The AICUF Story!

Sherif and Sherif's (1969)’s seminal work illustrated the realistic intergroup conflict theory which interprets prejudice as arising from competition for highly valued scarce resources. Thus a win or lose situation is created in which the boundaries surrounding the group are rigid. The experiment was conducted on two groups of 11-year-old boys in a camp setting. Initially, a strong bond and cohesiveness were seen within the groups due to their ignorance towards the other group's existence. Subsequently, competitive games were introduced whose rewards constituted scarce resources like pocket knives. This resulted in the uproar of intense negative feelings and physical aggression. In an attempt to eliminate the prejudice, it was discovered that mere contact did no good and instead ameliorated the hostility. Only when the groups were forced to cooperate to fulfill a common goal like restoring water supply, did the boundaries disappear.  Now let us look at the correlation between m...

' Praejudicium ', the Latin word derived from 'prae' ‘in advance’ + 'judicium' ‘judgment’ is the root word prejudice.  This blog will thus introduce you to ‘The Psychology of Prejudice’. Prejudice is a negative belief about an individual belonging to a group purely based on their membership to that particular group. Pervasiveness and complexity are the two core elements of prejudice. It is pervasive in the sense that it is spread across all cultures, and is directed toward all kinds of different groups in society. Complexity is seen in that the explanatory factors exist at intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, and cultural levels. Thus, prejudice is not simply a preconceived notion about another individual, but a negative judgment that resists change, despite being aware of facts.  While we have understood prejudice so far in the context of another individual, negative attitudes, stereotypes and feelings extend to the entire group as well. Prejudice has been...

Science and The Fabric of Society The past two years have been very enlightening to all of us. Many of our beliefs have been shaken and so have our false assumptions shattered.  We have always been a society-driven species. Our existence has been fueled by the warmth and care that our fellow beings and our loved ones extend to us. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the walls of fear and alienation among us. The tactile sensation, the warm and friendly hug, which is a sure sign of assurance and trust, transformed itself into a serious threat. Society was perceived as a threat to itself and we have witnessed and re-lived history. There have been tremendous losses, losses at personal and global scales, some being exponential. For many, there was a fight for time and a fight for survival. The human species, which is known to change the landscape of this mighty Earth, suddenly started starving for oxygen, one of the most abundant elements available to us.   In such...

India’s march towards nutrition  While a lot is talked about the growth and development of India, the mainstream focus has been on the country’s infrastructure - transport, connectivity, and public facilities - or its ease of doing business and rate of employment, and, to some extent, education, farmers’ issues and challenges in agriculture, and the like. A much-neglected topic is the health of the Indian population, and more so the health of women and children, both of whom determine the health of future generations. For decades, India is known to have high rates of malnutrition among women and children and a high maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rate in comparison to global standards. This scenario is gradually changing though - as per the National Health Profile 2020, life expectancy in India has significantly increased from 49.7 years in 1970-75 to 69 years in 2013-17; there has been a significant decline in infant mortality between the years 2006 and 2018, from 57...

RIGHTS OF PRISONER Who is a Prisoner ? A prisoner is a person duly committed to custody under the writ warrant or order of any court or authority exercising criminal jurisdiction or court martial Or Under sentence of court or court martial.  In simple words a prisoner is a person who is detained or in legal custody. Types of prisoners Under trial prisoner: Under trial prisoner is a prisoner who is in legal custody and whose court case is pending or who has not been convicted by the court. Convicted prisoner: Convicted prisoner is person who is under sentence of court Every prisoner has right to proper quality and quantity of food and water convicted and under trial prisoners have different quantity diet It is up to 2300-2600 calorie diet. Convicted prisoner who has rigorous imprisonment has extra protein diet. The Prisoners who are suffering from diseases like HIV, TB, etc. should be given High protein diet in their daily meal. Prisoners who are physically weak, sick, ill, etc. can...

In the last two years, most of us would be able to resonate with this, “Life is what happens to us when we are busy making other plans!”. Amidst the plethora of thoughts are emotions that we all are managing, each one of us is trying our best to adjust and acquaint ourselves with the “new normal” way of living. Until the first wave, for many COVID just seemed to be a statistic, but it was the second wave that shook people’s psychological well-being. We all have either been a witness to the loss of a loved one or a loved one being tested positive, being hospitalized & critical, or being the victim of COVID themselves. It’s been a tough year for most of us! It is said all battles are either lost or won in the minds! With so much fear attached with COVID, been tested positive acts on your mind first rather than your body! It just makes a way for all the negative thoughts to step in! Fear of losing life, fear of not getting treatment on time, lack of clarity in terms of what needs to b...