Media Literacy (Summary)

 

Media Literacy should be made a part of the curriculum so that students may be enabled to quickly analyze and differentiate fake news versus truth. There is a need of critical assessment rather than putting a ban of Media.

It is pertinent to note that the situation becomes worsen when the fake news published by fake media is confirmed by credible media platforms. There are many reasons why credible media platforms do this. For instance, pressure of 24/7 news cycle, lack of ongoing professional training, resource constraints etc.

The problem does not only lie with the fake news but the original news which is distorted to present a specific narrative. Therefore, it is critical to promote technical skills for instance working of online algorithms and digital skills etc.

There are different media platforms like whatsapp, google and twitter who have taken the responsibility of training people. However, it is also important to scrutinize the agendas of these platforms as well.

Experts assert that the technical skills imparted to individuals shall make them more suspicious about every news on media. It shall reduce the level of trust among people in their institutions. The probability of inclination towards the other options shall increase.

Therefore, the key to handle this situation is to strike a balance and not to overpower people. People should be empowered so they could make their decisions sensibly.

2nd Wave of Covid and Pakistan

 

In the current point of time when our beloved country is battling the 2^nd wave of covid, tough time may be predicted to persist in the coming days if the situation be it at the political level or at the economic level is not sorted.

The stability of the country shall be questionable if the country’s political arena did not made a conscious effort to resolve their differences. It is crucial for the political parties that they must reconcile and come to a point of consensus so that the political temperature could have been controlled and other important matters which are being overlooked could have been addressed. As it can be seen that the power struggle is on the rate, keeping in view the circumstance, it shall get bitter and it will never end. However, the consequences of such struggle would be disastrous. These outcomes may put the country at risk where the serious management crises may emerge. As there are various critical issues that need attention, such as second wave of pandemic, economic recovery of the country and the regional security situation. If the political parties did not bury their hatches during this time, it is feared that the such political differences may put these crucial issues on the back burner and shall exacerbate the situation.

Phytosanitary

What does this concept mean?

The concept of Phytosanitary leads us to the understanding of knowledge regarding the health of the plants. It offers insight more specifically about the least requirements that these must meet in order to fulfil the criteria of the international trade.

Scope of the Concept:

The scope of the Phytosanitary is not limited to the inspection of the basic health of the plants only. There is a proper legislation with the name of International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and as well as International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) that deal with the matters related to the concept in terms of its application.

How does it work?

As it is has already be reported that the Phytosanitary has been regulated through the IPPC and ISPMs, the countries that are IPPC member maintain their NPPOS (National plant protection organization). NPPOs are basically the government agencies that implement the standards by developing and enforcing national regulations.

However, one important thing to consider in addition to NPPOs is that, pests for instance do not have boundaries. So the Phytosanitary is not limited to the member countries only. Therefore there are RPPOs (Regional plant protection organizations) to assist NPPOs. Where these regional agencies work in the neighboring countries and help in curbing the spread.

Further, responsibilities may include pest risk analysis, wood packaging material regulations, inspection, pest reporting and Surveillance in this subject area.

What is Phytosanitary certification?

An important concept under this study is related to Phytosanitary certification. These certifications are issued by the NPPOs of exporting countries. The purpose of these certifications is to ensure that the consignments of the items are according to the standards as prescribed by IPPC.

Who does the inspection?

The duty of inspection is critical for the purpose of providing certifications to the NPPOs exporting countries. The personnel authorized by the NPPOs perform the tasks in both cases either import or export. While exporting it is critical to ensure that the items meet the standard and requirement criteria and in the case of importing, it is the right of the receiving country to either reject or retain the products being shipped.

Conclusion

To sum, the concept is very useful and unique. And as the globalization has paced up, and the world has become a global village, the utility of this concept and doubled.