Career and Self Employment Opportunities in Poultry Science

Career and Self Employment Opportunities in Poultry Science

Dr.A.K.Panda and Dr.B.C.Das

Poultry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in India with an average growth rate of 8 to 10 per cent per annum.

As a result, India is now the world's 3^rd largest egg producer (next to China and USA) and 5^th major producer of broiler chicken meat (after USA, China, Brazil and Mexico). The poultry sector contributes about Rs. 33,000 crore to national GNP and likely to reach to about Rs.60, 000 crore in the next five years. With a turnover of more than 352 billion rupees, this sector provides direct and indirect employment to over 3 million people in the country and has great potential to create employment opportunities with every increase of egg/meat consumption. In spite of spectacular growth in poultry sector in the last four decades, there exists huge gap between availability and requirement of poultry products. The present yearly per capita availability of egg is 46 against the requirement of 180 eggs.

 
Similarly, against the yearly per capita requirement of 11 kg of meat, only about 1.8 kg poultry meat is available per head. Therefore, to meet the domestic requirement, there is a need for about 4 times increase in egg production and six times in meat production. If taken into account the domestic requirement as well as India's share of export market, there is existence of huge production gap of poultry products in the country. Increase in population growth, changing life style, shifting of food habits, rapid urbanization, increased per capita income, increase awareness on health, increase in size of young population, etc., are contributing towards more demand on poultry products. In the current market scenario, the poultry products are cheapest source of animal protein of high biological value. This increased demand of poultry products is expected to create more than 10 million jobs of various categories in poultry industry.

Career Opportunities in Poultry Science:

Career opportunities in poultry science are plenty. One may opt for research, education, business, consultant, manager, breeder, advertiser, poultry house designer, production technologist, processing technologist, feeding technologist, value addition technologist, poultry economist, etc. and many more depending upon the aptitude and qualification. A person wants to become a poultry specialist and interested to pursue specialized jobs has to complete first B.V.Sc and A.H (Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry). The minimum qualification is 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (PCB) for completion of the B.V.Sc and AH. After completion of graduation degree, one may opt for postgraduate programme of M.V.Sc (Master of Veterinary Science) and Ph.D. in poultry related disciplines to become a specialist.

List of universities/institutes offering post graduation/Ph.D. courses in poultry science

Sl.No	Universities/Institutes	Campus
1.	Anand Agricultural University	Anand, Gujurat
2.	Assam Agricultural University	Khanapara
3.	Indian Veterinary Research Institute/Central Avian Research Institute	Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
4.	J K Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya	Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
5.	Karnataka Veterinary and Animal Science University	Bangalore and Bidar
6.	Kerala Agricultural University	Mannuthy
7.	Maharastra Animal and Fisheries Science University	Nagpur, Akola, Mumbai and Parbani
8.	Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology	Bhubaneswar
9.	Sri Venkateswar University of Veterinary and Fisheries	Tirupati and Hyderabad
10.	Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University	Chennai and Namakhal
11.	UP Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhay Pasu Chikitsha Vigyan Viswavidyalaya evam Go Anusandhan Anusthan	Mathura
12	Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences,	Pondicherry

However, for general types of job in poultry industry like farm manager, sales manager, input manager, plant manager, etc, one may not require to have essentially degree of B.V.Sc and A.H.to start a career. He/ She may opt for the certificate or diploma programmes offered by different institutes in the country to become eligible to various general types of job in poultry industry. Some of the institutes offering diploma/certificate and skill development training programmes in poultry science are-

1.      Central Poultry Development Organization (CPDO), Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh

2.      Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi

3.      Central Avian Research Institute (CARI), Izatnagar 243 122 U.P.

4.      Poultry Diagnostic Research Centre(PDRC), Pune

5.      Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar 243 122, U.P.

6.      National Institute of Open Schooling

7.      Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University

8.      Annamalai University

9.      Dr. B. V. Rao Institute of Poultry Management & Technology (IPMT) Pune (M.S) 412 202

The list is indicative only. Perspective candidates may enquire the institute of their interest regarding the offering of various courses on poultry science. The BV Rao Institute of Poultry management and Technology, Pune offers the following courses regularly.

1.      Basic Commercial Poultry Management Course

2.      Orientation/Guidance Course for Existing farmers

3.      Advanced Course for Large scale poultry farming

4.      Feed Formulation & Feed Analyses course for Feed manufacturers

5.      Hatchery Management course for Persons engaged in Hatchery

6.      Appreciation Course in Poultry Management for Non-technical/Financial persons

Employment Opportunities:

There are various avenues of job opportunities for those who opt for poultry science as their career. Depending upon one's qualification and academic background, one can find job in academic field as assistant professor, in research organizations as researcher and scientist, in central and state department as subject matter specialist and manager of poultry farms. Similarly, very good numbers of jobs are available in private poultry and related industries for the poultry science graduates. Besides, one may opt for consultancy and self employment in poultry business. Remuneration for poultry science professionals is very attractive. In the central and state governments, one may expect salary between Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month depending upon his qualifications. In research and teaching institutions, salary vary between Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000 per month. In private poultry farms depending upon one's qualification and experience, one may get anything between Rs. 20,000 to Rs.75,000 per month.

drugs in china by India.

Are fake drugs manufactured in China being pushed into various African countries with the `Made in India' tag? The Indian government
has long suspected this to be the case, but it now has definite evidence for the first time.

Last week, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria issued a press release stating that a large consignment of fake anti-malarial generic pharmaceuticals labelled `Made in India' were, in fact, found to have been produced in China.

New Delhi has registered ``strong protest'' with the Chinese mission and China's foreign trade ministry, according to sources in the commerce ministry.

India's High Commissioner in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, Mahesh Sachdev, had earlier written to then commerce secretary GSK Pillai, alerting him to the large seizure: ``While this is a case of a Chinese company exporting fake `Made in India' labelled medicines which has been accidentally exposed, it is unlikely to be an isolated incident. Indeed there is no reason for Nigeria to be the only country to be receiving such consignments.''

His letter went on to say: ``Fake foreign-made generics carrying `Made in India' label can do tremendous harm to our interests. It not only dents our image and takes our legitimate market share, it also erodes the distinction between generic and fake medicines that we have been campaigning for at WHO and WTO''.

Commerce ministry sources said: ``We have had many complaints about such fake drugs from China being offloaded as Indian drugs in countries like Ghana, South Africa, Ivory Coast and West Africa — in general, where India has a substantial market share. But so far there has been no formal complaint. This is the first time that such a large international consignment has been seized and this will be taken up strongly with the Chinese side.''

Sachdev in his letter said that he had spoken to the director-general of NAFDAC Dr Paul Orhii who said that the Nigerian preference for generics made such cases of fake drugs more common. He expressed NAFDAC's determination to curb circulation of substandard fake medicines.

India and China have been held primarily responsible for fake drugs in the Nigerian market in particular and Africa in general. About 60% of drugs in Nigeria are imported. Between 2001 and 2007, more than 30 Indian and Chinese companies were banned in Nigeria for exporting fake drugs to the country.

However, Dr Mira Shiva of the Initiative for Health Equity and Society (IHES) told TOI that both India and China being large manufacturers of generics, multinational firms would look to discredit the two countries and label their drugs as substandard, so that they would have greater access to the African markets. She warned against the two countries trying to run each other down before ascertaining the full facts in the case to rule out any orchestration, but added that India ought to be more careful to ensure the quality of the drugs exported as well as sold domestically.

world not free to express

A majority of people across the world feel they are not completely free to express unpopular opinion in their countries, says a survey released on the United Nations International Day of Democracy on Tuesday.

Most people answered in the positive for "freedom of expression" and "democracy" when they were asked how important it is to express political views without fear of being harassed and how important it is to live in a country that is governed democratically, the worldwide poll said.

The survey was carried out in 24 countries including China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa, and represented 64 per cent of the world's population.

It asked questions such as -- "How important do you think it is for people to express unpopular political views without fear of being harassed or punished?" and "How important it is for you to live in a country that is governed democratically?" For both questions, the majority of people answered positively for freedom of expression and democracy.

"The notion of the importance of democracy and the notion of accepting diversity, expression of diverse political views are very integrally related," said Steven Kull, Director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, a consortium of research centres around the globe that conducted the poll.

Anda Filip, a top official of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) that sponsored the poll said one of the major challenges to democracy continues to be lack of political tolerance.

"It (political tolerance) is the very foundation of democratic dialogue and political pluralism, and yet it continues to elude us in so many societies around the world," Filip told reporters at the UN.

Established in 1889, the IPU is an international organisation for the parliaments of 143 sovereign states.

Despite the enthusiasm for political tolerance and democracy, most of the polled persons said they could not express their views freely.

"There was actually not a single country where majority said that people are completely free," said Kull.

The poll also revealed that people did not think that ethnic minorities were well represented in legislative bodies.

They also felt that opposition parties did not get a fair chance to express their views, and that legislators have limited freedom to differ from their political party.

"We see this marked discrepancy between the global demand for democratic governance and its supply," said UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.

"Despite such massive public support in favour of democracy and pluralism, we continue to be confronted with the problem of lack of political tolerance virtually everywhere," he added.

Fernandez-Taranco also said elections should not be the sole focus of the international community in their assessment of democracy, especially in post-conflict scenarios.

"The UN support in many of these electoral processes is usually accompanied by efforts to promote good governance and fundamental freedom," he said.

Meanwhile, Filip said the IPU would be studying how Members of Parliament did not feel comfortable in expressing their views that differ from political parties.

"It is a very worrying phenomenon that we are witnessing in very many regions of the world of how MPs are losing their seat for not observing certain political party discipline," she said.

In 2007, the General Assembly had designated September 15 as International Democracy Day to reflect on the achievements and setbacks of the democratic process.

The Universal Declaration on Democracy states, "While democracy is imperfect it is the only political system that has the capacity for self correction."

china - serious gender imbalance

 
Chinese men may soon find it difficult to get a life partner amid a serious gender imbalance as marriageable males will outnumber marriageable females by 24 million in 2020.

There is currently a serious gender imbalance among the population below the age of 19 in China, and the country's marriageable men will outnumber marriageable women by 24 million in 2020, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 
According to the "2010 Social Blue Book" released by Academy, it is estimated that up to 10 million marriageable men will find it difficult to find a life partner.

"China's highly imbalanced sex ratio at birth has lasted for more than 20 years and the cumulative effects have already emerged," said Yuan Xin, a professor from the Institute of Population and Development under Nankai University.

 
The balanced sex ratio is the law of natural evolution, but the imbalanced sex ratio in China has already become a major "obstinate disease" of society.

"During a period as short as 20 years, the regions with highly imbalanced sex ratios have rapidly expanded from eastern to western China, and from the countryside to cities, and cover almost the entire country," Yuan was quoted as saying by the People's Daily Online.

In 1982, the highly imbalanced sex ratio was seen in only 18 provinces, but by 2005 it has spread to all of the provincial-level regions except for Tibet.

 
The direct impact of a long-term imbalanced sex ratio at birth is the emergence of "gradient marriage squeeze," it said.

Tian Xueyuan, deputy president of China Population Research Institute, said that it is estimated males outnumber females by more than 23.8 million at and below the age of 19.

Over the next 20 years, males at the threshold of the marriage will outnumber females by 1.2 million per year on average. Given the shortage of marriageable females at the same age, males will find wives among the females at the lower age, the report said.

USC rooftop sex

An inquiry has been launched after a couple were caught apparently having sex on the rooftop of a USC building - allegedly in front of hundreds of people.

Officials at the university were outraged as photographs of the couple - many of which were too graphic to be shown here - quickly went viral.
The images apparently show the man, who is a student at the university, and a woman cavorting in a variety of sexual positions on top of the school's 12-storey Waite Phillips Hall in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The woman has not been publicly identified but is not believed to be a student at the university, according to officials.

The building is the home of the university's School of Education, and is the second tallest on campus.

Their rendezvous took place in broad daylight - and, according to reports, as a 'philanthropy event' attended by 'hundreds' of other students took place in the quad below.
Instead of enjoying each other's company in the centre of the roof, where they arguably may not have been seen, the couple appear to have chosen to stay near the edge, ensuring they were in plain view.


Reports described their liaison as being of 'prolonged duration'.
The couple have not yet been publicly identified but USC's Kappa Sigma branch has admitted that the man in the photographs is a fraternity member.
He has been suspended 'for conduct unbecoming of a Kappa Sigma and a gentleman', according to the school newspaper the Daily Trojan.
The fraternity's president, Zach Timm, was quoted as saying: 'While the actions that were taken did involve a member of our chapter we, in no way, support this kind of behaviour, nor do we promote any such actions.'
He said that inquiries have been launched.

The identity of the woman remains a mystery. The Daily Trojan reported the photographs linked her to USC's Delta Gamma sorority because the philanthrophy event being held in the quad below.
However the sorority has denied the link, with a spokesman quoted as saying: 'There is absolutely no relationship between these circumstances and our women or our event, Anchor Splash, which benefits sight prevention and the visually impaired.'

A university official told the MailOnline that the woman is not believed to be a student at USC.
Meanwhile a top official at the board for fraternities at the California university has expressed his outrage.

The Daily Trojan quoted USC Interfraternity Council President Pat Lauer as saying he was 'appalled by the actions associated with the individuals in the pictures, and will work tirelessly to reverse the negative stereotypes such an action has perpetuated.

A spokesman for the council told the MailOnline: 'As an Interfraternity Council, we are appalled by the actions of the students involved in the incident, and we want to make it clear that we in no way condone the acts that occurred.'It's also important to note that this action was taken by one solitary member of a fraternity at USC, not the Greek community as a whole, which accomplishes great things on a daily basis at USC.In turn, we are doing everything we can to continue to reverse untrue stereotypes the action has created.'

Leaders of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council are set to meet this week with the presidents of all campus sororities and fraternities to discuss a course of action.
The student in question met with USC's student judicial affairs and community standards (SJACS) Monday about the issue, the MailOnline understands.

The university's decision as far as course of action has not yet been reached.
U.S. blog Gawker.com quoted campus gossip claiming that the man in the photographs had sent a sexist 'C***sman' email earlier in the month in which he described women as 'objects' and 'targets'.
It is not clear who took the photographs. LATaco claimed they were taken by an 'anonymous' person, but the Daily Trojan claimed the images had been posted to Facebook.
The images appear to have been taken by someone who was at eye level with the couple.
Judging by a campus map, the most likely place the photographer could have been was at the top of the 167ft Von KleinSmid Center Tower, across the Bogardius Courtyard from Waite Phillips Hall.

boyfriend problems / boyfriend in her hostel room during night.

A BTech final year girl student at MMM Engineering College, Gorakhpur, was rusticated by the college administration on Tuesday for keeping her boyfriend in her hostel room during night. The boy is a student of IIT-Delhi.

The college has also asked IIT-Delhi to initiate action against the boy.

According to reports, the girl was residing at Saraswati Mahila Hostel of the MMM Engineering College along with her roommate.

On March 7 when her roommate was not present in the hostel, the girl brought her boyfriend during the night in girl's dress. Next morning, the boy left the room in the same dress.

Several girl students of the hostel made complaints to the warden about the girl's act.

The matter was reported to the college principal who set up a panel to probe into the incident.


The panel found truth in the allegation and recommended for rustication of the girl from the college.

It is said that the girl herself had confessed to have brought her boyfriend to the hostel room.

She also disclosed the name of her boyfriend and his whereabouts.

It is said that both belong to Agra district and know each other for quite a long time. They are academically brilliant and the girl was also selected by a company for job during the campus recruitment.

After this incident, the college administration has tightened the security in the girls' hostels.

dihydrocapsiate / easy diet plans

This 'miracle' extract – known as dihydrocapsiate (DHC) – speeds up the body's metabolism, helping it use up more calories.
It is already sold in the form of diet supplement pills in the U.S. and Japan, but it could be about to be used as a food additive in Britain.

The ingredient, which is tasteless, is one of several chemical compounds known as capsinoids found in a particular variety of chilli.

Now a Japanese food firm has submitted plans to the Food Standards Agency watchdog with the aim of adding it to chocolate bars, desserts and ready meals targeted towards slimmers.
The FSA has recently declared the extract safe.
It is now up to the European Commission to decide whether it can be sold.
If approved, products with DHC could appear on shelves very soon.

But dieticians have said that the effects of eating the foods would be minimal.


They claim that in reality, a person weighing 15 stone consuming the recommended portions of foods containing DHC would probably burn off only 50 extra calories a day – the equivalent of a digestive biscuit.
The manufacturer, Ajinomoto, plans to make the ingredient synthetically as only very small amounts can be derived from chilli peppers.
Up to 3mg would be added to a portion of food – the amount of extract found in ten chillis.
The firm insisted it was not trying to claim people would be able to lose weight simply by eating their food. It would have to be part of an overall healthy diet and active lifestyle to achieve results.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said it was a 'very interesting idea'.

'But as ever, the proof is in the pudding,' he added.

eating disorder and suicidal thoughts

More teens than ever before are suffering from eating disorders -- and they're also more likely to suffer from suicidal thoughts, a new study shows.

Researchers report that 3 percent of more than 10,000 teens ages 13 to 18 surveyed suffer from anorexia nervosa, 9 percent from bulimia nervosa and 1.6 percent from binge eating disorder reports.

The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, is billed as the largest and most comprehensive look at teens and eating disorders.

Researchers at the National Institutes of of Mental Health found the majority of those with any eating disorder also were burdened with at least one other mental health issue. This was the case with nearly nine in 10 bulimic adolescents, and more than eight in 10 of those with a binge eating problem, website HealthDay News reports.


All eating disorders were associated with a higher lifetime risk for suicidal tendencies, according to the HealthDay.

Researchers also noted that the age when patients began having eating disorders was "markedly younger" than in previous estimates, CNN reports. The median age for the onset of anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating and other eating disorders was 12.

Though boys and girls appeared to be equally susceptible to anorexia, girls were found to be more likely to develop bulimia and/or binge eating disorders, HealthDay reports.

The positive news: Researchers found most of the teens who were eventually diagnosed with eating disorders appeared to be receiving treatment for their food issues, HealthDay adds.

"This article aptly points out that we should not dismiss eating disorders as a public health problem simply because their prevalence is lower than some other major mental illnesses," Mary Tantillo, director of the Western New York Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders and an associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, tells HealthDay in a statement.
Tantillo tells the site eating disorders are diseases of disconnection and can become chronic and eventually kill due to the social impairment and isolation they create.

"Despite loving families, friends and school personnel, afflicted teens can go months or years undetected due to the secrecy and shame surrounding the illness, and the ways in which the disease affects the brain and distorts how they perceive it," she tells HealthDay.

Tantillo tells the site timely diagnosis is often hindered by teens not recognizing the need to ask for help.


"Clearly, when eating disorders in adolescents are not quickly identified and treated, there are great costs to the teen, his or her family and society," she says.

A brave teenager for £10,000.

A brave teenager has spoken for the first time of the harrowing ordeal of being beaten up in an arranged marriage after her father tried to sell her for £10,000.

The 15-year-old girl was tricked into flying to Pakistan then forced to marry a 31-year-old man so he could get a British passport.

She has described how she feared she would die after being hit, scarred with broken glass and locked up for refusing to get married.

Her harrowing story has been revealed as part of BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat investigation into forced marriages.

The girl, who would not be named, said: 'It was just about the money. He was literally selling me and my nationality so I could bring the person back.

'In pounds, it would have been about £10,000.

'He whacked me across the face, then I started rebelling more, saying ''no''.

Then he got a glass and scarred my arms. He had somebody holding me from behind and he got a glass and was cutting very deep.

'I thought he might kill me. I thought I was going to die.'

The beatings started when the young girl refused to get married. She was then locked up without food or water.

Fortunately she summoned her strength and escaped to the British High Commission in Pakistan. She then returned home and was reunited with her worried mother.

Figures obtained by Newsbeat show that her ordeal is one of many suffered by an estimated 1,735 potential forced marriages involving British citizens in 2010.

It is believed that a third of the girls in arranged marriages are under 18. Newsbeat claims that the youngest was just 13.

Campaigners against forced marriages have now called for more awareness of the problem which is largely confined to Asian communities.

Jeremy Browne, the minister in joint charge of the forced marriage unit, said: 'We think it's a genuine priority, we want to help people.'

Chinese mother her daughter's nude video

A Chinese mother has provoked outrage by posting her daughter's nude video over the internet to find a match for her. Around 1.5 million people are believed to have viewed the video posted on five popular sites.

"Oh, see how old you are and still want me to help you wash your back? I am trying to help you find a prospective marriage partner. What kind of qualifications you want, speak them out?" the mother is heard telling her naked daughter in the video, which first appeared on a site called Ku6.

The mother is heard saying she would not mind a beggar as her partner as long as he helps her take bath. "Hello, I am Gan Lulu. I have not had a boyfriend and this is not because I am ugly. Unfortunately no one wants me. So what to do?" the video shows the 26-year-old daughter. "So now I am seeking a prospective marriage partner. No matter whether or not you guys think I am special, I am a rather distinctive person. I am not that annoying, so I don't believe that there is no one who wants me," she says while asking Aiyou, her mother, for a towel.

Angry internet users slammed the mother for violating Chinese social norms. One of them called her "shameless", while other dubbed it "a publicity stunt to help the daughter get more modelling assignments".

The outrage forced the mother to post another video in which she said her daughter had earlier worked as a model and body artist but struggled to find a boyfriend. "What I had done was partly for fun and partly to help my daughter find a groom. I was looking for a groom who will not use my daughter's work to malign her and seek divorce later," she said.

Chinese authorities have clamped down on thousands of porn sites, but have not been able to check nude videos posted on social media.

fuelling a debate on teen weddings

A 14-year-old girl and 23-year-old man have celebrated their recent marriage in public in Malaysia's largest city, a report said Sunday, fuelling a debate on teen weddings.


Underage marriages are allowed for Muslims with court permission and parental consent but are not common in this Muslim-majority country.

The New Straits Times reported the Muslim couple, whose union was arranged by their parents, were married in July after obtaining permission from an Islamic court.

The couple, whose photo was published on the government-linked newspaper's front page, celebrated their union at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur Saturday together with about 250 other couples. The celebration was organized by Kuala Lumpur's Islamic department.

"It has been hard trying to juggle two roles - as a student and a wife - but I am taking it in my stride," said the bride, Siti Maryam Mahmod, who studies at a religious school.

Authorities could not immediately be reached Sunday to comment.

Muslims, who make up two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, are permitted to marry after reaching puberty as long as they have consent from their parents and Islamic Shariah courts. For non-Muslim Malaysians, females must be at least 16 and males 18 to marry.

The Times quoted Jamil Khir Baharom, minister in charge of Islamic affairs, as saying that Siti Maryam was allowed to marry as long as she obtained court consent.

But Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said child marriages should be forbidden.

"It is never OK for a 14-year-old to be married," the Muslim woman politician told The Associated Press.

Ivy Josiah, executive director of local group Women's Aid Organization, called on the government to repeal laws that allowed underage marriage for Muslims.

"Cultural and religious sensitivities should not be excuses for what is clearly a human rights violation," she said.

A southern state's leader made headlines in August when he encouraged teen marriages as a way to prevent young girls from having sex out of wedlock and getting pregnant. Dozens of babies are abandoned by young unwed Muslim mothers in Malaysia each year.

dating website i like cupid

A dating website has implied that atheists are more educated or intelligent than religious people. But applying the rationality that is supposed to accompany atheist thought highlights some major caveats.

It's not often you can release a set of statistics comparing the reading levels of people of different religions and it be among the least contentious sections of a report, but that's what's happened with dating site OKcupid. As we've covered on a couple of occasions, the people behind the site make a regular habit of digging into the database of user profiles and uncovering data trends.

Their latest effort involved scanning the profile essays written by 526,000 users. Their report on the results concentrates on the statistical distinctions between users of different racial backgrounds. The resulting lists aren't the words used most often by each group, but rather the words which appeared most for that group in comparison to people as a whole.

If you are currently trying to rid your mind of prejudiced assumptions that white people like golf and hockey, black people like basketball and Kanye West, Latinos like dancing and fighting, and Asians like software development and muay thai, don't worry: the results suggest you are exactly right. Still, this section was completely worthwhile for OKCupid's Christian Rudder noting:

" If you're trying to figure out if white dudes like something, put 'fucking' in the middle, and say it out loud. If it sounds totally badass, white dudes probably love it."

The report also looked at the writing style used by people of different backgrounds and used a readability index to assess how sophisticated the writing was. On the racial side, if your assumption is that Asian and Indian people are on top (for international readers, the US definition of "Asian" refers to the far East) and that black and Latino people are on the bottom, you are again correct.

The site also listed a breakdown by religious background, as shown above.

At first glance this is great news for avid atheists who believe their view shows a greater degree of reason. I'm not going to discuss that belief (I'll leave that to the comment section), but it is important to note that if reason is the issue, there are some objective points that mean we just can't be sure how firm a conclusion can be drawn from this study:

* The differences really aren't that significant: from top to bottom is perhaps a little more than one grade. While its debatable as to what the correct baseline is for reading ages by grades (and reading grades don't represent a proportional increase), if you start the y axis at "zero", the differences look less spectacular:

* The reading level at which you write is not necessarily a sign of education or intelligence. While it's likely that the brighter you are, the more sophisticated or complex the level you are capable of writing will be, there comes a point where some writers will consider it more effective to write in a clearer manner that, while doing a better job of communication, scores lower on automated scales. The results could even indicate that people of certain religions (or non-religions) might be more likely to write in a style designed primarily to make them look more intelligent.
* There's a flaw with the sample group. While 526,000 users means we can be confident it very accurately reflects the population, that population is users of dating sites rather than the general public. If you want to create a hypothesis to dismiss the results as significant, you could argue that those of a more religious background are more likely to have wanted to get married earlier in life — and the smart ones were snapped up first, leaving the less bright ones looking for a mate alongside clever atheists who find it more efficient to look for love online than at church dances.
Of course, there's no evidence that any of my suggestions have any validity whatsoever. But anyone who believes in rational thought (regardless of their personal faith) should realize the study doesn't give anywhere near enough evidence to back Rudder's comment "Is there a Comic Sans version of the Bible? There really should be."

China and Brazil increase in passions for luxury

 
As financial markets recovered last year, the world's millionaires again indulged in their passions for luxury cars, yachts, art and jewelry.

While demand for many luxury items remains weaker than in 2007, spending on so-called "passion investments" increased during the second half last year and is expected to continue to rise, according to the latest Merrill Lynch-Capgemini world wealth report.

"Auction houses, luxury goods makers and high-end service providers, which all reported signs of renewed demand later in 2009, expect spending to be more robust in 2010," the report said.
The wealthy spent more on cars, boats and jets in 2009 than the year before. Millionaires in the emerging markets showed increased demand for luxury cars.
BMW, for example, reported double-digit growth in sales in China and Brazil in 2009, while VW's Audi also had a sharp increase in China sales, the report said.
 
Yacht makers were roiled by the market meltdown, with 80% forced to suspend or shut down operations. Sales started to recover during the 2010 first quarter, with US yacht sellers reporting a 30% increase in sales compared with a year earlier, according to the report.
And with financial markets still in flux, a number of millionaires are investing in art and other collectibles such as antiques, coins and fine wines that they believe will retain their value over the long-term, the report said.
In the art world, millionaire investors eschewed contemporary art for works by old masters and modern art from the 1960s and 1970s -- art considered more likely to hold its value.
There was less demand for fine art overall last year: Global fine art auction sales totaled USD 4.6 billion, down 45% from 2008.
China was one of the few countries to see an increase in demand for fine art, with a 25% increase in auction revenue to USD 830 million.
Sales of other collectibles started to recover. The Live-ex 100 Fine Wine Index, which tracks the price of 100 of the world's finest wines, rose 15.7% during 2009.
 
Sales of coins and memorabilia also rose, with a number of high-end items selling at high prices at auctions in late 2009.
Perhaps most notable was a 1795 reeded-edge US penny, one of only seven in the world, which sold at auction for nearly USD 1.3 million. It was the first time a 1-cent coin had broken the million-dollar barrier, according to the report.
Wealthy investors are also holding an increasing portion of their passion investments as jewelry, gems and watches. It is a particularly attractive investment for Middle Eastern millionaires, who held 35% of their overall passion investments in jewels.

Indian men crazy to look like celebs

For Raghu Ghai, the day begins and ends at the same place — a gym in New Delhi where he pursues his quest for bulging biceps, a "six-pack" stomach and slab-like chest muscles.

Ghai, 28, explains his body obsession was triggered by Bollywood actors who increasingly display toned bodies that send a new message to Indian males: it pays to keep yourself in trim.

"If Indian heroes can now look hot, then I can have a body to attract women too," said Ghai, who works as a marketing executive at an automobile company.

He takes his mission seriously — cardiovascular exercises, weights, a high protein diet and energy supplements.

"I am not ashamed that I am a gym addict," he said, adding that he often skips late-night parties, alcohol and heavy Indian food to devote three hours a day to working out.

Gyms equipped with sophisticated treadmills, cross trainers and entertainment systems have mushroomed across urban India and are now opening in smaller towns too.


Fitness First, one of the world's largest gym companies, arrived in India only last year and now has branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, with plans for rapid growth.

Its 2,000-square-meter club in Gurgaon — Delhi's booming satellite city — boasts 120 state-of-the-art exercise machines, a large free weights area and studios for yoga, "spinning" (indoor cycling) and aerobics.

"We have a robust plan to expand our business. People join gyms to ape Bollywood, but fitness is also becoming a lifestyle choice," said Fitness First managing director Vikram Bhatia.

Santosh Das, owner of the independent Fitness and Health gym in New Delhi's suburb of Patel Nagar, agrees.




























"It is a thriving sector," he said. "Women work out to fit into smaller sizes and men want to sculpt their bodies. A pot-bellied man with unkempt hair, dull and dry skin was an acceptable image of men, but courtesy of Bollywood, this has changed."

Das's gym opened in 2004 and he has applied for a bank loan to set up three more branches in Delhi.

Driving the craze is Bollywood's new generation of muscle-bound heroes.

For decades, leading men were measured by the thickness of their chest hair, their gallant treatment of women or their singing and dancing skills.

But — eyeing the earlier worldwide success of Hollywood action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger — Bollywood stars finally got off the sofa and into the gym.

Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt led the way, before megastar Shah Rukh Khan showed off a much-envied "six-pack" stomach in the 2007 blockbuster "Om Shanti Om" and Aamir Khan beefed up and stripped off for the 2009 hit "Ghajini."

Now millions of young and middle-aged Indian men are striving for perfect torsos to show off under tight T-shirts.

"Indian men want to have the 'oomph' factor," said Murali K Menon, fashion and fitness editor of Man's World magazine, adding that his readers also use more male grooming products such as after-shave and even consider cosmetic surgery.

"If gyming and exercise does not give me the required look then I will consider abdominal contouring surgery," said Jamsheed Pandole, 32, an entrepreneur who shaves his chest and hero-worships Shah Rukh Khan.

Such thoughts are far from the traditional Indian male exercise of gentle outdoor yoga and morning walks, but today's men want fast results.

"A sculpted body is now essential for actors," said Taruna Sathe, a Bollywood trade analyst in Mumbai. "And, in real life, girls want boys to look the same way as their film heroes."