, and religious texts in the non-religious books.
To see if the criticism is valid, The Current analysed the following books published under the Punjab Textbook Board (PTB):
Urdu books from grades 1 to 5, English books from grades 1-5, Mathematics books grades 1, 2, 4, and 5, General Science grades 4-5, Waqfiyat Aama grade 1 and 3, Social Studies 4-5, and Islamiat grade 1- 5.
Two books were not available at the time of research. Grade 3 Math and Waqfiyat Aama grade 2, which have not been included in the study.
The analysis here has been divided into two parts.
Part one comprises the data analysis of all the books included in the SNC by the Punjab Text Book board.
Part two comprises the data analysis of individual subjects being taught to the students.
We studied the total number of male and female representations in the books, a comparison of the eastern and western wear of both genders, the presence of religious (Islam and others) content in non-religious books, and studying the distribution of power roles assigned to both men and women.
Here is the list of most common criticism against the curriculum and the evidence we found:
SUMMARY OF CONTENT IN ALL SNC BOOKS
1- Disparity in Gender Representation:
One of the most debatable points in the entire SNC is the representation of men and women.
After a thorough evaluation, we found that the concerns about the disparity in gender representation are TRUE.
The study reveals that a total of 60.2 percent of the books have images of men, including boys and only 39.4 percent of the books have images of women, including girls.
2-Women represented in hijab vs non-hijab, and women in western clothes:
What the women are wearing became a source of contention in the discussion about the SNC, with critics suggesting that the women should equally represent the country in terms of the hijab, eastern clothes, and the choice to wear western wear.
It is TRUE that there is no equal representation of women’s appearance in the books.
Women’s appearance was divided into three categories.
A) Number of women wearing eastern clothes with hijab.
B) Number of women wearing eastern clothes without hijab.
C) Number of women wearing western clothes.
Our research shows that 41.6% of all women and girls in the SNC books are wearing a hijab, 28.9% are wearing eastern clothes without a hijab, and 29.4% of the images show girls wearing western wear. It is important to note that in the western wear percentage, almost all of the images are of young girls. Older women are not shown wearing western wear.
3-Men represented in eastern vs western clothes:
Since the appearance of women in eastern wear and hijab became controversial, we also studied how many times men appeared in western or eastern wear.
A massive 79.9 percent of men were seen wearing western clothes, in comparison to 20 percent dressed in eastern clothes.
4- More men in ‘power roles’ compared to women:
Another controversy suggested that the books did not show women in positions of ‘power’, and they were mostly listed as helpers or homemakers. While there were many images that showed women in ‘inferior roles’ to men, there were women that were shown in roles of power.
This controversy is TRUE.
We defined power roles shown in the books as doctor, pilot, lawyer, police officer, traffic warden, army sports personality, etc and after analysing all the books, we found that a men are given power roles three times more than women. The results in the graphic below are based on the total number of images shown of men and women in all the SNC Punjab books.
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5. Religious content in non-religious books
In almost all the books which were studied, we saw the presence of religious references or mentions in non-religious books. Minorities felt their rights were being compromised since books that are not for religious studies should not have references to a specific religion, which may come under the context of ‘preaching’.
In our analysis, we saw a total of 7.77 percent of religious text in all SNC non-religious books, which lends TRUTH to the fact that there is religious content in non-religious books.
Religious content is present in 7.7 percent of English, Math, Social Studies, Urdu, Science, and General Knowledge books.
7.47 percent of books have references to Islam while 0.27 percent mention other religions in all non-religious books.
Dr Mariam Chughtai, while answering a question for The Current about the religious references in non-religious books, did not provide a clear answer but stated that these are model books that require changes.
SNC BOOKS ANALYSIS – SUBJECT ANALYSIS
This section of the report comprises an analysis of individual subjects being taught to students. The subjects under study were, Urdu books from grades 1-5, English books from grades 1-5, Mathematics books grades 1, 2,4, and 5, General Science grades 4- 5, Waqfiyat Aama (General Knowledge) grades 1-3, Muashrati Uloom (Social Studies) grades 4-5.
The graphical representation of the subject-wise evaluation is as follows:
English:
In 668 pages of English books, 58.1 percent have male representation while females have 41.8 percent.
29.7 percent of women are seen with Hijab and 70.2 percent are without Hijab.
There is a total of 9.8 percent presence of religious text in English books. This is based on the total number of pages in English books.
Mathematics:
In 672 pages of the Math books, when gender representation was analysed, 51.1 percent of the books have male representation and 48.8 percent have female representation.
A total of 53.9 percent of females are seen without hijab and 46 percent are seen wearing hijab.
The Math books have a 4.1 percent presence of religious text. This is based on the total number of pages in Math books.
Urdu:
The five Urdu books comprising 791 pages. A total of 59.7 percent presence of males are seen as compared to 40.4 percent of females.
58.5 percent of women/girls are seen wearing hijab and 41.4 percent are seen without hijab.
12.8 percent of religious text is present in Urdu books. This is based on the total number of pages in Urdu books.
General Science:
Out of 310 pages, 76.8 percent have male representation as compared to 23.1 percent female representation.
64 percent of women/girls are seen without hijab and 36 percent of women/girls are seen with hijab.
The General Science books have a 0.96 percent presence of religious content. This is based on the total number of pages in Science books.
Waqfiyat Aama (General Knowledge):
49.5 percent of male images are seen in comparison to 50.15 percent of females.
23.1 percent of females are seen with hijab and 76.8 percent without hijab.
There is a 4.7 percent presence of religious text in the books studied. This is based on the total number of pages in General Knowledge books.
Muasharti Uloom (Social Studies):
From 234 pages analysed, 65.1 percent of men/boys are represented in the books and 34.8 percent of females are shown.
36.8 percent of females are seen without hijab and 63.1 percent are seen with hijab.
10.2 percent of religious content is present in the books. This is based on the total number of pages in Social Studies books.
The last portion of the report highlights the pros and cons, which we have observed in almost all the books. We have provided both positive and negative outcomes deduced from the books after careful analysis.
The positive outcome deduced from the books:
1. The books are locally published and designed. The books are affordable, with a total set for one grade set at Rs. 800 per child according to Dr Chughtai.
2. There is a public service message printed at the end of each book to raise awareness against talking to strangers, crossing the road, exercising, and even information about fighting dengue.
The possible negative impact of the books
1. After analysing the books, we deduced that mostly nuclear families have been shown in the books. No representation of single parents or children being raised by guardians is seen. Moreover, the presence of both parents is seen as almost essential in all stories in the books.
2. Women are mostly shown doing domestic work, taking care of the family, and looking after their children. In stories as well, they seem to come second to their male counterparts.
3. As discussed in detail above, there is the presence of religious text in non-religious books.
4. The stylisation of the books are difficult to understand, fonts and texts are way too clustered. The quality of the pages is not refined, making them unattractive and confusing for students.
CONCLUSION:
According to NCC director, Dr Chughtai, the curriculum is an evolving process and the books can be changed in future publications, based on the response by schools and parents. The biggest hurdle to the books is that the teachers have not been trained in teaching these new books and according to Dr Chughtai, it is up to the school to teach and implement the books. There are no worksheets given with the books and from initial student reactions, students are confused and wary of books that are laid out in a clustered fashion. There is also the subject of a language change. Where students study general knowledge, a precursor to Science, in Urdu, they switch to difficult English in grades 4-5.
While the government should be commended in trying to create a national syllabus, the forced enforcement of the books along with the lack of supplemental information and training will make this very difficult for teachers and students. Moreover, parents should be given a choice as to what they want their children to study. This implementation should be a free choice rather than that of enforcement. What would have been a practical approach is that the government should have improved the structure of the government/public schools, provided better teacher training, spent more on financially improving the conditions rather than lowering the standard for all.
*Graphics credits: Asma Ahmad (Graphic Designer)
How did we collect the data?
The percentage of male characters in the books: Divided the total number of male by the total number of characters. The percentage of female characters in the books: Divided the total number of female by the total number of characters.
The percentage of Islam: Divided the Islamic pictures or references given in the books by the number of total pages of all books. The percentage of other religion: Divided the other religions pictures or reference given in the books by the number of total pages of all books.
The percentage of female power roles: Divided the number of female by the total number of characters (female and male). The percentage of male power roles: Divided the total number of male by the total number of characters (female and male).
The same process/calculation/method was applied to the findings of each book.
Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry says that he told PM Khan that in countries like Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, the ministers for science and technology are as powerful as a Deputy Prime Minister. (hint hint)
When we asked Fawad whether he was joking or being serious, he said he meant it as a joke.
Fawad’s counterparts in the countries he mentioned are:
The Minister of Science and Tech in Korea is Dr Yanghee Choi since 2014 but doesn’t have an active Wikipedia page. He was previously the Chairman of Samsung Science and Tech Foundation.
Minister of Science and Tech in Singapore doesn’t exist. Science and Tech comes under the Ministry of Trade and Industry whose minister is Chan Chun Sing who is a former major general and also served as Singapore’s Chief of Army (Infantry).
Yeo Bee Yin currently is the Minister of Energy, Science and Tech, Environment and Climate change in Malaysia. A member of parliament, one of her first initiatives was to ban on the import of plastic waste.
Indonesia’s Science and Tech minister is professor. Mohamad Nasir was also the Dean of the Accounting program at a university and was involved in a major controversy in 2016 when he wanted to ban the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community on campus.
Indonesia’s Science and Tech minister is professor. Mohamad Nasir was also the Dean of the Accounting program at a university and was involved in a major controversy in 2016 when he wanted to ban the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community on campus.
We all have grown up listening to “Mera beta to bus engineer banega” aur ” Meri beti doctor banegi” . Many of us thought that things have changed in the recent times so we asked people if they insist that their children study science and children if they were forced to opt for it and why. We must say some of the answers were really intriguing. Have a look
