Preserving our folktales, myths and legends in the digital era

A video recording of Mr. Tshering Cigay Dorji (Tokushima University, Japan) giving a presentation on preserving folktales, myths and legends in the digital era at the National Storytelling Conference in Bhutan, June 2009.World Oral Literature Project: an urgent global initiative to document and make accessible endangered oral literatures before they disappear without record

The Impact of Family Type on Bhutanese Secondary Students’ Academic Performance

Family support has played an influential role in a child’s development, particularly in education and learning. However, little research is undertaken in developing countries related to student academic achievement and their family type. This current study aimed to study the differences and similarities in students\u27 academic achievement scores between broken and intact families. Family type in this study refers to either broken or intact. The broken family in this study has particular reference to children from divorced families only. This study used a quantitative approach to collect information about children’s family status, and a secondary source was used to collect the overall grade point average from respective schools. A total of 312 students participated in this study, and their age ranged from 11- 19 years. The findings showed that the Bhutanese Secondary students from broken families outperformed those living with both parents. There was a statistically significant mean difference of |28%| between the broken and intact families. The results of the Pearson correlation showed that there was no statistical relationship between academic achievement, gender, and age. However, a positive small-sized relationship was found between the family type and academic achievement |r=0.11, p=0.05|. Similarly, after adjusting for ‘age’ as a covariate, a one-way analysis of covariance showed no statistically significant difference in academic score. The stream and the effect size was |η2 = 0.001

Evaluation of Student Data Storage System and Development of Student Information System

This paper presents an analysis of the current storage of data related to students in college and an idea to centralize those data by building a web based application to access and modify them. The Registration is done every year for the new as well as the old students and theses requires a lot of resources. Paper and file based information storage is not very convenient, secure and environmentally un-healthy. Student Information System is a Simple web based interface to manage student information on all grounds. Critically important that the information stored must be up-to date and accessible ubiquitously, the Student Information System will be helpful to all those institutes that requires the storage of student information. Result Management module enhances the declaration and preparation of semester end results

Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan: A Hot Spot for Wild Felids

The non-uniformity of the distribution of biodiversity makes allocation of the limited resources available for conservation of biodiversity a difficult task. Approaches such as biodiversity hotspot identification, endemic bird areas, crisis ecoregions, global 200 ecoregions, and the Last of the Wild are used by scientists and international conservation agencies to prioritize conservation efforts. As part of the biodiverse Eastern Himalayan region, Bhutan has been identified as a conservation priority area by all these different approaches, yet data validating these assessments are limited. To examine whether Bhutan is a biodiversity hot spot for a key taxonomic group, we conducted camera trapping in the lower foothills of Bhutan, in Royal Manas National Park, from November 2010 to February 2011. We recorded six species of wild felids of which five are listed on the IUCN Red List: tiger Panthera tigris, golden cat Pardofelis temminckii, marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata, leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis, clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa and common leopard Panthera pardus. Our study area of 74 km(2) has c. 16% of felid species, confirming Bhutan as a biodiversity hot spot for this group

Renewable Natural Resources (RNR)Research Programme in Bhutan : An Overview

The objective of this paper is to give an overview of how the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) research is being implemented in Bhutan. The RNR sector comprises mainly of agriculture, livestock and forestry sectors. Agriculture research in Bhutan initially started in early 1960s through the introduction of new crop and fruit varieties from Indian Agriculture Research Institutes. Thereafter, livestock and forestry research started in livestock farms and forestry research institutes, respectively. The first Agriculture Research Institute in Bhutan was established in 1982 which underwent various changes culminating into the present Council for RNR Research of Bhutan (CoRRB) in 2003. The Council is chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and the Director of CoRRB functions as the member Secretary of the Council. Four research centres with national and regional mandates located at strategic locations of the country were established to cater to the research and development needs of the farmers living in different agro-ecological zones. These centres are mandated to carry out research in the field of agriculture, horticulture, livestock, forestry and other cross cutting sectors of soils, plant protection, water management, meteorology, socio-economic studies. Apart from the Regional centres of research, there are sub centres where ever the area to be covered by the centre is large. The different departments also conduct research in consultation with CoRRB to avoid duplication of efforts. The main objectives of the RNR Research are to generate relevant technologies for the farming communities for ensuring food security and enhancement of rural income. These technologies are packaged as extension materials,news letters and journals for dissemination to farmers and all concerned stakeholders.Article信州大学農学部紀要. 46(1-2): 139-153 (2010)departmental bulletin pape

New record of scoliid wasps (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae: Scoliinae) from Bhutan

Eighteen species of scoliid wasps from Bhutan (Scoliidae: Scoliinae) are documented here of which 17 species, namely, Megacampsomeris cochinensis (Betrem), M. shillongensis (Betrem), Campsomeriella (Annulimeris) annulata annulata (Fabricius), C. (Campsomeriella) collaris collaris (Fabricius), Phalerimeris phalerata phalerata (de Saussure), Megascolia (Regiscolia) azurea hindostana (Micha), M. (R.) azurea christiana (Betrem & Guiglia), Scolia (Discolia) desidiosa Bingham, S. (D.) binotata binotata Fabricius, S. (D.) kamengensis Gupta & Jonathan, S. (D.) fasciatopunctata dunensis Betrem, S. (D.) elizabethae Betrem, S. (D.) rugifrons Betrem, S. (D.) clypeata rufuhirta Betrem, S. (D.) venusta Smith, S. (D.) dehraensis Betrem and Liacos erythrosoma erythrosoma (Burmeister) are reported for the first time from Bhutan

Impacts of Livestock Grazing on Bird Communities in the Eucalypt Woodlands (Australia) and the Forests in Bhutan

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are regarded as the prime causes of bird loss and decline in agricultural regions in Australia. Livestock grazing is considered to have an impact on the bird community in remnant vegetation, but has received minimal attention to date. Livestock also graze large tracts, of forest in Bhutan, and as yet no studies have been conducted to assess the impact of grazing on bird communities there. The goal of this study was to determine the species composition and abundance of birds in grazed and ungrazed sites in eucalypt woodlands in Australia, and in grazed and ungrazed chir pine and broadleaf forests in Bhutan. In both these regions, birds were surveyed by point counts. In general, I observed the following: 1) There was a marked difference in abundance of bird species between grazed and ungrazed sites in broadleaf forests in Bhutan but not in New England woodlands nor in chir pine forests in Bhutan. 2) A collection of habitat specialists remained more associated with ungrazed sites and a suite of generalists with grazed sites in both regions. 3) The broadleaf forest was richer in bird species than chir pine forest

Dietary Habits of adolescents in higher secondary school in Bhutan: An In-Depth Analysis of Nationally Representative Data

Bhutan is a small landlocked country that lies between the two most populous countries in the world India and China, with a total area of 38,394 square kilometers. A peaceful mountainous kingdom in the Himalayas mandated free education to all children of school-going age up to the 12th standard. Recognizing that education is the fundamental link to national progress, the Royal Government of Bhutan has always and will continue to emphasize education as a priority sector, In doing so, through a dynamic professional health system in the country, Bhutan has made enormous strides in the field of education that promote healthy and happy school children.  However, as Bhutan steadily proceeds along its development path, substantial challenges remain, including the dietary habits of an adolescent in higher secondary schools. Therefore, this paper intends to explore the dietary habits among adolescents in higher secondary school. And this will contribute empirical data evidence for the policy framers and implements of the nutrition department at higher authority and school level to improve the dietary habits of adolescents