Online learning is not only convenient for students and teachers but often more effective than traditional classroom instruction.

With the Internet uprise in the late 20^th century, the education landscape in various countries had been inevitably transformed. Distance learning was born out of this cyber revolution, and like any other new concept to emerge out of modernity, it has earned both critics and supporters. I agree with the latter group, and believe that distance learning, in the long run, may prove to be more effective than traditional classroom instruction – an advantage from theoretical and financial standpoints.

Financially, online learning is definitely cheaper and more cost-effective than classroom education. Since the student learns from home, the educational institution will not meet unnecessary expenses such as classroom space, printed learning materials and electricity bills. The institution, in its turn, will not be required to bill the student for such expenses – resulting in lower costs of education. That gives long-term perspectives: more students then can afford high-quality education. Moreover, either the student or the professor have more time to work in a full-time or part-time basis, contributing to both counterparts’ economic productivity – a consideration that is especially true in higher education distance learning programs.

Theoretically, distance learning is also more favourable than traditional classroom education, especially from a constructivist perspective. This pedagogical theory envisions the learner as a self-directed, creative, and innovative individual, and the instructor as a mentor, guiding the student by enabling quested learning that promotes modification of existing knowledge and allowing the creation of new knowledge. Through distance learning, the student is not controlled by any heuristic methods, dictated by traditional classroom environments, but by his own learning techniques. Furthermore, by utilizing the social aspect of internet interaction, distance learning infuses an altogether more effective process of studying, since learners may interact with each other through forums, message boards, and other online platforms that is easy to access.

To sum it up, distance learning is practically and theoretically more beneficial alternative to traditional classroom environment. Of course, there are also disadvantages, such as the susceptibility to intellectual dishonesty, procrastination, and distractions, but in the case of online learning, the pros outweigh the cons.

Life is good. Why do we feel bad?

Life is good, but why we do feel bad in so many occasions. It is one of those endless discussions beyond the memory of man. In good times of growth and prosperity, it may only be a philosophical debate, but in times of depression like the ones we are currently going through, it becomes a really important issue.

Let me start with the statement that it is not disgraceful to feel bad. Human nature is not alien to negative emotions from time to time, mainly because, otherwise, we would not be able to get satisfied by all good things. Also, we must accept that it is natural to feel bad, when important unpleasant events occur in our life, like the loss of a beloved person, the crush of a love affair or a business failure. Even the loss of the World Cup by our favorite team is an acceptable reason to feel depressed for a while.

It is high time to give the alarm, when one realizes that he feels bad for a quite long period of time without any significant reason. There are many excuses for that, the crushing defeat by sad news is a trendy excuse these days, the lack of new interesting activities is a very old and worn out one. However, it is extremely important to comprehend and accept that these are nothing but excuses.

We should compare our lives with the childhood in a hometown. To draw a parallel between your home and many places around the world, that we use to define as “third world”, but we may consider it “limbo” if we had to make a living there. Also, the right thing is to have a basic idea of history, not in terms of dates and names, but in terms of facts. It is very hard to find a period of peace in the western world’s history that lasted so long as the one we are still enjoying today. And this fact alone should be enough to put a happy smile on our faces.

If you were to write a book, on what theme or subject matter would it be based, and why?

If I were to write a book, I would have chosen to complete the one on Astrology. I have a natural predilection for occult studies; therefore, I would definitely have chosen Astrology as my theme.

Astrology is a subject, which emphasizes the fact that there exists enormous relationship between the different phenomena of astronomical science and various events that govern human life. The subject covers the system of horoscope. The astrological sign of an individual, derived at the time of his birth might be a quite good barometer to define the character traits of the person concerned, and the possible future events in his life.

The most interesting fact about Astrology is that human’s destiny can be predetermined by the position of the sun, moon and other governing planets at the time of his birth. The arrangement of constellations also forms an integral part of astrology.

What attracts me most about Astrology is the element of spirituality and philosophy involved within the point. Some of the most famous astrologers believe that the position of the planets and the constellations at the time of birth is governed by the karma performed by the individual in his previous life. The planetary position of a person is nothing, but a testimony of the effects of good and bad karma carried forward from his previous birth.

It is said that one would suffer for all his bad deeds and reap the benefits of good karma. We definitely cannot rule out this logic, since a lot of mathematical calculations are involved in the discussion. Therefore, to derive a horoscope of an individual, it is of utmost importance to pen down the time, date, and place of birth of the individual concerned.

Though in astrology, it is believed that there are just 9 planets that designate a character’s life, research is still being carried on to find out the influence of the other recently discovered spheres.

How is it important to keep up with current affairs?

There are two main reasons why one ought to keep abreast of current affairs: firstly, current affairs can affect us and our lives; secondly - despite how often it is bandied about - knowledge is power. The most common reason that people have for ignoring current affairs is because they believe, perhaps subconsciously, that the things happening in the rest of the world are outside the boundaries of their own lives. There is no true and definite boundary between our own lives and the lives of strangers; they can and will overlap at some point or another. A political campaign, for example, may seem distant enough from our own affairs that we may feel that there is little need to vote or scrutinize the future leaders and lawmakers. But the outcome will reflect on the nation soon enough, and inevitably, on the private, individual lives of the people in it, either directly or indirectly.

The second reason for keeping up with current affairs hinges on the first reason. The rest of the world has the power to influence our lives and we have the power to affect the world, therefore, being aware of the happenings in the world, gives us the ability to adjust our actions to suit our desired outcome, regardless of what the outcome is. The old adage that 'knowledge is power' is no less true for having been worn out from being quoted. Spies exist for the sole purpose of gathering information. Whether that information-gathering is directed at an enemy nation, at criminals, at their own people, at rival companies, or for criminal purposes, the fundamental basis for spying is the same: knowledge is power. Awareness of current affairs allows us to make informed decisions such as voting for the right candidate, or starting the new lucrative career path, or even just simply preempting that predicted rainstorm by bringing an umbrella to work on a sunny morning.

The Darwinian concept of adaptation and evolution doesn't just apply to the mutation of DNA over long periods of time, it applies to our own ability to respond to the changes in the environment in an optimal way, so that we can live well and comfortably. The world is constantly changing and by being aware of what is happening around us, we can adapt and change to suit our environment.

How does positive discrimination help minority groups?

Discrimination is an offense that should not be tolerated in a civilized society. Yet, positive discrimination, which claims to level the playing field in favor of the minorities, has been viewed negatively by different sectors in society because of ethical and moral grounds.

What is positive discrimination and how does it benefit marginalized members of the society? As a process, positive discrimination works by granting special treatment to minority groups. Essentially, its aim is to advance equality and wipe out any traces of discriminatory practices. In promoting the benefits of positive discrimination, the proponents have explained that this policy can serve as a foothold to reduce marginalization owing to several factors like gender, sexual orientation as well as social, economic, and racial backgrounds. To address this issue of underrepresentation, the followers have emphasized one major advantage.

One particular benefit of positive discrimination is the increased representations of women in various industries. This so-called preferential selection, particularly selecting women in employment settings, can effectively compensate for the strong bias that could otherwise prevent women from getting higher professional roles. Female figures with stellar academic and employment records can serve as a source of inspiration especially among women.

Furthermore, this policy is also seen as a form of women empowerment in the political sphere, which could hopefully uncrack the glass ceiling that separates a huge number of men, holding high political roles, versus a very few number of women with subordinate positions.

Finally, putting high premium on positive discrimination can significantly help more women to take on roles that are predominantly taken by men. The crucial point in implementing positive discrimination is the constant adjustment to ensure that it remains functional and fair to all.

If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.

It is the story of the past when machines were built to save effort and time of the mankind. Today, we have ample machines to give us all the free time and yet, we are making more machines by the day to save more effort. The result is that we have started to become slaves to our own inventions.

Take washing machines, for example. Can you imagine a life without them? Can you imagine that you can wash your clothes by your own hands? Well, it’s a scary thought, isn’t it? We cannot imagine our lives without the television, computers, mobile phones, mixer grinders, cars and motor bikes. There was a time when we could do all those things ourselves.

We have been driven by our uncontrollable desire to become tech-savvy; to develop more of them and if we continue at this pace, we will soon not know what to do without them. If the technology fails us and the Internet goes down everywhere, the entire country, all the financial systems, all trade and commerce, all hospitals, etc. will stop functioning. What will happen then? The movie, “Die Hard 4” shows such a scenario when the country is thrown into panic, when some hackers hack into the security systems of America and the entire country is threatened into oblivion.

We must, thus, use wisdom and prudence in developing technology and in such a way that its loss will not affect the human way of living.

Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody.

Friendship comes in as many flavors and varieties as ice cream. Some kind of friendship requires hard work, similar to an occupation. Other kinds of friendship can be meaningful, enduring and emotionally enriching despite long periods of neglect, springing to life with only a brief touch. Relationships with parents and siblings are often an intense type of friendship that can last a lifetime, run hot or cold and often require a great deal of work to maintain. The same can be said of relationships with a spouse or partner. While they are emotionally demanding and time consuming, these intense types of relationships offer profound rewards that are not often achieved in less intense relationships. The aforementioned benefits include love, nurturing, trust and emotional, financial and social support.

In contrast to deep family relationships that often entail hard work, other types of friendship can flourish, go dormant, and easily spring to life again. Friends found in early life, such as childhood school buddies and roommates from young adulthood often form close relationships. These types of friendship do not require hard work, as one’s job might, because they are formed from natural affinity. If hard work were required, these types of friendship would fall apart early, allowing other more natural relationships to develop. However, these kinds of friendship many times are interrupted when education, family and career draw friends in different directions. Sometimes friends from early life lose contact for years, even decades. Friendship encompasses a wide range of emotional connections. Some develop easily with little work and suffer little from long periods of neglect. Others require continuous and hard, sometimes emotionally wrenching work to maintain, but may achieve an intense, rewarding type of friendship that is deep and durable throughout life.