Question: What were the various public releases of the game `The Settlers`? How are they related to each other?

Summary: Over the course of the past 3 decades, several version of the game have been released in period intervals. The first iteration was released in 1993, followed by 3 more iterations - Settlers II, Settlers III and Settlers IV in 1996, 1998 and 2001 respectively. 2004, 2007 and 2010 saw three more releases - Heritage of Kinds, Rise of an Empire and Paths to a Kingdom. Several spin-offs were also made to the original series of the games. For example, The Settlers II (10th Anniversary) was a remake of The Settlers II. In terms of gameplay, although the main theme behind all the games matched to a large extent, each of them had a different story for the player to follow, independent of the other games in the series.


Question: Can you explain the core idea behind `The Settlers` games? How did the gameplay vary among releases?

Summary: All the release of the game revolve around the idea of building a city, seeing to its economic growth and real-time strategy to conquer other cities or protect your own city. Some iterations of the game focused more on the strategy aspect while others tilted towards the city-building aspect. Settler releases I and II focused on city-building aspect primarily. However, releases III and IV focused a lot on real-time strategy, combat, building army etc. In subsequent releases, such as Rise of an Empire, Paths to a Kingdom, the focus on military/combat aspects were reduced a lot.


Question: How was the tour of South African football team to South America in 1906? What was the constitution of the team?

Summary: The South African National team toured South America in 1906. The tour turned out to be a splendid one for the team, with 11 victories and just a single loss, against Argentina Alumni. The team scored a total of 60 goals and conceded just 7. The composition of the team in this tour reflected the existent racial segregation prevelant in the country. The team consisted of all white males, with 7 from South Africa and 8 from England and Scotland.


Question: What were the effects of racial apartheid on the participation of South Africa in CAF and FIFA in the mid 20th century?

Summary: Due to the existent apartheid in South Africa, their participation was cancelled in CAF 1956 (either via prohibition or voluntary withdrawal), CAF 1958 (through prohibition). FIFA banned South Africa from participation in 1961 under the same reasons of apartheid. The existence of racial apartheid in South Africa affected the country's interest towards football to such a large extent that the then president of The Football Association of England, Sir Stanley Rous, felt further ban on football in South Africa would lead to a total collapse of the sport in the country.


Question: What was Britney Spears' motivation behind her hit album Femme Fatale? How did she accomplish it? How was it received world-wide?

Summary: Spears was motivated to create a song that people could hum to, vibe with in their day-to-day activities, such as driving, night-outs etc. She wanted a song that people could dance to in clubs, something different from the contemporary works. In order to accomplish this, she infused the song with dance-pop, electropop electronic dance music and synth-pop styles. The album received overwhelming love among the masses, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The music critics also garnered with the album with favourable reviews, appreciating the production and the dance-pop style. All in all, the motivation behind the album was well motivated.


Question: How did TikTok help resurge Britney Spears' Femme Fatale album in 2020?

Summary: Britney published four singles under the Femme Fatale album. Criminal was the fourth song in the album, which was caught amidst a viral trend in TikTok in 2020. The trend caused Criminal to be one of most streamed songs for her, causing a resurgence of the Femme Fatale album for a short while.


Question: Does omega-3 fatty acid help reduction in chances of cancer?

Summary: There is lack of high quality evidence that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids leads to lower chances of cancer. A possible exception is breast cancer, where there is irrefutable evidence on a correlation of decreased chances. However, omega-3 fatty acids are frequently prescribed to patients in advanced stages of cancer to improve appetite, weight and help with quality of life.


Question: How does omega-3 fatty acid consumption help people in regards to cardiovascular disease?

Summary: There have been conflicting reports on omega-3 fatty acids helping people prevent fatal cardiovascular events. An analysis in 2018 showed no support in favour of omega-3 consumption while prevention of coronary heart disease, non fatal myocardial infarction etc. However, there have been other studies which show consumption in amount greater than 1 gm daily may prove effective in preventing cardiac death, myocardial infarction etc. A similar trend follows for stroke related deaths too. There have been demographically contained experiments (such as African American populace) which show evidence that consumption of a fish diet (natural source of omega-3) led to protection against cardiac diseases.


Question: What is the 2 Line? What purpose does it serve?

Summary: 2 Line is the official name for East Link Extension, a light rail in the Eastside region of Seattle. It is scheduled to open for public use in 2024 and will serve 10 stations spanning a total of 23 kilometres.


Question: How did WSDOT experiment on the floating bridge to judge its ability to support the light rail? What were the outcomes of this experiment? What were the  outcomes of Joint Transportation Committee's probe into the potential issues of running the light rail on the floating bridge?

Summary: WSDOT conducted a live load test in order to test the floating bridge's capabilities to withstand the load of the light rail. They used 20 metre long flat-bed trucks loaded with concrete weights to simulate the light rail on the bridge. The results from the live load experiment revealed that the floating bridge could be used to support the light rail. WSDOT also suggested a few modification to the bridge in order to support the light rail, deduced from the results of the experiment. The Joint Transport Committee, in 2008, conducted a separate analysis on the floating bridge with the objective to determine the effectiveness of the bridge in supporting the rail. The analysis revealed a total of 23 issues that could arise from such an utilization and suggested several measures to mitigate the issues.


Question: What was the genre of songs from the German band Rammstein? How did the band approach their songwriting?

Summary: Rammstein produced music in a very unique genre at the time. Infact, their debut album led to the coining of the genre - Neue Deutsche Harte. The process that the band followed for their music production was uniform throughout their history - the lead vocalist (Till Lindemann) writing and singing the song, with the rest of the members complementing with instrumental pieces.


Question: What is the history behind the name of the band Rammstein?

Summary: Initially the band was named Rammstein Flugschau inspired by the Ramstein air show disaster. However, as the band gained popularity, Flugschau was dropped from the name and the members deined association of the name to the disaster and instead quoted Rammsteine (giant doorstep type devices on old gates) as the inspiration, which made "ramming stone" as the English translation for the name of the band.


Question: Describe the streetcar transportation system in North America in the 19th century. What were some commonly applied ways to increase profitability of the business?

Summary: Streetcar business in North America started with horse powered omnibus lines. These were used to provide services to people moving between places that fell within the predefined route of the lines. The streetcar transportation industry gradually evolved to cover 9700 kilometre of track in the United States itself, catering to 188 million passengers per year. The business also spread to Mexico, with streetcars serving passengers in as many as 1000 towns. With the streetcar business growing rapidly, stakeholders were invested in finding ways to extract more profit with as little cost as possible. In order to boost profitability, the wagons were drawn on rails rather than roads, which reduced the resistance - as only rolling friction provided resistance. Additionally, the businesses used mules instead of horses as the former was hypothesized to provide more hours per day than the latter.


Question: What are streetcar suburbs? How did the streetcar industry facilitate the growth of these suburbs?

Summary: Streetcars provided for a cheap way of transportation to the people. This led to people being comfortable living in the outskirts of a city and commute to their work daily. Such residential outskirts gradually developed to accommodate the livelihoods of working families and gradually grew into suburban areas termed as streetcar suburbs.


Question: Where has the East Carolina Pirates football team played its home games?

Summary: The team has played in 3 stadiums for home games in its history. These included the College Stadium in the main campus and the Dowdy-Ficklen stadium. The  College Stadium was used in the team's early years, from 1949 to 1962. While, the Dowdy-Ficklen stadium has been the go to stadium for home games since 1963, with the exception of 1999.


Question: What was East Carolina Pirates football team's performance like under coach John Thompson?

Summary: Thompson replaced Steve Logan as the coach for East Carolina Pirates football team. Although he had a stellar history as a great defensive minded guide for the team, his performance as coach of the Pirates team was below par. Over his tenure of two years, the team gathered only three wins. The bad record led to severe impatience among the fans and the administration finally causing John Thompson to be fired from the position of coach.


Question: How did the Internet affect the Music Industry, specifically the sale of recorded music?

Summary: With the advent of Internet in the 2000s, widespread digital distribution of music was possible through the Internet. This led to a tremendous distribution of digital music (both legally and illegally ), causing a sharp decline in the purchase of recorded music sales. The trend continued and Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store became the largest retailer of music in the world by 2011.


Question: How did machine printed sheet music lead to better blending of different musical styles?

Summary: Prior to machine printed sheet, music was hand written and published, which is an expensive and time taking process. This limited the widespread publication of music. With the advent of machine generated printed music in the 15th century, it was easy to publish musical content frequently and widely. This led to better spread of musical styles, rather than the confined spread in case of hand written publications. Such spread meant that a musician of one style could enjoy the publication from a musician of different style. This enabled musicians to generate content fused with different styles.


Question: What is an ideal transformer? Explain how the electrical energy in the primary windings are transferred to the secondary windings in an ideal Transformer.

Summary: The primary and secondary windings are wound around the transformer core. When a varying current passes through the primary winding, it induces a magnetic flux in the transformer core. This flux, or rather the change in flux, induces electrical energy in the secondary winding. This is electrical energy is transferred from the primary winding to the secondary winding. An ideal transformer assumes that there is now loss of energy while conversions. In an ideal transformer, the entire electrical energy in the primary winding is transferred to the secondary winding in a lossless way.


Question: What is leakage flux in a transformer? Why is it undesired?

Summary: Ideal transformer assumes that the flux generated by one turn of the primary winding links all the turns including the turn that causes it. However, this is not always true in a real transformer. There are flux paths that go outside the winding. This flux in known as leakage flux. An ideal transformer has the voltage in the secondary winding proportional to the voltage in the primary winding. Leakage flux causes deviation from this proportionality, especially under heavy load. Such a behaviour is undesired, which is why leakage flux is also undesired.


Question: What is the North China Craton? Why is it important?

Summary: The North China Craton is a continental crustal block located in the north eastern part of China. A craton is a part of a continent that is stable, buoyant and rigid. The North China Craton in an ancient one with a long period of stability. It is one the most complete and complex records of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic processes, which makes it a very important region for geological research.


Question: Why does the Eastern Block of the North China Craton experience more earthquakes as compared to the Western Block?

Summary: The thin mantle root under the Eastern Block is the primary reason for earthquakes in the region. The thin mantle root causes instability by weakening the seismology layer, which lets earthquakes occur in the crust. Comparatively, the mantle root under the Western Block is thick, providing stability and saving the region from earthquakes.


Question: What are the estimated costs for the second phase development of Chennai Metro? How will they be fulfilled?

Summary: The estimated cost for the second phase development of the Chennai Metro is Rupees sixty three thousand crores. The project is funded by the government and other lending agencies, such as JICA, AIIB, ADB and NDB. Additionally, JICA has already sanctioned a loan amount of Rs. 8877 crores.


Question: Describe the operations of the Chennai Metro. What kind of tracks are used? What are the operational hours? What is the frequency of trains? What are the average and maximum speeds?

Summary: Chennai Metro uses the standard gauge (56.5 inch) for its operations. Trains are run between the hours of 4:30 AM in the morning to 11 PM at night, with a frequency of one train per 4.5 minutes in peak hours and one train every 15 minutes otherwise. The trains are operated at an average speed of 35 kilometres per hour, touching a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour.


Question: How was John Breckinridge associated with the Civil War?

Summary: John's first act included refusing to allocate resources for President Lincoln in the fight against Confederacy. Post this, he fled to Confederacy in the fear of his arrest, where he actively participated in the Civil War. He was an active member of the Confederate Army for four years from October 1861 to February 1865. After the war ended on May 10th 1865, Breckinridge escaped to Cuba. He stayed in exile for three years, moving across Cuba, Great Britain and Canada. His exile ended with a formal amnesty from President Andrew Johnson, which let him return to his homeland.


Question: What were the views of John Breckinridge on slavery?

Summary: Historians do not agree one particular view that John had on slavery. Some believe that he had a pro slavery view while others believe the opposite. However, the family that Breckinridge was brought up in was a fairly anti-slavery one, with views such as slavery is immoral and a total abolition of slavery is necessary. Breckinridge had a non-traditional view towards slavery, viewing slavery from a constitutional viewpoint rather than a moral one. He argued that slaves are properties and hence, by the constitution, the federal government should not interfere in slavery, citing these as property rights. He declared that slavery is a local and domestic issue and insisted strongly that Congress should not intervene on the matter.


Question: What are the roles and responsibilities of the Meat and Livestock Australia organization?

Summary: Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is a regulatory organization in Australia, independent from the government that regulates standards for meats and livestock management. It has multiple roles to uphold, such as manage financials pertaining to the meat and livestock industry, research, marketing etc. It offers marketing strategies to meat producers, government bodies and market analysts.


Question: How has the COVID 19 pandemic affected the M&LA organization?

Summary: The pandemic has affected Meat & Livestock Australia on multiple fronts. It has affected the revenue of the group, disrupted various initiatives of the group leading to cancellation or indefinite postponement. A usual task of M&LA group - research and data analysis was also interrupted by the pandemic. It was interrupted by the difficulty in collecting data and statistics from the global market in the ongoing pandemic. Due to the constrained access to data, the group could not produce the EYCI metric between March and June 2020. However, as the restrictions were eased, the computation of the metric was possible.


Question: Why has the term "Archaic" in "Archaic Greece" been objected against? Mention some of the notable accomplishments of the archaic period of Greece.

Summary: It was considered that the archaic period of Greece was historically less important and interesting than the classical period. However, with gradual discoveries, it was understood that a lot of significant events happened during the archaic period of Greece. The period witnessed the advancements of Greek politics, economies, warfare, culture and international relations. Early institutions of democracy were implemented during this period. The period witnessed a structural revolution that helped Greece establish a concrete political map for itself in the world. In light of such significant advancements, scholars argued that using a word such as archaic to qualify the era seems unjust, as the word archaic refers to something outdated and primitive. Such a connotation for the word archaic is what led to the objection of "Archaic" in "Archaic Greece".


Question: What was the demography like in Archaic Greece?

Summary: The population of Greece increased significantly during the early stages of the archaic era. Historians attribute this to the shift of climatic conditions in the Mediterranean region, with more of the region getting cooler and wetter. However, with all the growth in population, it was also seen that perinatal and infant mortality were very high. Additionally, it was rare for people to live past the age of 60, with only one in 20 surviving above that age on an average. The proportion of the populace below the age of 18 was estimated to be between two-fifth and two-third. Similarly, it was estimated that less than 1in 4 people were over the age of 40.


Question: How was the recording an production of the song Savage done? How long did it take?

Summary: The engineer stated that the entire process of producing and recording the song was finished within an hour. He describes that the process was quite parallel - as he was producing the music, Megan was writing lyrics to complement the beat of the music. He described that Megan was ready to sing the song as soon as the production and the lyrics were ready. He added by saying that Megan was absolutely brilliant in the recording, completing the whole recording affair in a matter of 10-15 minutes.


Question: How was the song Savage, by Megan, received by the critics?

Summary: The song was received with overwhelming appreciation by the critics in the music industry. Some described the song as a "stand-out track", while some described it as a"joyfully conceited". A Rolling Stone employee. Rob Sheffield, used the song to acclaim that Megan is "at her absolute peak" in her career. Salvatore Maicki from The Fader comments that the song checks all the desired boxes - classy, bougie, ratchet, sassy, moody and nasty. Kristin Corry from Vice listed Savage as one of the best songs for March 2020.


Question: According to the Nebular Hypothesis, how are stars formed? And how are the planets around the stars formed?

Summary: Nebular Hypothesis deduces that stars are formed in massive, dense clouds of molecular hydrogen. Due to gravitational instability, the clouds gradually move closer to each other resulting in vigorous rotation and ultimate collapse into a single mass which forms into a start. This complex process results in a protoplanetary disk around the newly formed star which leads to the birth of planets around the star under feasible circumstances. According to the nebular hypothesis, the formation of planets around a star is just a by-product of the formation of the star.


Question: What is an accretion disk? How is it different from the protoplanetary disk that exists around a star during its formation?

Summary: An accretion disk refers to the disk around a cosmological object, like a star or a planet, containing materials that are gradually moving towards the object. In such a disk there is a net flux of mass from a larger radius to a smaller radius, indicating the motion towards the cosmological object. Protoplanetary disk is the one formed around a star during its formation. It is the contents of this disk that lead to the formation of planets. During the process of planets within the protoplanetary disk, giant planets might have their own accretion disk off of which they feed more mass into them.


Question: Why was Type theory created? What did it solve and how?

Summary: Set theory had a foundational paradox, known as the Russel's paradox, revolving around - a set can be defined by using all possible sets including itself. Type theory was introduced/created in order to remove the Russel's paradox. It was Bertrand Russel himself (after whom the paradox is named) who worked on the foundations of Type theory and published these foundations in the Principia Mathematica with Whitehead between 1910 and 1913. Type theory created a hierarchy of type, assigning a type to each mathematical entity. Now, using this hierarchy, an entity is defined entirely by subtypes of the entity's type. This prevented any entity from being defined by itself.


Question: Why did the Blood Transfusion Service Board start the anti-D immunoglobulin treatment? How was it delivered to the patients?

Summary: The treatment was started for pregnant women. A rhesus negative mother birthing a rhesus positive baby could develop anti-bodies that could lead to haemolytic disease in future babies from the mother. In order to prevent this from happening the Blood Transfusion Service Board started the anti-D immunoglobulin treatment for pregnant women. In order to determine whether or not a pregnant woman is a candidate for the treatment, a neo-natal blood test would be carried out to determine compatibility of the rhesus factor of the mother with that of the foetus. If incompatibility is detected, the mother would be injected with an anti-D injection to protect future pregnancies.


Question: How did the distribution of anti-D injections in 1977 from BTSB led to hepatitis in patients administered with the injection? What was the source of the infection?

Summary: The BTSB produced anti-D injections by using blood samples from women with a history of pregnancies affected by haemolytic disease. Under the scheme, they siphoned plasma from a woman being treated with plasma exchange in the Coombe Maternity Hospital, during 1976-1977. Later, during one of the cycles of the plasma exchange, it was found that the patient was jaundiced. The doctor diagnosed her with hepatitis and notified the BTSB. However, as the test for hepatitis B turned out negative, her plasma exchange treatment continued along with the usage of her plasma for anti-D injection production. Later on, it was reported that the batches of anti-D injection created from the patient's plasma led to hepatitis in three pregnant women injected with anti-D. This led to the exclusion of the patient's plasma from all production pools.


Question: How did the low attendance in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum affect the Los Angeles Chargers and what was the outcome?

Summary: The attendance for the home games of Los Angeles Chargers was consistently dropping below ten thousand, in a stadium with capacity for more than 100,000 seating capacity. This low enthusiasm led the shift of venue of the championship venue from Los Angeles to the Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. The poor attendance also prompted the shift of Los Angeles Chargers to a different stadium - the Balboa Stadium in San Diego. The team returned to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2017.


Question: Describe the events characterizing the formation of the administrative staff (manager and coaches) of the Los Angeles Chargers team in 1959-1960.

Summary: Barron Hilton obtained the rights to the Los Angeles franchise from the American Football League in 1959. Hilton went on to hire Frank Leahy as the general manager for the team. Leahy was formerly the coach and administrator for Notre Dame. Leahy was tasked with hiring a head coach for the team and a director of personnel to task with signing of new players. After failed attempts to hire Bob McBride and Lou Rymkus, Leahy approached Sid Gillman, who had recently left Los Angeles Rams for the post of head coach. Gillman was finally lured into signing the head coach position for the Los Angeles Chargers. Post this. Gillman hired 4 assistant coaches - Joe Madro, Jack Faulkner, Al Davis and Chuck Noll. This completed the administrative staff for the team.


Question: Where was Mirai Aileen Nagasu born? What did her parents do? Describe her educational career.

Summary: Mirai Aileen Nagasu was born in the United States, specifically in Montebello, Los Angeles County, California. However, she was raised in Arcadia, California, where her parents owned a Japanese sushi restaurant named kiyosuzu. Nagasu attended Foothills Middle School and graduated in spring, 2007. Thereafter she started her high schooling at the Arcadia High School in the fall of 2007. She switched to an online high school in 2009 and graduated high school in June 2011. After high schooling, she enrolled in University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) in 2015 with courses in the business field. She graduated from UCCS in December 2020.


Question: How is Timba related to Salsa and Despelote?

Summary: Timba, Salsa and Despelote are music genres in Cuba. Timba focuses more on the bass drum, whereas Salsa is totally devoid of one. However, Timba and Salsa have the same tempo range and use the standard conga marcha. Despelote is a similar form of art, to Timba, focusing on a radically sexual and provocative dance style. Despelote is an evolution of Salsa, with larger room for improvisation. As opposed to Salsa, Timba represents a mix of many folkloric styles from a mix of sources. Compared to Salsa, Timba sounds more innovative, experimental and usually more virtuosic.


Question: How did the Special Period help in the growth of Timba in Cuba?

Summary: Special Period in Cuba was characterized by economic downfall and hardships for the country due to the dissolution of Soviet Union, the main trading partner for Cuba. In order to stabilize the economy, Cuba opened its tourism industry which led to Timba gaining popularity among the tourists. The tourists frequently enjoyed the danceable beat and the energizing sound of Cuba, which helped Timba grow in popularity.


Question: What is the real name of Onew? How did he develop a taste for music and how did it shape his educational career?

Summary: Onew is the stage name for Lee Jin-ki. His interest in music developed at a very young age, when he started playing the piano. His taste in music influenced his educational career significantly, with Onew earning both his Bachelor's and Master's degree in the field of music. Post his highschooling, Lee joined the Chungwoon University with a major in broadcasting music for his Bachelor's degree. He went on to get a Master's degree from the same university with a major in practical music.


Question: What was the sexual harassment allegation against Lee Jin-ki? How did he get into such an allegation? How did Onew respond?

Summary: Onew was accused of sexual harassment in August 2017. The allegation stated that Onew was intoxicated and touch the leg of the victim two or three times while attempting to stand up in a duration of 2 hours while she was drinking. Although the victim withdrew the charges citing that such behaviour could happen unintentionally under the influence of alcohol, the case was forwarded to the prosecution as a recommendation for indictment without detention. Onew responded with a letter of apology, after a pause of four months on the issue. The letter received mixed response from the fans, with some suggesting Onew to step down from Shinee.


Question: How do archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society? What are the differences that they notice?

Summary: Archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society in the following ways: Burials and Looking for “luxuries”.  In the Harappan society, the dead were generally laid in pits. In some burial pits the hallowed-out spaces were lined with bricks. Some graves contain pottery and ornaments. In some instances the dead were buried with copper mirrors. Artefacts are divided into two categories – utilitarian and luxuries. The utilitarian objects are of daily use. These are made of ordinary materials such as stone and clay. These are found in all settlements. Luxury items are found in large settlements of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. These are made of valuable materials like faience. Gold too was rare and precious as all the gold jewellery has been found at Harappan sites.


Question: Would you agree that the drainage system in Harappan cities indicates town planning? Give reasons for your answer.

Summary: Yes, I agree with that the drainage system in Harappan cities which indicates the town planning. I can cite the following reasons in support of my answer. The drainage system needed a planning for its execution. It seems that first drainages were laid out and then houses were built along with the drains. Every house was supposed to have at least one wall along a street to allow the domestic waste water to flow out in the street drains. The plans of the lower town show that roads and streets were laid out along an approximate grid pattern, intersecting at right angles. It appears that human settlement was made by planning from the beginning. The city was restricted to a fixed area on the platforms. Bricks, sundried or baked, were of standard ratio. The length and breadth of bricks were of four times and twice the height respectively These bricks were used at all the settlements of the Harappan Civilisation.


Question: List the materials used to make beads in the Harappan Civilisation. Describe the process by which any one kind of bead was made.

Summary: Making beads was an important craft of the Harappan people. It was mainly prevalent in Chanhudaro. Materials for making beads included beautiful red coloured stone-like camelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite. Besides these, use of copper, bronze, gold, shell, faience, terracotta or burnt clay was also used.Process of making beads Making of beads differed as per the materials used. Beads had variety*of shapes. They did not make geometrical shapes like one made of harder stones. Nodules were to be chipped for making rough shapes. They were finally flaked into the final form. By firing the yellowish raw material, the red colour of camelian was obtained. Grinding, polishing and drilling constituted the last phase. Chanhudaro, Lothal and Dholavira were famous for specialized drilling.


Question: List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained.

Summary: The raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilisation was as given below: Stones like camelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; Metals like copper, bronze and gold, and Shell, faience and terracotta, or burnt clay. The above raw materials might have been obtained as mentioned below: They established settlements such as Nageshwar and Balakot in areas where shell was available. Other places were Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, near the best source of lapis lazuli, a blue stone and Lothal near the sources of camelian, steatite and metal. The second way was to send expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and south India for gold. The third way to have contact with distant lands. For example, copper was brought from Oman, on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Mesopotamian texts mention contact with Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region. It is likely that communication with Oman, Bahrain or Mesopotamia was by sea.


Question: Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?

Summary: Widespread and deep excavations in the early historic towns have not been possible due to the fact that these towns are still inhabited. In Harappan Civilisation, we have been fortunate enough that excavations have taken place widespread. Despite this shortcoming, we have found many artefacts in the historic towns. These throw light on the craftsmanship of those days. There are other evidences too, that throw light on the craftsmanship of those days. The salient features of such evidences are as follows: From the sights the fine pottery bowls and dishes have been found. They are glossy too and we call them Northern Black Polished Ware. It looks they were used by the rich people. There have also been evidence of ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels and figurines. There are a wide range of items made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta. The donor inscription tells who all lived in towns in terms of professionals and craftsmen. It included washer men, weaver, scribes, carpenters, goldsmith, ironsmith, etc. It is notable in Harappan towns there are no evidences of iron use. The craftsmen and artisans built their guilds too. They collectively bought raw materials, produced and marketed their products.


Question: Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.

Summary: In the post-Mauryan age, the idea of kingship got associated with divine theory of state. Now, the monarchs began to talk about divine sanction to rule the people. Kushan rulers propagated the idea of the same at the unprecented scale. They ruled from central Asia to western India. We can discuss the kingship based on the dynasties. Kushan Kings: Kushan Kings called themselves Devputra and hence, godly status. They built great statues of themselves in temples. Gupta Rulers: Second development of kingship is found during Gupta dynasty. It was a period of large-sized states. Such states were dependent on Samantas who sometimes became powerful enough to usurp the power of kings too. Literature, coins and inscriptions helped us in creating history of those days. Very often poets would describe the monarch often to praise them but giving insight into the history and kingship too. A good example is of Harisena who praised Samudragupta, the great Gupta ruler.


Question: What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?

Summary: The engineer and antiquarian Colonel Colin Mackenzie brought the ruins of Hampi to light in 1800. He worked for many years in East India Company and prepared the first Survey maps of this site. His earlier information were based on the memories of priest of the Virupaksha temple and shrine of Pampadevi. From 1856 onwards, photographers started to record the pictures of monuments. The picture of the sites helped the scholars to study them. Dozens of inscription were collected from Virupaksha temples and other temples situated around temples. Historians collected information from these sources other sources such as accounts of foreign travellers and literature composed in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit languages used by the historians so that the History of the city could be reconstructed. These functions complemented the information given priests of Virupaksha temple.


Question: How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?

Summary:
The requirement of water in Vijayanagara was fulfilled from the natural basin formed by the river Tungabhadra. This flowed in the north-eastern direction and was surrounded by stunning granite hills. It flowed down to the river Tungabhadra. So the rulers of the Vijayanagara got built large embankments to store water. They also constructed reservoirs of varying sizes. They also make arrangements to store the rainwater as this was the most arid zone of the peninsula. A very large tank was found built in the fifteenth century to store water. The water tank presently known as Kamalapuram tank. The water of this tank was used for several Royal centre purposes.
(i)The water from the tank was used to irrigate the nearby fields.
(ii)The water of tank fulfilled the needs of the Royal centre.
(iii)The Hiriya canal drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra river which was used for irrigation.


Question: Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.

Summary: Process of manuscript production in the Mughal court included the following: Paper-maker’s responsibility was to prepare the folios of the manuscript. Skill writer, i.e. scribes or calligrapher copied the texts. Guilders, illuminated the pages of the manuscript. Miniature painter illustrated the scene from the text. The book binders gathered the folio and gave it to the original shape of a book.


Question: Why was jotedar a powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal?

Summary:
Jotedars were rich peasants in Bengal. They owned big plots of land sometimes running into thousand of acres of land. They controlled local trade and commerce including the money lending business. They had great influence on the local village population. They were regarded more powerful than the Zamindars even. Following are the main reasons for the high status of Jotedars. The Jotedars controlled trade and commerce including money lending business at the local level.
In order to weaken the Zamindars, Jotedars would mobilise ryots not to pay or delay payment towards land revenue. The Jotedars opposed the moves of Zamindars to increase the Jama of a village. The Jotedars lived in villages only. Hence they were in a better position to interact with and influence the peasants. Jotedars were rich and owned big areas of land under cultivation. Many a time they would buy estates of Zamindar. That would be auctioned due to failure to pay up land revenue.


Question: How did the Paharias respond to the coming of outsiders?

Summary: Paharias live in the hills of Rajmahal. The British people began to interact with them and later Santhals began to settle down there. The response of the Paharias was as follows: Paharias resisted the settlement of Santhals initially but had to accommodate them in course of time. The Paharias shifted to deeper areas into the hills. They were confined to more barren and rocky areas of the hills in course of time. The paharias did shifting cultivation. Now shifting cultivation was becoming more and more difficult as proper and stable settlements. As forest began to be cleared, the paharis could not depend on it for livelihood. Thus, the lifestyle and living of Paharias underwent change due to coming of outsiders.


Question: What do the terms "White" and "Black" Town signify?

Summary: The White Town was the area where Europeans lived. These areas were separate. They had broad streets, bungalows set amidst large gardens, barracks, parade ground and church. They were safe heaven for the Europeans. For example in Madras Fort St. George was the nucleus of the White Town where most of the Europeans lived. Walls and bastions made this a distinct enclave. The Black Town on the other hand, were meant for Indians – the Indian agents, middlemen, weavers, artisans and interpreters. In Madras, the Black Town was developed outside the Fort. A Black Town generally resembled traditional Indian town, with living quarters built around its own temple and bazaar. There were narrow lanes and distinct caste-specific neighbourhoods.


Question: How did prominent Indian merchants establish themselves in the colonial city?

Summary: The prominent Indian merchants and traders settled in colonial cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. They served as agents or middlemen for the British and lived traditionally built courtyard houses in the Black Town. They centred over large tracts of land in these cities and heavily made investments for the future. They wanted to impress their British masters or colonial ruler or white people living in white towns by giving lavish parties during festivals seasons and built temples to establish their supremacy and prestige in society.


Question: What are the different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city?

Summary: In the past, buildings were at odds with the traditional Indian buildings. Gradually, Indians too got used to European architecture and made it their own. The British in turn adapted some Indian styles to suit their needs. One example is the bungalow which was used by government officers in Bombay. The colonial bungalow was set on extensive grounds which ensured privacy. The traditional pitched roof and surrounding veranda kept the bungalow cool in summer months. These bungalows can still be seen in the city. Other than that traditional styles of decoration and building exist. The lack of space in the city and crowding led to a type of building unique to Bombay, the chawl.


Question: How did Mahatma Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?

Summary: Mahatma Gandhi seeked to identify himself with the common people of India. For this action plan, he began to live in a very simple lifestyle. He wore simple clothes which a poor Indian would wear. He spoke the language of local people. Mahatma Gandhi opposed the caste system and attacked untouchability personally lived with the Harijan. Mahatma Gandhi attached dignity to labour and physical work. He worked on Charkha and cleaned toilets. He attacked the sentiment of the feeling of classifying people into low and high.


Question: How was Mahatma Gandhi perceived by the peasants?

Summary:
Mahatma Gandhi was very popular among the peasants and his image was as mentioned below: The peasants considered him as if he had been sent by the King to redress the grievances of the farmers, and that he had the power to overrule all local officials. It was also claimed that Gandhiji’s power was superior to that of the English monarch, and that with his arrival the colonial rulers would go away from the district. There were also rumours that the villagers, who had criticised him, have found their houses mysteriously falling apart or their crops failing. He was called as, “Gandhi baba – Gandhi Maharaj” or “Mahatma”. Peasants considered him as a saviour, who would rescue them from high taxes and oppressive officials. It was hoped that Gandhi would restore dignity and autonomy to their lives.
Gandhiji’s appeal among the peasants was enhanced by his ascetic lifestyle, and by his use of the dhoti and the charkha.


Question: Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?

Summary: Poorest of poor Indian consume food that has salt as one of its prime ingredient. British government brought tax on salt and making salt indigenously was forbidden. It was to become a big burden on the poor people of India. Some important points regarding salt law are as follows. Salt law was to lead to monopoly of salt production and distribution. It was to fuel prices, and added to this was the tax levied by the government. People were denied access to natural salt and tons of the same were destroyed. Salt law was an attack on the local industry in the villages too. Hence salt law was extremely unpopular and it became an important issue of the struggle.


Question: What did the Muslim League demand through its resolution of 1940?

Summary: An important resolution was passed by the Muslim League on 23rd March, 1940. This resolution was drafted by Sikandar Hayat Khan, the leader of the Unionist Party and the Punjab Premier. Through this, the Muslim League demanded an autonomy for the Muslim -majority areas of the subcontinent. But in the resolution there was no mention either of the partition of the country or the creation of Pakistan. Sikandar Hayat Khan was opposed to the idea of the formation of Pakistan. He opined of a loose federation with a lot of autonomy for the states.


Question: What considerations lead people to consider management as an art?

Summary:
Art is the skillful and personal applications of existing knowledge to achieve desired goal.
Management is considered an art due to the following reasons- (i) Existence of Theoretical Knowledge :All art subjects are based on theoretical knowledge e.g., written material is available on dancing, time arts, music etc same way there is lot of literature available on management and its branches – finance, marketing, human resource etc. (ii) Personalised Application :The use of this basic knowledge differs from one individual to the other. Two painters, two dancers or two singers all use their knowledge in their own way. Same way two managers who have acquired the same knowledge may use it in their own different ways to get the work done. (iii) Based on Practice and Creativity : All art is practical. It involves creative practice. The more we practice it better we become at it. It also requires creativity. Same way a manager applies his acquired knowledge in a unique manner. More practice makes him a better manager and he also develops his own style of management.


Question: How is the Principle of ‘Unity of Command’ useful to management?

Summary: Principle of Unity of Command implies that each and every subordinate should have one and only one boss. Orders and instructions should come from only one head. This helps the working of any organisation in the following manner- (i) Authority responsibility relationship is clearly defined. (ii) Subordinates are known for whom they are accountable. (iii) Discipline and order is maintained.


Question: Describe the Time Study technique of scientific study. How does it help?

Summary:
It determines the standard time taken to perform a well-defined job. The standard time is fixed for the whole of the task by taking several readings. The method of time study will depend upon volume and frequency of the task, the cycle time of the operation and time measurement costs. There are three objectives achieved through time study.
(i) Determine the number of workers.
(ii) Frame suitable incentive schemes.
(iii) Determines labour costs.
e.g., if standard time taken to do a piece of work in 20 minutes then one work can be done 3 times in an hour and total 21 times (3×7 hours per day) the work can be done on a single day.


Question: Describe the Motion Study technique of scientific study. How does it help?

Summary:
Motion study refers to the study of movements like lifting, putting objects, sitting and changing positions. On close examination of body motions, e.g., it is possible to find out three types motions
(i) Motions which are productive.
(ii) Motions which are incidental.
(iii) Motions which are unproductive.
Out of the above, three workers were motivated to eliminate the third type completely and reduce the second one to the minimum. This help in increasing productivity.


Question: Describe the Fatigue Study technique of scientific study. How does it help?

Summary: Fatigue study seeks to determine the amount and frequency of rest intervals in completing a task. A person is bound to feel tired physically and mentally if he does not take rest while working. The next intervals will heip one to regain stamina and work again with the same efficiency for e.g., in an organisaton working hours are 9 to 5. There is a lunch break of an hour for the workers to take rest similarly in a school there is a break for the students and teachers after 4 periods of continuous learning.


Question: Discuss the relevance of Taylor and Fayol’s contribution in the contemporary business environment.

Summary: Both Fayol and Taylor have given principles of management to improve efficiency in an organisation. Taylor gave us scientific principles of management which are being adopted by all organisations to improve its productivity at the shop floor level, the principles help in giving effective results. In the same manner, Henry Fayol gave in general principles of management which when implemented at any of the levels-top, middle or lower and helps in achieving better co-ordination, remove ambiguity and encourage the employees to improve their work performance.


Question: Do you think planning can work in a changing environment?

Summary: Planning may not work in a changing environment. The environment consists of a number of dimensions, economic, political, social, legal and technological dimensions. The organisation has to constantly adapt itself to changes. It becomes difficult to accurately assess future trends in the environment. Planning cannot foresee everything and thus, there may be obstacles to effective planning.


Question: If planning involves working out details for the future, why does it not ensure success?

Summary: Planning does not guarantee success. The success of an enterprise is possible only when plans are properly drawn up and implemented. Any plan needs to be translated into action or it becomes meaningless. Managers have a tendency to rely on previously tried and tested successful plans. It is not always true that just because a plan has worked before it will work again. This kind of false sense of security may actually lead to failure instead of success.


Question: Why is it that organisations are not always able to accomplish all their objectives despite fool-proof planning?

Summary:
Organisations are not always able to accomplish all their objectives due to the following reasons
(i) Planning Leads to Rigidity: In an organisation a well defined plan is drawn up with specific goals to be achieved, with in a specific time frame. These plans then decide how the work will progress in the future and managers may not be in a position to change it. This creates a problem as flexibility is very important. Always adhering to the plan may not give us the desired results always.
(ii)Planning May not Work in a Dynamic Environment: The business environment is dynamic, nothing is constant. The business environment is a totality of external forces, where in some changes or the other keep on taking place. Plans decide in advance what has to be done in future. Planning cannot foresee everything and thus there may be obstacles to effective planning.
(iii) Planning Reduces Creativity: Planning is generally done by the top management. Usually the rest of the members just implements these plans. As a consequence, middle management and other decisions makers are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor are they permitted to act on their own, thus planning in a way reduces creativity since people tend to think along the same lines as others, there is nothing new or innovative.
(iv) Planning Involves Huge Cost Planning: involves huge cost in their formulation. These may be in terms of time and money. The costs incurred sometimes may not justify the benefits derived from the plans.
(v) Planning is a Time Consuming Process: Sometimes plans to be drawn take up so much of time that there is not much time left for their implementation and the objectives to be achieved.
(iv) Planning does not Guarantee Success: Any plans needs to be translated into action or it becomes meaningless. Managers have a tendency to rely on previously tried and tested successful plans. It is not always true that just because a plan has worked before it will work again.


Question: Is planning actually worth the huge costs involved? How so?

Summary: Planning involves huge cost, when plans are drawn up huge costs are involved in their formulation. These are in terms of time, money, effort etc. Detailed plans require scientific calculations to ascertain facts and figures. The costs incurred sometimes may not justify the benefits derived from the plans. There are a number of incidental costs as well (which are indirect) like expenditures on organising a meeting, consultation fees given to professional experts, market survey etc. But despite the high cost no firm can work without proper planning if used properly.


Question: What are the steps involved in the process of organising?

Summary:
Organising involves following steps that need to be taken in series
(i) Identification and Division of Work Organising process begins with identifying and division of total work into small units.
(ii) Departmentalisation After dividing the work, related and similar jobs are grouped together and put under one department.
(iii) Assignment of Duties After departmentalisation, the work is assigned according to the ability of individuals.
(iv) Establishing Reporting Relationship Assigning duties is not enough. Each individual should also know, who he has to take orders and to whom he is accountable. Thus, reporting relationship helps in co-ordination among various departments.


Question: What are the various elements of delegation?

Summary:
The elements of delegation are as follows:
(i) Authority It refers to the right of an individual to command his subordinates and to take action within the scope of his position. The concept of authority arises from the established scalar chain, which links the various job positions and levels of an organisation. It must be noted that authority is restricted by laws and the rules and regulations of the organisations. Authority flows downward.
(ii) Responsibility Responsibility is the obligation of a subordinate to properly perform the assigned duty. It arises from a superior-subordinate relationship because the subordinate is bound to perform the duty assigned to him by his superior. Responsibility flows upward.
(iii) Accountability Accountability implies being answerable for the final outcome. Once authority has been delegated and responsibility accepted, one cannot deny accountability. It cannot be delegated and flows upwards i.e., a subordinate will be accountable to a superior for satisfactory performance of work.


Question: Why is delegation considered essential for effective organising?

Summary:
Effective delegation leads to the following benefits:
(i) Effective Management By empowering the employees, the managers are able to function more efficiently as they get more time to concentrate on important matters. This makes the working of all the levels effective and efficient.
(ii) Employee Development As a result of delegation, employees get more opportunities to utilise their talent and this may give rise to talent abilities in them. It makes them better leaders and decision makers. Delegation empowers the employees by providing them with the chance to use their skills, gain experience and develop themselves for higher positions.
(iii) Motivation of Employees Delegation helps in developing the talents of the employees. It also has psychological benefits. Responsibility for work builds the self-esteem of an employee and improves his confidence. He feels encouraged and tries to improve his performance further.
(iv) Facilitation of Growth Delegation helps in the expansion of an organisation by providing a ready workforce to take up leading positions in new ventures. Trained and experienced employees are able to play significant roles in the launch of new projects.
(v) Basis of Management Hierarchy Delegation of authority establishes superior-subordinate, which are the basis of hierarchy of management. The extent of delegated authority also decides the power that each job position enjoys in the organisation.
(vi) Better Co-ordination Due to delegation work, duties, power all becomes very clear. This helps to avoid overlapping of duties and duplication of effort as it gives a clear picture of the work being done at various levels. Such clarity in reporting relationships help in developing and maintaining effective coordination amongst the departments, levels and functions of management.


Question: Can a large sized organisation be totally centralised or decentralised? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Summary: No large organisation can not be totally centralised or decentralised. Complete centralisation would imply concentralization of all decision making functions at the apex of the management hierarchy. Such a scenario would obviate the need for a management hierarchy. On the other hand, complete decentralisation would imply the delegation of all decision making functions to the lower level of the hierarchy and this would finish off the need for higher, managerial positions. Both the situations are unrealistic. As an organisation grows in size and complexity, there is a tendency to move towards decentralised decision making. This is because, in large organisations those employees, who are directly and closely involved with certain operations tend to have more knowledge about them than the top management, which may only be indirectly associated with individual operations. Hence, there is a need for balance between these co-existing forces.


Question: What is meant by recruitment? How is it different from selection?

Summary: Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job. It can be defined as the process of motivating and encouraging people to come and apply for a job in an organisation. Selection is the process of identifying and choosing the best person out of a number of prospective candidates for a job. If recruitment is positive, selection is negative. Recruitment helps in creating a pool of prospective workforce whereas selection helps in finding the best out of them.


Question: What is the importance of staffing function in today’s environment?

Summary: Staffing is considered to be a key function because it deals with human resource, which is regarded as one of the most valuable resource of any organisation. Once an organisation could place the right man at the right job, it is easy to plan, organise, co-ordinate, direct and control the human activities to get the desired results. It helps in discovering and obtaining competent personnel, ensures the continuous survival and growth, helps to ensure optimum utilisation of resources and improves job satisfaction as well.


Question: Why are internal sources of recruitment considered to be more economical?

Summary: Filling of jobs internally is cheaper as compared to getting candidates from external sources because only transfer or promotion has to be done. It does not involve the long process of staffing or selection. It increases the cost in the form of more time, money and efforts in recruiting.


Question: What are semantic barriers of communication?

Summary:
While communicating a message, misrepresentation of communication causes misunderstanding on account of use of wrong words lack of vocabulary skills, faulty translations, different interpretations is known as semantic barriers. It is concerned with the problems which arises in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or impressions. Main causes of semantic barriers are listed below
(i) Badly expressed message
(ii) Symbols with different meanings
(iii) Faulty translations
(iv) Unclarified assumptions
(v) Technical jargon
(vi) Body language and gesture decoding


Question: Discuss Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory of motivation.

Summary:
Maslow’s need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation Motivation is a psychological term and the needs of an employee plays an important role in motivation. In order to study motivation various researchers developed theories on them. Among them Abraham Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory is considered of worth. As per him, their exists a Hierarchy of five needs these are
(i) Basic Physiological Needs These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and corresponds to primary needs. Food, clothing shelter are a few examples of this type of need. Basic salary helps to fulfill these needs.
(ii) Safety/Security Needs When the basic needs satisfied, people start thinking of future. These needs provide security and protection from physical and emotional harm in coming future e.g., job security, pension plans etc.
(iii) Affiliation/Belonging Need These needs refer to human feeling of belongingness. We all as human beings look forward to being accepted in the society e.g., friendship.
(iv) Esteem Needs These include factors such as self-respect, autonomous status, attention. An individual wants a respect and recognition from others in this need.
(v) Self-actualisation Needs It is the highest level of need in the hierarchy. It refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. The needs include growth self-fulfillment and achievement of goals etc.


Question: Discuss the relationship between planning and controlling.

Summary: Planning and controlling are inseparable, they are twins of management. A system of control pre-supposes the existence of certain standards. These standards of performance which serve as the basis of controlling are provided by planning. Once a plan becomes operational controlling is necessary to monitor the progress, measure it, discover deviations and initiate corrective measures to ensure that events conform to plans. Planning is clearly a pre-requisite for controlling. Controlling cannot be accomplished with planning. With planning there is no pre-determined understanding of the desired performance, planning seeks consistent, integrated and articulated programmes while controlling seeks to compel events to conform to plans.


Question: How is human geography related to other social sciences?

Summary: Human geography attempts to explain the relationship between all elements of human life and the space they occur over. Thus, human geography assumes a highly interdisciplinary nature. It develops close interface with sister disciplines in social sciences in order to understand and explain human elements on the surface of the earth. With the expansion of knowledge, new sub-fields emerge and it has further expanded realm of human geography.


Question: What are the geographical factors that influence the distribution of population?

Summary:
Availability of water: It is the most important factor of life. People prefer to live in areas where fresh water is readily available. Water is essential in development of agriculture and carrying out day-to-day activities.
Land forms: People prefer to live in flat plains and gentle slopes as they are favourable for the production of crops and in building roads and industries.
Climate: People prefer living in areas that do not have extreme climatic conditions that is areas that do not have high diurnal and annual range of temperature and also which have adequate rainfall.
Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas which have fertile loamy soils, have more people living on them as they can support intensive agriculture.


Question: Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world.

Summary:
There are primarily three factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world. These are enumerated below:
Geographical Factors: Geographical traits such as availability of water, land forms, climate and soil affect the distribution and density significantly. Water is essential for development of agriculture and carrying out day to day activities, While land forms characterise the ease of living in a place. Climate influences a lot of factors in the lives of people, such as agriculture, ease of living etc. Similarly, soil influences the lives of people through agriculture. Population would eventually build up in the presence of fertile soil.
Economic Factors: Factors such as presence of minerals, industrialization, urbanization etc also play a major role. Presence of minerals eventually leads to mining industries being set up, creating job opportunities, leading to an influx of people to occupy the jobs. Similarly industrialization and urbanization also attract the populace.
Social and cultural factors: Some places attract more people because they have religious or cultural significance. In the same way, people tend to move away from places where there is social and political unrest. Example; emigration of people from civil war affected areas of Africa. Many a times government offers incentives to people to live in sparsely populated areas.


Question: What are the three stages of demographic transition?

Summary:
Demographic transition theory can be used to describe and predict the future population of any area. The theory tells us that the population of any region changes from high births and high deaths to low births and low deaths as a society progresses from rural, agrarian and illiterate to urban, industrial and literate society. These changes occur in stages, which are collectively known as the demographic cycle.

The first stage has high fertility and high mortality rates because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. Population growth is slow and most people are engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low; people are mostly illiterate and have low levels of technology. Two hundred years ago all the countries were in this stage.

In the second stage, fertility remains high in the beginning, but it declines with time. This is accompanied by reduced mortality rate. Improvements in sanitation and health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because of this gap the net addition to population is high. This results in population explosion. Eg. Countries like India.

In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanized, literate and has high technical know how and deliberately controls the family size. Some countries even face negative growth of population, E.g., many Western European countries.


Question: What is population growth? What does population change indicate for an area?

Summary: Population growth or population change refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a territory during a specific period of time. It is an important indicator of economic development and historical and cultural background of the region.


Question: What are the components of population change?

Summary: There are three components of population change: Births, deaths and migration. Population growth occurs not only by increasing birth rate but also due to decreasing death rate. Apart from these the population size is also affected by the movement of people from one place to another in pursuit of better living i.e. migration.


Question: What is the significance of age-structure? How does it indicate population composition?

Summary: Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. This is an important indicator of population composition, since a large size of population in the age group of 15-59 indicates a large working population. A greater proportion of population above 60 years represents an ageing population which requires more expenditure on health care facilities. Similarly high proportion of young population would mean that the region has a high birth rate and the population is youthful.


Question: Why did Malthus believe that catastrophic events like famines and epidemics that cause mass deaths were inevitable?

Summary:
English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus argued that human population tend to grow at a much faster rates than the rate which the means of human subsistence (land, agriculture) can grow.
He said population rises in geometric progression whereas agricultural production can only grow in Arithmetic progression. Malthus believed that positive checks to population growth in the form of famines and diseases, was inevitable. These are nature’s way of dealing with the balance between food supply and increasing population. According to him, these natural checks are extremely painful and difficult. Although it helps to achieve a balance between population and subsistence by increasing the death rate.


Question: What is meant by 'birth rate' and 'death rate'? Explain why the birth rate in relatively slow to fall while the death rate declines much faster.

Summary:
Birth rate and death rate are fundamental concepts in Demography.
Birth rate: It refers to the total number of births in a particular area, which can be the entire country, a state or any territorial unit during a specific period.
It is crude birth rate because it does not include the ratio of bearing age.
Birth rate can be defined as the number of live births per thousand persons in a year.
Birth rate gets significantly affected by Age of marriage, infertility, climatic conditions, social condition, religious beliefs and education.
Death rate: It is the number of deaths per thousands persons in a year in a particular area, which can be the entire country, a state or any other territorial unit.
Causes of slow birth rate:
Birth rate is relatively slow while the death rate can be brought down at much faster rate for the following reasons:
Public health measures and medical advancement can control the death rate immediately. Everybody wants good health and wants to live a long life. Because of the love for life everybody adopts all medical and technological measures with high level of motivation.
Birth rate continues to be high because it is related to attitude, beliefs and values of people. Birth rate is related to religious beliefs and by and large it is socio-cultural phenomena which is significantly slow to change.


Question: What is the role of the ideas of separation and hierarchy in the caste system?

Summary: The caste system can be understood as the combination of two sets of principles, one based on difference and separation and the other on wholism and hierarchy. Each caste is different and strictly separated from every other caste on the basis of restrictions. These restrictions are related to marriage, food sharing and social interaction to occupation. Different and separated castes do not have an individual existence. They exist in relation to a larger whole. This societal whole or system is a hierarchical rather than egalitarian system. Each individual caste follows an ordered rank—a particular position in a ladder like arrangement going from highest to lowest. The hierarchical ordering of castes is based on the distinction between purity and pollution. Castes that are considered ritually pure have high status, while those considered less pure or impure have low status. Historians believe that those who were defeated in wars were often assigned low caste status. Castes are not only unequal in ritual terms. They are complementary and non competing groups. It means each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste. Caste is also linked with occupation, the system functions as a social division of labour. It allows no mobility.This idea of separation and hierarchy has inculcated discrimination, inequality and prejudices in Indian society.


Question: What are some of the rules that the caste system imposes?

Summary: The most commonly cited rules that the caste system has imposed are as follows: Caste is determined by birth-a child inherits the “bom information” the caste of its parents. One can never change one’s caste, leave it, or choose not to join it. Caste is never a matter of choice. Membership in a caste involves strict rules about marriage. Caste groups are “endogamous” i.e. marriage is restricted to members of the group. Members of a particular caste have to follow rules about food and food sharing. An individual bom into a caste could only practice the occupation associated with that caste, so that occupations were hereditary. Caste involves hierarchy of rank and status. Every person has a caste. Every caste has a caste. Every caste has a specified place in the hierarchy of all castes. Castes involve sub-division within themselves. Sometimes sub-castes may also have sub-caste i.e. segmental organisation.


Question: What changes did colonialism bring about in the caste system?

Summary:
The institution of caste underwent major changes during the colonial period. Present status of caste in India is more a product of colonialism than of ancient Indian tradition. The British administrators tried to understand the complexities of caste in an effort to learn how to govern the country efficiently. The most important official effort to collect information on caste was through census. It began in 1860s. The 1901 census under the direction of Herbert Risley was particularly important as it sought to collect information on the social hierarchy of caste i.e. the social order of precedence in particular regions, as to the position of each caste in the rank order. The counting of caste and to officially recording of caste made this institution of caste identity became more rigid in India. The land revenue settlements and laws gave legal recognition to the caste based rights of the upper caste. Large scale irrigation schemes were accompanied by efforts to settle population there, and these also had caste dimension. So colonialism brought about major changes in the institution of caste. In short the Britishers took initiative in following areas:
(i) Census-to make sure of number and sizes of the castes and sub-castes.
(ii) To understand the values, beliefs and customs of different sections of society.
(iii) Land settlement.


Question: In what sense has caste become relatively ‘invisible’ for the urban upper castes?

Summary: The changes in the caste system benefited the most were urban middle and upper class. Caste status ensured these groups the necessary economic and educational resources and they took full advantage of the opportunities offered by rapid development. Particularly the upper caste elite were able to benefit from subsidised public education, specially professional education in science, technology, medicine and management. They were also able to take advantages of the expansion of state sector jobs in the early decades after independence. Because of this earlier load over the rest of the society in terms of education ensured a privileged status. For the so called SC and ST and backward castes this change became detrimental. For these the caste became all too visible. They had not inherited educational and social capital and they had to compete with already established upper caste group.They cannot afford to abandon their caste identity.They continue to suffer from discrimination of various kinds.


Question: What are the differences between matriliny and matriarchy? Please explain

Summary:
Matriliny: Societies of Meghalaya Khasi, Jaintia, Garo tribes and societies of Kerala, Nayyar family property inheritance goes from mother to daughter whereas control passes from maternal uncle to Nephew. It means a women inherits property from mother and passes on to her daughter while a man controls his sister’s property and passes on control to his sister’s son. This matriliny generates intense role conflict for men because they are in conflict between their responsibilities to their own house on the one hand and to their wife and children on the other-“Should I pay more attention to my family or my sister’s family.” This role conflict is for woman also. She possesses only token authority, men are the defacto powerholders. Despite matriliny men are the powerholders.
Matriarchy: In such societies the women exercise authority and play dominant role. Practically it is only a theoretical concept as it never allows the women to have real power of dominance. Realistically it is not existed even in matrilineal families.


Question: How does a sociological perspective on markets differ from an economic one?

Summary: Adam Smith and other thinkers developed the ideas of modem economics. It is based on the idea that the economy can be studied as a separate part of society that operates according to its own laws, leaving out the larger social or political context in which market functions. On the other hand, sociologists have tried to develop an alternative way of studying economic institutions and processes within the larger social frameworks. In this way, sociologists consider markets as social institution which are made in culturally specific ways. Sociologists maintain that economies are socially ‘embedded’.


Question: What is meant by the phrase ‘invisible hand’?

Summary: According to Adam Smith, every person looks for his own self-interest and in pursuit of this in-tum works for the self-interest of all . In this sense, there seems to be an unseen force at work that converts what is good for each individual into what is good for the society. This unseen force was called the 'invisible hand'.


Question: In what ways is a market—such as a weekly village market—a social institution?

Summary: Though markets are places of economic interaction, since they are based on a particular social context and social environment, we can also regard them as social institutions where a specific kind of social interaction take place. Periodic markets (or weekly markets) are a central feature of social and economic organization. They give a chance to surrounding villages to interact with each other while they sell their goods. In villages, in tribal areas apart from regular markets, specialised markets are also organized where specific products are sold such as in the fair of Pushkar in Rajasthan. Thus, traders from outside come and also moneylenders, entertainers, astrologers and other specialists offering their services and product. Therefore, these periodic markets just do not fulfil local needs, they link the villages with regional economies and sometimes national economies. Thus in tribal areas they help in maintaining interconnections, which makes these markets a social institution.


Question: How do caste and kin networks contribute to the success of a business?

Summary: In the precolonial period on wards, India had an extensive trading connection, not only within the country but also outside. These trading connections were made by merchant groups who did extensive internal and external trades and mostly they were organized as a community based on their same caste or kinship and they did business on the basis of trust, loyalty and understanding that prevailed within their community. An interesting illustration of the use of traditional joint family structure and kinship and caste networks to build their business can be seen in banking and trading activities of Chettiars of Tamil Nadu. They controlled trade and banking all over south-east Asia and Ceylon (new Sri Lanka) in the 19th century and operate as joint family business. This is typical patriarchal structure of joint family but they used trust, unity and goodwill of kinship to build their connection. This gives its idea that Indians had their indigenous version of capitalism, when they ran business for profit, which was centres around caste and kinship.


Question: In what ways did the Indian economy change after the coming of colonialism?

Summary: The advent of colonialism in India produced major upheavals in the economy, causing disruptions in production, trade and agriculture. Cheap manufactured textiles from England completely destroyed the handloom industry and made the weavers jobless. In the colonial era, India began to be more fully linked to the world capitalist economy. Before being colonised by the British, India was a major supplier of manufactured goods to the world market. After colonialism, India became a source of raw materials and agriculture products and a consumer of manufactured goods, both largely for the benefit of industrialising England. But rather than completely overturning the existing economic institutions, the expansion of the market economy in India provided new opportunities to some merchant communities, which were able to improve their position by re-orienting themselves to changing economic circumstances. In some cases, new communities emerged to take advantage of the economic . opportunities provided by colonialism. A good example of this process is provided by Marwaris, probably the most widespread and best—known business community in India.


Question: What do you understand by commoditisation?

Summary:
Commoditisation occurs when things that were earlier not traded in the market become commodities.
For example:
1. Labours or skills have become things that can be bought and sold.
2. Sale of human organs, such as kidneys by poor to cater to rich patients to earii money.
3. Traditionally, marriages were arranged by families but now professional marriage bureaus and websites help people to find brides and grooms and take a proper fees. Earlier rituals and ceremonies were planned out by elders in the family but now it is given as a contract to marriage planners to plan out the entire ceremony.
4. In earlier times, people could not have even thought that any one could sell drinking water or charge money for it. But today, we buy bottled water as a normal commodity i.e. a commodity we can buy and sell.


Question: What is meant by a `status symbol`?

Summary:
Max Weber, coined the term status symbol to describe the relationship between the goods that people buy as per their social status, i.e., the goods they buy and use are closely related to their status in the society.
For example - Brand of cell phones or model of cars are important markers of socio-economic status.


Question: What are some of the processes included under the label ‘globalisation’?

Summary:
In the era of globalisation the world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Their interconnections are not only economic but also cultural and political.
The process of globalisation involves a number of trends, especially the increase in international movement of commodities money, information, people and development in technology.
The main feature of globalisation is the increasing extension and integrations of markets around the globe. It means that changes in a market in one part of the globe may have a profound impact somewhere else far away.
For example - India’s booming software industry may face a slump if the U.S. economy does badly as happened after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York leading to a loss of business and jobs there.


Question: What is meant by `liberalisation`?

Summary:
Liberalisation is the process whereby state control over economic activities are minimised and left to the market forces to decide. In general, it is process of making laws more liberal and loosening of government rules and regulation on capital labour and trade; privatisation of public sector enterprises selling government around companies to private companies, a reduction in tariffs and import duties so that foreign goods can be imported more easily.
It includes privatisation of public sector enterprises.
It allows easier access for foreign companies to set up industries in India.
This is also known as marketisation or market based process to solve economic, social or political problems.


Question: How is social inequality different from the inequality of individual?

Summary: Individual inequality refers to destructiveness and variations among individuals in their psychological and physical characteristics. Social inequality refers to a social system where some people are getting opportunity to make use of the resources and others are not. Some people are at a higher level in terms of wealth, education, health and status while others are at the lowest level. Social inequality gets manifested in following forms: (i) Social stratification, (ii) Prejudices, (iii) Stereotypes, and (iv) Discrimination.


Question: What are some of the features of social stratification?

Summary:
The key features of social stratification are
(i) Social stratification is a characteristics of society, not simply a function of individual differences.
It is society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people.
For example: In the most technologically primitive societies-hunting and gathering societies, little was produced, so only rudimentary social stratification could exist.
In more technologically advanced societies, where people produce a surplus over and above their basic needs, however, social resources are unequally distributed to various social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.
(ii) Social stratification persists over generations:
It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s social position is ascribed, i.e., a child assumes the social position of its parents. Births dictate occupation e.g. a Dalit is likely to ‘ be confined to traditional occupation such as agricultural labours, scavenging or
leather work, with little chance of being able to get high paying white-collar or professional work.
The ascribed aspect of social inequality is reinforced by the practice of endogamy,
i.e., marriage is usually restricted to members of the same caste, ruling out the potential for breaking caste line through intercaste marriages.
(iii) Social stratification is supported by patterns of beliefs and ideology:
No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable. For example, Caste system is justified in terms of the opposition of purity and pollution, with Brahmans designated as the most superior and Dalits as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.
Not everyone, thinks of a system of inequality as legitimate. Typically, people with the greatest social privileges express the strongest support, while those who have experienced exploitation and humiliation of being at the bottom of the hierarchy are most likely to challenge it.


Question: How would you distinguish prejudice from other kinds of opinion or belief?

Summary:
Prejudice refers to pre-judgement, i.e., an opinion made in advance. Prejudice refers to pre-thought opinions or attitudes held by members of one group towards another.
Prejudice may be either positive or negative. A prejudiced person’s pre-thought views r are .generally based on hearsay rather than on direct evidence. This word is generally used for negative pre-judgements.
On the other hand, an opinion is a judgment about someone or something, not necessarily based on fact and knowledge.


Question: What is social exclusion?

Summary: Social exclusion is the combined result of deprivation and discrimination that presents individual or groups from participating completely in the economic, social and political life of the society in which they live.Social exclusion is structural i.e., the outcome of social processes and institutions rather than individual action. In this process, the individuals may cut off from total improvement in the broader society.


Question: What is untouchability?

Summary:
Untouchability is a social practice within the caste system in which members of the lowest castes are thought to be ritually impure to such a limit that they cause pollution by mere touch or even sight. Untouchable castes are at the bottom of the hierarchical system. These low castes are excluded from most social institutions.
It is an extreme and vicious aspect of the caste system. It uses stringent social and ritual sanctions against members of castes located at the bottom of the purity pollution scale. They are considered to be outside the caste hierarchy.


Question: Why is reproduction essential for organisms?

Summary: Reproduction is the ability of living organisms to produce a young one similar to itself. It ensures continuity of a species generation after generation. Reproduction introduces variation in the organisms. Useful variations are essential for adaptation and evolution. Therefore, it is essential for organisms.


Question: Why is the offspring formed by asexual reproduction referred to as clone?

Summary: Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction in which a single individual is capable of producing offspring. These offspring are not only genetically and morphologically similar to one another but also similar to their parent. Clone is the term given to individuals that are genetically and morphologically similar. Thus the offspring produced by asexual reproduction are called clones.


Question: What is vegetative propagation? Give two suitable examples.

Summary: Vegetative propagation is the formation of new plants from vegetative units. In plants, the units of vegetative propagation are runner, rhizome, sucker, tuber, offset, bulb, etc. These are capable of producing new offsprings. These structures are called v vegetative propagules. Modified tuberous roots of sweet potato, tapioca, yam, Dahlia and Tinospora can be propagated vegetatively when planted in soil. Small plants emerging from the buds (called eyes) of the potato tuber, from the rhizomes of banana and ginger are other examples.


Question: Offsprings formed due to sexual reproduction have better chances of survival. Why? Is this statement always true?

Summary: The offsprings obtained from sexual reproduction have better chances of survival because the genetic material of such organisms are formed from both the parents. Daughter organisms/offsprings show variation that leads to the evolution of species. This statement is always true. The offspring produced due to sexual reproduction adapt better to the changing environmental conditions. Genetic recombination, interaction, etc. during sexual reproduction provide vigour and vitality to the offspring.


Question: Higher organisms have resorted to sexual reproduction in spite of its complexity. Why?

Summary: Higher organisms have resorted to sexual reproduction in spite of its complexity because sexual reproduction results in multiplication and perpetuation of species and also contributes to evolution of species by introducing variation much more faster than asexual reproduction in a particular population. Sexual reproduction enables higher organisms to survive during unfavourable conditions.


Question: Define external fertilization. Mention its disadvantages.

Summary:
When fusion of the gametes takes place outside the body of the organisms, it is called external fertilization or external syngamy. The external medium like water is required for this form of fertilization. This form, is found in many aquatic animals like fishes, amphibians, majority of algae.
In this, parents release eggs and sperms in the surrounding water, then fertilization and development of offspring occur externally. Disadvantages of external fertilization:
(i)it can occur only in aquatic medium.
(ii)a chance factor is involved requiring synchronous release of gametes nearby and absence of turbulence of water.
(iii)there is no protection to young ones. They are vulnerable to a number of predators.


Question: Describe the post-fertilization changes in a flower.

Summary: In sexual reproduction, events that occur after the formation of zygote are called post-fertilization events. In flowering plants, the zygote is formed inside the ovule. After fertilization the sepals, petals and stamens of the flower wither and fall off. But the pistil remains attached to the plant. The zygote develops into the embryo and the ovules develop into the seed. The ovary develops into die fruit that develops.a thick wall called pericarp which is protective in – function. After dispersal, seeds germinate under favourable conditions to produce new plants.


Question: What is meant by monosporic development of female gametophyte?

Summary: In majority of flowering plants one of the megaspores is functional while the other three degenerate. Only the functional megaspore develops into the female gametophyte or embryo sac. This method of development of embryo sac from a single megaspore is called monosporic development.


Question: What are chasmogamous flowers? Can cross-pollination occur in deistogamous flowers? Give reasons for your answer

Summary: Chasmogamous flowers are those flowers which are open with exposed anther and stigma. Cleistogamous flowers are those flowers which do not open at all. In these flowers, the anthers and stigma lie close to each other, when anthers dehisce in the flower buds, the pollen grains come in the contact with stigma to effect pollination. So these flowers are invariably self-pollinated as the flowers remain closed and there is no chance of cross pollen landing on the stigma. Pollination and seed setting are assured even in the absence of pollinators.


Question: Mention two strategies evolved to prevent self-pollination in flowers.

Summary: Continued self-pollination decreases the vigour and vitality of a particular race. Thus, flowering plants have developed many devices to discourage self-pollination and to encourage cross-pollination. Dichogamy and self-sterility are.two most common devices that ensure cross-pollination. Dichogamy – Maturation of anther and stigma at different times in a bisexual flower prevent self-pollination. Self-sterility (or self-incompatibility) – Due to the presence of self-sterile gene in some flowers, pollen grains do not germinate on the stigma of that flowers. e.g.,- tobacco, potato.


Question: What is self-incompatiblility? Why does self-pollination not lead to seed formation in self-incompatible species?

Summary: If a pistil carrying functional female gametes fails to set seeds following pollination with viable and fertile pollen, capable of bringing about fertilisation in another pistil, the two are said to be incompatible, and the phenomenon is known as sexual incompatibility. Sexual incompatibility may be interspecific (between individuals of different species) or intraspecific (between individuals of the same species). The latter is also called self-incompatibility. Self-incompatibility is a gene-physiological process. Incompatibility reactions are controlled by a single gene, called S-gene, which has several alleles. Pollen grains that possess the S-allele common to any one of the two alleles present in the cells of the pistil, will not be functional on that particular pistil. However, every pollen grain having no common S alleles with pistil would be functional on the pistil of a that plant. As self pollens are unable to fertilise the egg to form pmbryo, hence seeds are not formed in self-incompatible species.


Question: What is bagging technique? How is it useful in a plant breeding programme?

Summary: It is the covering of emasculated flowers (removal of anthers in bud condition from a bisexual flower by a bag of butter paper or polythene in their bud condition i.e., before anthesis) to prevent contamination of its stigmas with unwanted pollens. When the stigmas of emasculated flowers mature the bags are removed, stigmas are dusted with pollen grains of desired male . plants by means of a presterilized brush and flowers are rebagged till fruit develop. This technique is mainly used in artificial hybridization. Plant breeders often use this technique to prevent the contamination of stigma of the flowers from unwanted pollen grains.


Question: What is meant by emasculation? When and why does a plant breeder employ this technique?

Summary: Removal of stamens or anthers of a bisexual flower without affecting the female reproductive organs is called emasculation. This technique is used in artificial hybridisation. In such crossing experiments it is important to make sure that only the desired pollen grains are used for pollination and the stigma is protected from contamination from unwanted pollens. This is achieved by emasculation and bagging technique. This technique is used to obtain desired variety of seeds.


Question: What is apomixis and what is its importance?

Summary: Apomixis is a mode of asexual reproduction that produces seeds without fertilization, e.g.- some species of Asteraceae and Grasses. This method is important in hybrid seed industry. Hybrids are extensively cultivated for increasing productivity. But the main drawback is that the hybrid seeds are to be produce every year because the seeds of the hybrid plants da not maintain hybrid characters for longer period due to segregation of characters. This can be avoided if apomixis can be introduced in hybrid seeds. For this reason scientists are trying hard to identify genes for apomixis.


Question: Why is apple called a false fruit? Which Part(s) of the flower forms the fruit?

Summary: Botanically ripened ovary is called a true fruit. The fruits in which thalamus and other floral parts develop along with the ovary are called false fruits. For example – apple, strawberry, cashew etc. In apple the main edible portion of the fruit is the fleshy thalamus. Ovary forms the fruit after fertilization or without fertilization in parthenocarpic fruits.


Question: Explain the Law of Dominance using a monohybrid cross.

Summary: When two different factors (genes) or a pair of contrasting forms of a character are present in an organism, only one expresses itself in the F, generation and is termed as dominant while the other remains unexpressed and called recessive factors (gene). A tall (TT) true breeding plant is crossed with a dwarf (tt) plant. The character of height is represented by‘T’ for tall‘t’ for dwarf are the alternate form as character of height. The Fj hybrid ‘Tt’ is Tall, showing that tall is dominant over dwarf while dwarf remains unexpressed in F, offspring due to phenomenon of dominance by tall factor or gene.In this Tt heterozygous has tall phenotype showing T is dominant over t allele.


Question: How is sex determined in human beings?

Summary: Sex determination refers to the mechanisms employed by organisms to produce offsprings that are of two different sexes. The sex of an individual is determined by the genetic information present in the individual’s sex chromosomes. Sex determination in human is done by XY type chromosome. In humans, females have two XX chromosomes and males have two different chromosomes (XY).