Web Approach of Political Parties in Nepal: A Brief Insight

Figure 1: Data analysis on the basis of list of political parties (Election Commission, 2073/12/1) extracted using tabula

After the successful legislative election- constitution assembly election in 2013, Nepal has completed the local election and  1st phase of provincial assembly and federal parliament election up to 32 Districts. Now, Nepal is heading towards the 2nd phase of provincial assembly and federal parliament election.

Political parties are accountable for the sustainable development of the nation. People have right to vote or choose those parties and their candidates according to the party's orientation on the verdict of peace and development mentioned on their manifesto. In this era of IT, in order to inform people about the party and their activities along with their manifestos, the websites, social medias are being used. 

In this blog, I have presented the list of the political parties with their approach on the web according to the data provided by the election commission of Nepal. I have analyzed the web approach of the political parties in Nepal according to three categories; a. The political parties having their own websites, b. Political Parties having no websites but have contents in Wikipedia/Facebook and c. Parties not mentioned in web.

Figure 2: Status of election of Nepal (Data Source: http://codefornepal.org/en/2017/04/election-nepal-a-mediator-between-citizens-and-government-for-election-data/)

Note: All the list of political parties presented here are not sorted by the party's rank or another basis 

The following is the list of political parties in Nepal  registered in the ElectionCommission 

Data Sources:

I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Nepal
II. http://www.election.gov.np/ecn/uploads/userfiles/prastaabandnirnaya3chaitra.pdf):  

Nepali Congress
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist)
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Rastriya Janata Party Nepal
Nepal Loktantrik Forum
Sanghiya Samajvadi Forum,Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist)
Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party
Rastriya Janamorcha
Communist Party of Nepal (United)
Nepal Pariwar Dal
Naya Shakti Party, Nepal
Akhanda Nepal Party
Nepali Janata Dal
Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal
Bouddhik Prajatantrik Parishad
Jana Jagaran Party Nepal
Samajvadi Janata Party
Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya
Manch (Tharuhat)
Bahujan Shakti Party
Rastriya Janamukti Party 
Bibeksheel Nepali Dal
Sajha Party
Deshbhakta Janaganatantrik Morcha
Green Party Nepal
Muskan Sena Nepal
Churebhavar Loktantrik Party
Rastriya Mukti Andolan, Nepal
Rastriya Trimool Bahujan Samajvadi Party
Rastriya Yatharthavadi Party Nepal
Nepal Samabesi Party
Nepal Janata Party
Nepal Aama Party
Madhesh Terai Forum
Nepal Communist Party (Marxist)
Communist Party of Nepal
Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum Madhesh
Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist-Socialist)
Shiva Sena Nepal
Nepal Sukumbasi Party (Loktantrik)
Bahujan Samaj Party Nepal
Deshbhakta Paryabaraniya Samajik Morcha
Rastrabadi Ekta Party
Tamangsaling Loktantrik Party
Lok Dal
Deshbhakta Samaj
Janashakti Nepal
Miteri Party Nepal
Rastriya Churebhavar Party
Rastriya Shiva Sena Party
Akhanda Sudurpashchim Party Nepal
Nepal Prajatantrik Pragatisheel Party
Churebhavar Rastriya Party
Pichhadabarga Nishad Dalit Janajati Party
Janasamajvadi Party, Nepal
Churebhavar Rastriya Ekta Party Nepal
Rastriya Janata Dal Nepal
Lok Kalyankari Janata Party, Nepal
Nepal Samajvadi Party (Lohiyavadi)
Gandhivadi Party Nepal
Rastravadi Party
Nepal Purvarastrasevak Loktantrik Party
Nepal Janaloktantrik Party
Nepal People's Party
Rastriya Jana Ekta Party
Hamro Party
Nepal Dalit Party
Hamro Party Nepal
Yuva Nepal Party
Nepal Loktantrik Janata Congress Party
Nepal Bahudal Party
Prajatantrik Shakti Party

The political parties having their own websites:

Nepali Congress:  http://nepalicongress.org/
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist):  http://www.cpnuml.org/
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre): http://www.ucpnmaoist.org/   
Rastriya Prajatantra Party: http://www.rppn.org/
Sanghiya Samajvadi Forum, Nepal: http://federalsocialist.org/
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist): http://cpnml.org.np/
Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party: http://nwpp.org.np/nwpponline/
Rastriya Janamorcha: http://www.rajamo.org/
Nepal Pariwar Dal: http://pariwardal.blogspot.com
Naya Shakti Party, Nepal: https://www.nayashaktinepal.org/
Akhanda Nepal Party: http://akhandanepal.org/en/
Rastriya Janamukti Party: http://janamukti.org/
Bibeksheel Sajha  Party : https://www.facebook.com/BibeksheelSajha/ , http://en.leadnepal.com/
Green Party Nepal : http://www.nepalgreenparty.com/
Tarai Madesh Loktantra Party: http://teraimadhesh.org/
Madeshi janaadhikar Forum Nepal: http://www.mprfn.org/
Hamro Party Nepal: http://hamroparty.org

Political Parties having no websites but have contents in Wikipedia/Facebook:

Rastriya Janata Party Nepal: 

Nepal Loktantrik Forum
Communist Party of Nepal (United): 
Nepali Janata Dal
Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal
Jana Jagaran Party Nepal
Samajvadi Janata Party
Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya
Bahujan Shakti Party
Deshbhakta Janaganatantrik Morcha
Muskan Sena Nepal
Rastriya Mukti Andolan, Nepal
Nepal Samabesi Party
Nepal Janata Party
Nepal Aama Party
Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum Madhesh
Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist-Socialist)
Nepal Sukumbasi Party (Loktantrik)
 Rastrabadi Ekta Party
Rastriya Shiva Sena Party
Pichhadabarga Nishad Dalit Janajati Party
Churebhavar Rastriya Ekta Party Nepal
Rastriya Janata Dal Nepal
Lok Kalyankari Janata Party, Nepal
Nepal Janaloktantrik Party
Nepal People's Party
Rastriya Jana Ekta Party
Nepal Dalit Party
Nepal Bahudal Party
Prajatantrik Shakti Party

Political Parties not mentioned on the web:

Tamangsaling Loktantrik
Bouddhik Prajatantrik Parishad
Manch (Tharuhat)
Rastriya Trimool Bahujan Samajvadi Party
Rastriya Yatharthavadi Party Nepal
Madhesh Terai Forum Party
Lok Dal
Deshbhakta Samaj
Janashakti Nepal
Miteri Party Nepal
Rastriya Churebhavar Party
Akhanda Sudurpashchim Party Nepal
Nepal Prajatantrik Pragatisheel Party
Churebhavar Rastriya Party
Janasamajvadi Party, Nepal
Nepal Samajvadi Party (Lohiyavadi)
Gandhivadi Party Nepal
Rastravadi Party
Nepal Purvarastrasevak Loktantrik Party
Yuva Nepal Party
Nepal Loktantrik Janata Congress Party

Thus, It is found that out of registered 80 political parties almost 70% political parties have approached in the web where almost 25 % parties have their own website and rest of them have no websites but have contents on Wikipedia and on social media like Facebook. It is found that almost 30 % parties have no websites and contents on Wikipedia and in social media. It seems that by the increased no. of mobile phone and internet users in Nepal; Political parties have approached on the web but not yet at the satisfactory level. 

What is Open Data-Have You Heard About It?

Nowadays, We are becoming internet savvy. Most of us are dependent on the data such as the documents like DOCX, PDF, PPT, XSL, images in the extension of JPEG, PNG, audio, video and so on which are published openly and freely available for all of us. We took the advantages of those data in many ways like students, academician, the researchers used it for literature review and for citation. For the statisticians, economist, policymakers data are the main sources of fact-finding and formulating new strategies. All these examples show how important the data is. In this blog, here I will be sharing the ideas on "Open Data" on the basis of the "open data awareness program" organized by Kathford R&D's wing 'KATHFOSS' in the premise of Kathford International College on 2017-11-22. The resource persons for the event were Mr. Nikesh Balami, CEO, Mr.Shubham Ghimire, COO, Mr. Sagar Ghimire, CTO of an emerging organization -Open Knowledge Nepal. 

The event was conducted within three sessions. Among them, Here is the summary of Session I:

A. What is Open Data?

According to Nikesh Balami, CEO of open knowledge Nepal, To be open data there should be at least three criteria:

i. Data should be available on the Internet: 

It should be accessed freely through the websites and data portals.

ii. Data should be machine-readable: 

With the extension of data PDF->XLS-> CSV->KDF->LOD ( also known as 5 star open data)

iii. Data should be open licensed: 

Data that does not explicitly have an open license is not open data.

B. Benefits of Open Data

i. For the government:

It increases the transparency and accountability of the government, hence develops trust to the public since Right to Information (RTI) Act 2007 guarantees that Nepali citizens can access information on the functioning of any ‘public body’ in order to make governance and policymaking more transparent and accountable. National Information Commision (NIC) is responsible for the promotion and implementation of this RTI.

ii. For the students, academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs and startup firms:

It helps for research and doing innovative projects, supports for business growth, E-learning and so on.

C. Principle of Open Data

• Completeness
• Timeliness
• Primacy
• Access
• Machine readability
• Non-discrimination
• Use of commonly owns standards
• Licensing
• Performance
• Usage Cost

Now, Here is the summary of Session II

A. Current Situation in Nepal:

There are few stakeholders in this sector: Civil Society Organization (CSO) like Kathmandu Living Labs, Open Nepal, Open Knowledge Nepal, Freedom Forum, Code for Nepal, Accountability Lab, Bikas Udhyami etc. work in policy research, advocacy, tech, journalism and so on.  

List of CSOs (Source: Open data Manual-Compiled by OPen Knowledge Nepal) 

Kathmandu Living Labs: http://kathmandulivinglabs.org

 Open Nepal: http://opennepal.net

 Open Knowledge Nepal: http://oknp.org

 Freedom Forum: http://freedomforum.org.np

 Code for Nepal: http://codefornepal.org

 Accountability Lab: http://accountabilitylab.org

 Bikas Udhyami: http://bikasudhyami.com

B. Open data source for Nepal

The idea of open data entered Nepal in early 2013.The published data is still not available in open format (most of the data are published in PDF format). In spite of having rights to request and get data through the RTI Act with any government association, the Act does not a have lawful arrangement to pressurize government offices to open up their information. 

List of some government data sources (Source: Open data Manual-Compiled by OPen Knowledge Nepal)

 Official Portal of Government of Nepal: https://www.nepal.gov.np

 National Planning Commission: http://www.npc.gov.np/en

 Central Bureau of Statistics: http://cbs.gov.np/home

 Ministry of Finance: http://mof.gov.np/en/

 Nepal Rastra Bank: https://www.nrb.org.np

 Ministry of Home Affairs: http://www.moha.gov.np/home

 Ministry of Education: http://www.moe.gov.np

 Ministry of Health: http://mohp.gov.np

 Election Commission Nepal: http://election.gov.np

 Office of Company Registrar: http://ocr.gov.np

 List of some international data sources: 

 World Bank: https://goo.gl/wFjYgH

 United Nations: https://goo.gl/UGUoCh

 UN Digital Repository in Nepal: http://un.info.np

 UNICEF Nepal: https://goo.gl/QwHhJL

 World Food Programme: https://goo.gl/2sG2aS

 List of some CSO data sources: 

 Open Nepal: http://data.opennepal.net

 Election Nepal: http://electionnepal.org

 Nepal in Data: https://nepalindata.com

 NepalMap: http://nepalmap.org

This session was followed by the demo of nepalmap.org and nepalindata

Finally, the Session III spread following info:

A. The process of working with data

i. Data Extraction

The process of retrieving data out of non-machine-readable or unstructured data sources ( web pages, emails, pdf documents, scanned documents and so on). Basically, we could not access raw data from these unstructured data. There are followings ways of extracting data from PDF:

•Word/Excel converters to extract text from PDF: https://www.pdftoexcelonline.

com

• Programming, with some libraries existing for Python, Java, and the command line.

• Using Tabula - an offline open-source software specifically designed to get data out of PDF documents.

Other data extraction tools:

a.Basic scraping tools

 Tabula: http://tabula.technology/

 Import.io: https://import.io/

b. Extracting data with Python

 BeautifulSoup: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/beautifulsoup4

 Python Mechanize: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/mechanize/

 Scrapy: http://scrapy.org/

c. Web scraping tools

 ParseHub: https://www.parsehub.com/

 ScraperWiki: https://scraperwiki.com/

 OutWit Hub: https://goo.gl/1Axk88

 Scraper: https://goo.gl/DZRGZd

ii. Data cleaning

It is the process of fixing errors, duplicity, and format/ standard inconsistencies of extracted data. Tools and language: Spreadsheet, open refine, Python

iii. Data analysis

It is the process of examining and exploring datasets in order to generate

required information.

Online/offline open tools of data analysis

 Tableau Public: https://public.tableau.com/s/

 OpenRefine: http://openrefine.org

 RapidMiner: https://sourceforge.net/projects/rapidminer/

 Google Fusion Tables: https://goo.gl/XEFUVB

 KNIME: https://www.knime.com

 Import.io: https://www.import.io

iv. Data visualization

It is the presentation of data in a pictorial and graphical format.

a. Non-Developers Visualization Tools

 Datawrapper: https://datawrapper.de/

 Infogram: https://infogr.am/en

 Tableau Public: https://public.tableau.com/

 Raw: http://raw.densitydesign.org/

 Plotly: https://plot.ly/

 Timeline JS: http://timeline.knightlab.com/

 ChartBlocks: http://www.chartblocks.com/

 Plotly: https://plot.ly/

b. Developers Visualization Tools

 D3.js: http://d3js.org/

 FusionCharts: http://www.fusioncharts.com/

 Chart.js: http://www.chartjs.org/

 Google Charts: https://developers.google.com/chart/

 Highcharts: http://www.highcharts.com/

c. Map-Based Visualization Tools

 Leaflet: http://leafletjs.com

 Mapbox: https://www.mapbox.com

 CARTO: https://carto.com

B. Publishing data

It is a process of releasing data in a published form for use and reuse by others.

Some of the most used open data formats are JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Resource Description Framework (RDF), Spreadsheets, Comma Separated Value (CSV) and Plain Text.

Note: Data that is published as an excel table within a PDF document, without an open license, is not open data because it cannot be easily managed or reused.

Recommended Publishing Medium

a. Existing Data Portals

 Open Nepal Data Portal: http://data.opennepal.net

 Open Knowledge Nepal DataHub: https://old.datahub.io/organization/nepal

b. Independent medium

 GitHub: http://github.com

 Google Drive: http://drive.google.com

 DropBox: http://dropbox.com

C. Open Data Licensing

Data that does not explicitly have an open license is not open data. Creative content, such as text, photographs, slides, and so on, should be licensed using

a Creative Commons. Similarly, Open Definition have the lists of recommended conformant licenses used by different countries: http://opendefinition.org/licenses/

Conclusion

Now, we are come to know about many issues and tools on open data. Hope this blog is helpful to explore and make understanding this new topic. I am heartily thankful towards the resource persons of Open Knowledge Nepal.

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5 Eye-Opening Tips to Motivate Yourself at Work

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To be motivated all the time is harder. There are many reasons that affect our inner motivation whereas cell phones, the internet, and gossip affect on our focus also decreases productivity. Over thousands of motivating guides, here, I'll reveal the effective and eye-opening 5 tips to motivate yourself at work.  

Here are the easy steps:

1. Stay clear about your vision and interest

Everyone has own aim in life. I am an academician. I am passionate about my job and when I get discouraged by the circumstances; first of all, i see my interest and the aim. Where I am heading on? I know it so I stay calm. You should also have an aim and correct vision with your deep interest so that you can stay happy, positive and get motivated.

2. Make your attitude always positive

There is saying that I can + You can = We can.  The stuff that is inside each one of us that makes us go up or down is our attitude. Respect to the seniors and do take care and give love to juniors. We must have that attitude to see the glass half full not half empty.

3. Be professionally ethical

As we know that business without ethics is a great sin.

4. Improving yourself

There is a term that I always prefer to express is personal development. This is the way of improving yourself mentally, physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.

5. Manage your time properly

There is saying that “Be productive Not Busy, Work Smarter Not Harder” I came to believe this verse and so that I wrote this in the sticky note and put it on my desktop that helps me to get motivated during office hours. We can also categorize the important things, urgent one, not important and not urgent in a sheet of paper. We should focus on urgent and important things first.

Finally, these tips will certainly help you to motivate yourself at work. My big concern was to get transforming from hopelessness to optimism, Helplessness to confidence and worthlessness to self-esteem. Be positive, be professional and stay motivated.

Please do not forget to comment on it. Thank you! Gracious!