Search results for: Mother India

Authors: Vikas Kumar, Kailash Chandra, Kaomud Tyagi

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The insect order Thysanoptera includes small insects commonly called thrips. As insect vectors, only thrips are capable of Tospoviruses transmission (genus Tospovirus, family Bunyaviridae) affecting various crops. Currently, fifteen species of subfamily Thripinae (Thripidae) have been reported as vectors for tospoviruses. Frankliniella schultzei, which is reported as act as a vector for at least five tospovirses, have been suspected to be a species complex with more than one species. It is one of the historical unresolved issues where, two species namely, F. schultzei Trybom and F. sulphurea Schmutz were erected from South Africa and Srilanaka respectively. These two species were considered to be valid until 1968 when sulphurea was treated as colour morph (pale form) and synonymised under schultzei (dark form) However, these two have been considered as valid species by some of the thrips workers. Parallel studies have indicated that brown form of schultzei is a vector for tospoviruses while yellow form is a non-vector. However, recent studies have shown that yellow populations have also been documented as vectors. In view of all these facts, it is highly important to have a clear understanding whether these colour forms represent true species or merely different populations with different vector carrying capacities and whether there is some hidden diversity in 'Frankliniella schultzei species complex'. In this study, we aim to study the 'Frankliniella schultzei species complex' with molecular spectacles with DNA data from India and Australia and Africa. A total of fifty-five specimens was collected from diverse locations in India and Australia. We generated molecular data using partial fragments of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene (mtCOI) and 28S rRNA gene. For COI dataset, there were seventy-four sequences, out of which data on fifty-five was generated in the current study and others were retrieved from NCBI. All the four different tree construction methods: neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analysis, yielded the same tree topology and produced five cryptic species with high genetic divergence. For, rDNA, there were forty-five sequences, out of which data on thirty-nine was generated in the current study and others were retrieved from NCBI. The four tree building methods yielded four cryptic species with high bootstrap support value/posterior probability. Here we could not retrieve one cryptic species from South Africa as we could not generate data on rDNA from South Africa and sequence for rDNA from African region were not available in the database. The results of multiple species delimitation methods (barcode index numbers, automatic barcode gap discovery, general mixed Yule-coalescent, and Poisson-tree-processes) also supported the phylogenetic data and produced 5 and 4 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) for mtCOI and 28S dataset respectively. These results of our study indicate the likelihood that F. sulphurea may be a valid species, however, more morphological and molecular data is required on specimens from type localities of these two species and comparison with type specimens.

Keywords: DNA barcoding, species complex, thrips, species delimitation

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Authors: Chumki Payun, Bidisha Som

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The Mising language, spoken by the Mising community in Assam, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. This is one of the smaller languages of the region and is facing endangerment due to the dominance of the larger languages, like Assamese. The language is spoken in close in-group scenarios and is gradually losing ground to the dominant languages, partly also due to the education setup where schools use only dominant languages. While there are a number of factors for the current contemporary status of the language, and those can be studied using sociolinguistic tools, the current work aims to contribute to the understanding of language attrition through language processing in order to establish if the effect of second language dominance is more than mere ‘usage’ patterns and has an impact on cognitive strategies. When bilingualism spreads widely in society and results in a language shift, speakers perform people often do better in their second language (L2) than in their first language (L1) across a variety of task settings, in both comprehension and production tasks. This phenomenon was investigated in the case of Mising-Assamese bilinguals, using a picture naming task, in two districts of Jorhat and Tinsukia in Assam, where the relative dominance of L2 is slightly different. This explorative study aimed to investigate if the L2 dominance is visible in their performance and also if the pattern is different in the two different places, thus pointing to the degree of language loss in this case. The findings would have implications for native language education, as education in one’s mother tongue can help reverse the effect of language attrition helping preserve the traditional knowledge system. The hypothesis was that due to the dominance of the L2, subjects’ performance in the task would be better in Assamese than that of Missing. The experiment: Mising-Assamese bilingual participants (age ranges 21-31; N= 20 each from both districts) had to perform a picture naming task in which participants were shown pictures of familiar objects and asked to name them in four scenarios: (a) only in Mising; (b) only in Assamese; (c) a cued mix block: an auditory cue determines the language in which to name the object, and (d) non-cued mix block: participants are not given any specific language cues, but instructed to name the pictures in whichever language they feel most comfortable. The experiment was designed and executed using E-prime 3.0 and was conducted responses were recorded using the help of a Chronos response box and was recorded with the help of a recorder. Preliminary analysis reveals the presence of dominance of L2 over L1. The paper will present a comparison of the response latency, error analysis, and switch cost in L1 and L2 and explain the same from the perspective of language attrition.

Keywords: bilingualism, language attrition, language processing, Mising language.

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Authors: Pulakesh Das, Mukunda Dev Behera, Manchiraju Sri Ramachandra Murthy

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Large numbers of people living in and around the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, depends on this diverse mountainous region for ecosystem services. Following the global trend, this region also experiencing rapid population growth, and demand for timber and agriculture land. The eight countries sharing the HKH region have different forest resources utilization and conservation policies that exert varying forces in the forest ecosystem. This created a variable spatial as well altitudinal gradient in rate of deforestation and corresponding forest patch fragmentation. The quantitative relationship between fragmentation and demography has not been established before for HKH vis-à-vis along elevation gradient. This current study was carried out to attribute the overall and different nature in landscape fragmentations along the altitudinal gradient with the demography of each sharing countries. We have used the tree canopy cover data derived from Landsat data to analyze the deforestation and afforestation rate, and corresponding landscape fragmentation observed during 2000 – 2010. Area-weighted mean radius of gyration (AMN radius of gyration) was computed owing to its advantage as spatial indicator of fragmentation over non-spatial fragmentation indices. Using the subtraction method, the change in fragmentation was computed during 2000 – 2010. Using the tree canopy cover data as a surrogate of forest cover, highest forest loss was observed in Myanmar followed by China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. However, the sequence of fragmentation was different after the maximum fragmentation observed in Myanmar followed by India, China, Bangladesh, and Bhutan; whereas increase in fragmentation was seen following the sequence of as Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Using SRTM-derived DEM, we observed higher rate of fragmentation up to 2400m that corroborated with high human population for the year 2000 and 2010. To derive the nature of fragmentation along the altitudinal gradients, the Statistica software was used, where the user defined function was utilized for regression applying the Gauss-Newton estimation method with 50 iterations. We observed overall logarithmic decrease in fragmentation change (area-weighted mean radius of gyration), forest cover loss and population growth during 2000-2010 along the elevation gradient with very high R2 values (i.e., 0.889, 0.895, 0.944 respectively). The observed negative logarithmic function with the major contribution in the initial elevation gradients suggest to gap filling afforestation in the lower altitudes to enhance the forest patch connectivity. Our finding on the pattern of forest fragmentation and human population across the elevation gradient in HKH region will have policy level implication for different nations and would help in characterizing hotspots of change. Availability of free satellite derived data products on forest cover and DEM, grid-data on demography, and utility of geospatial tools helped in quick evaluation of the forest fragmentation vis-a-vis human impact pattern along the elevation gradient in HKH.

Keywords: area-weighted mean radius of gyration, fragmentation, human impact, tree canopy cover

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Authors: Svetlana Gusarova

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The essential role in the recent development of world economy has led to the developing countries, notably to BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Over the next 50 years the BRICS countries are expected to be the engines of global trade and economic growth. Trade cooperation of BRICS countries can enhance their economic development. BRICS countries were among Top 10 world exporters of office and telecom equipment, of textiles, of clothing, of iron and steel, of chemicals, of agricultural products, of automotive products, of fuel and mining products. China was one of the main trading partners of all BRICS countries, maintaining close relationship with all BRICS countries in the development of trade. Author analyzed trade complementarity of BRICS countries and revealed the high level of complementarity of their trade flows in connection with availability of specialization in different types of goods. The correlation and regression analysis of communication of Intra-BRICS merchandise turnover and their GDP (PPP) revealed very strong impact on the development of their economies.

Keywords: BRICS countries, trade cooperation, complementarity, regression analysis

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Authors: Swati Vohra

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A genuine economic and social transformation requires equal contribution and participation from both men and women; however, achieving this gender parity is a global concern. In the patriarchal societies around the world, women have been silenced, oppressed, and subjugated. Girls and women comprise half of the world’s population. This, however, must not be the lone reason for recognizing and providing equal opportunities to them. Every individual has a right to develop through opportunities without the biases of gender, caste, race, or ethnicity. The world today is confronted by pressing issues of climate change, economic crisis, violence against women and children, escalating conflicts, to name a few. Achieving gender parity is thus an essential component in meeting this wide array of challenges in order to create just, robust and inclusive societies. In 2015, The United Nation enunciated achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, one of which is SGD#5- Gender Equality, that is not merely a stand-alone goal. It is central to the achievement of all 17 SDG’s. Without progress on gender equality, the global community will not only fail to achieve the SDG5, but it will also lose the impetus towards achieving the broad 2030 agenda. This research is based on a hypothesis that aims to connect the targets laid by the UN under SDG#5 - 5.4 (Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work) and 5.5 (Ensure women participation for leadership at all levels of decision-making). The study evaluates the impact of unpaid household responsibilities on women’s leadership in India. In Indian society, women have experienced a low social status for centuries, which is reflected throughout the Indian history with preference of a male child and common occurrences of female infanticides that are still prevalent in many parts of the country. Insistence on the traditional gender roles builds patriarchal inequalities into the structure of Indian society. It is argued that a burden of unpaid labor on women is placed, which narrows the opportunities and life chances women are given and the choices they are able to make, thereby shutting them from shared participation in public and economic leadership. The study investigates theoretical framework of social construction of gender, unpaid labor, challenges to women leaders and peace theorist perspective as the core components. The methodology used is qualitative research of comprehensive literature, accompanied by the data collected through interviews of representatives of women leaders from various fields within Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The women leaders interviewed had the privilege of receiving good education and a conducive family support; however, post marriage and children it was not the case and the social obligations weighed heavy on them. The research concludes by recommending the importance of gender-neutral parenting and education along with government ratified paternal leaves for at least six months and childcare facilities available for both the parents at workplace.

Keywords: gender equality, gender roles, peace studies, sustainable development goals, social construction, unpaid labor, women’s leadership

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Authors: Vibhushan Subba

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B-movies are almost always ‘glanced over’, ‘swept beneath’, ‘hidden from’ and ‘locked away’ to live a secret life; a life that exists but enjoys only a mummified existence behind layers of protective covering. They are more often than not discarded as ‘trash’, ‘sleaze’, ‘porn’ and put down for their ‘bad taste’ or at least that has been the case in India. With the art film entering the realm of high art, the popular and the mainstream has been increasingly equated with the A grade Bollywood film. This leaves the B-movie to survive as a degraded cultural artifact on the fringes of the mainstream. Kanti Shah’s films are part of a secret, traversing the libidinal circuits of the B and C grade through history. His films still circulate like a corporeal reminder of the forbidden and that which is taboo, like a hidden fracture that threatens to split open bourgeois respectability. Seeking to find answers to an aesthetic that has been rejected and hidden, this paper looks at three films of Kanti Shah to see how the notion of taboo, censorship and the unseen coincide, how they operate in the domain of his cinema and try and understand a form that draws our attention to the subterranean forces at work.

Keywords: B-movies, trash, taboo, censorship

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Authors: Drishti Sharma, Mona Duggal

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Background: WhatsApp can serve as a cost-effective, scalable, convenient, and popular medium for public health management related communication in the developing world where the existing system of communication is top-down and slow. The product supports sending and receiving a variety of media: text, photos, videos, documents, and location, as well as voice/video calls. With growing number of users of smartphones and improving access and penetration of internet, the scope of information technology remains immense in resolving the hurdles faced by traditional public health system. Poor infrastructure, gap in digital literacy, faulty documentation, strict organizational hierarchy and slow movement of information across desks and offices- all these, make WhatsApp an efficient prospect to complement the existing system for communication, feedback and leadership for public health system in India. Objective: This study investigates the benefits, challenges and limitations associated with WhatsApp usage as a public health management tool. Methods: The study was conducted within the Chandigarh Union Territory. We used a qualitative approach and conducted individual semi-structured interviews and group interviews (n = 10). Participants included medical officers (n 20), Program managers (n = 4), academicians (n=2) and administrators (n=2). Thematic and content qualitative analyses were conducted. Message log of the WhatsApp group of one of the health program was assessed. Results: Medical Officers said that WhatsApp helped them remain in touch with the program officer. They could easily give feedback and highlight those challenges which needed immediate intervention from the program managers, hence they felt supported. Also, the application helped them share pictures of their activities (meetings and field activities) with the group which they thought inspired others and gave themselves immense satisfaction. Also, it helped build stronger relationships and better coordination among themselves, the same being important in team events. For program managers, it had become a portal for coordinating large scale campaigns. Its reach and the fact that the feedback is real-time make WhatsApp ideal for district level events. Though the easy informal connectivity made them answerable to their staff but it also provided them with flexibility in operations. It turned out to be an important portal for sharing outcome and goals related feedback (both positive and negative) to the team. To be sure, using WhatsApp for the purpose of public health program presents considerable challenges, including technological barriers, organizational challenges, gender issues, confidentiality concerns and unplanned aftereffects. Nevertheless, its advantages in a low-cost setting make it an efficient alternative. Conclusion: WhatsApp has become an integral part of our lives. Use of this app for public health program management within closed groups looks promising and useful. At the same time, addressing the challenges involved would make its usage safer.

Keywords: communication, mobile technology, public health management, WhatsApp

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Authors: Kinneret Segal

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The work of a midwife is emotionally challenging, both positively and negatively. Midwives share moments of joy when a baby is welcomed into the world, and also attend difficult events of loss and trauma. The relationship that develops with the maternity is the essence of the midwife's care, and it is a fundamental source of motivation and professional satisfaction. This close relationship with the maternity may be used as a double-edged sword in cases of exposure to traumatic events at birth. Birth problems, exposure to emergencies and traumatic events, and loss can affect the professional quality of life and the Compassion satisfaction of the midwife. It seems that the issue of traumatic experiences in the work of midwives, has not been sufficiently explored. The present study examined the associations between exposure to traumatic events, personal resilience and post-traumatic symptoms, professional quality of life and organizational commitment among midwifery nurses in Israeli hospitals. 131 midwives from three hospitals in the country's center in Israel participated in this study. The data were collected during 2021 using a self-report questionnaire that examined sociodemographic characteristics, the degree of exposure to traumatic events in the delivery room, personal resilience, post-traumatic symptoms, professional quality of life, and organizational commitment. The three most difficult traumatic events for the midwives were death or fear of death of a newborn, death or fear of the death of a mother and a quiet birth. The higher the frequency of exposure to traumatic events, the more numerous and intense the onset of post-trauma symptoms. The more numerous and powerful the post-trauma symptoms, the higher the level of professional burnout and/or compassion fatigue, and the lower the level of compassion satisfaction. High levels of compassion satisfaction and/or low professional burnout were expressed in a heightened sense of organizational commitment. Personal resilience, country of birth, traumatic symptoms and organizational commitment, predicted satisfaction from compassion. Midwives are exposed to traumatic events associated with dissatisfaction and impairment of the professional quality of life that accompanies burnout and compassion fatigue. Exposure to traumatic events leads to the appearance of traumatic symptoms, a decrease in organizational commitment, and psychological and mental well-being. The issue needs to be addressed by implementing training programs, organizational support, and policies to improving well-being and quality of care among midwives.

Keywords: traumatic experirnces, midwives, quality of life, burnout, organizational commitment, personal resilience

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Authors: Ruchira Das

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The major Metropolises of India are resultant of Colonial manifestation of Production, Consumption and Sustenance. These cities grew, survived, and sustained on the basic whims of Colonial Power and Administrative Agendas. They were symbols of power, authority and administration. Within them some Colonial Towns remained as small towns within the close vicinity of the major metropolises and functioned as self–sufficient units until peripheral development due to tremendous pressure occurred in the metropolises. After independence huge expansion in Judiciary and Administration system resulted City Oriented Employment. A large number of people started residing within the city or within commutable distance of the city and it accelerated expansion of the cities. Since then Budgetary and Planning expenditure brought a new pace in Economic Activities. Investment in Industry and Agriculture sector generated opportunity of employment which further led towards urbanization. After two decades of Budgetary and Planning economic activities in India, a new era started in metropolitan expansion. Four major metropolises started further expansion rapidly towards its suburbs. A concept of large Metropolitan Area developed. Cities became nucleus of suburbs and rural areas. In most of the cases such expansion was not favorable to the relationship between City and its hinterland due to absence of visualization of Compact Sustainable Development. The search for solutions needs to weigh the choices between Rural and Urban based development initiatives. Policymakers need to focus on areas which will give the greatest impact. The impact of development initiatives will spread the significant benefit to all. There is an assumption that development integrates Economic, Social and Environmental considerations with equal weighing. The traditional narrower and almost exclusive focus on economic criteria as the determinant of the level of development is thus re–described and expanded. The Social and Environmental aspects are equally important as Economic aspect to achieve Sustainable Development. The arrangement of opportunities for Public, Semi – Public facilities for its citizen is very much relevant to development. It is responsibility of the administration to provide opportunities for the basic requirement of its inhabitants. Development should be in terms of both Industrial and Agricultural to maintain a balance between city and its hinterland. Thus, policy is to formulate shifting the emphasis away from Economic growth towards Sustainable Human Development. The goal of Policymaker should aim at creating environments in which people’s capabilities can be enhanced by the effective dynamic and adaptable policy. The poverty could not be eradicated simply by increasing income. The improvement of the condition of the people would have to lead to an expansion of basic human capabilities. In this scenario the suburbs/rural areas are considered as environmental burden to the metropolises. A new living has to be encouraged in the suburban or rural. We tend to segregate agriculture from the city and city life, this leads to over consumption, but this urbanism model attempts both these to co–exists and hence create an interesting overlapping of production and consumption network towards sustainable Rurbanism.

Keywords: socio–economic progress, sustainability, social equity, urbanism

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Authors: G. Kiran Kumar, K. Padmaja

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The rise of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is an important urban phenomenon that needs to be well understood before we pronounce a verdict whether it is beneficial or not. The challenge of supply of safe and nutritious food is faced by urban inhabitants. The definition of urban and peri-urban varies from city to city depending on the local policies framed with a view to bring regulated urban habitations as part of governance. Expansion of cities and the blurring of boundaries between urban and rural areas make it difficult to define peri-urban agriculture. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that definition adopted in one region may not fit in the other. On the other hand the proportion of urban population is on the rise vis-à-vis rural. The rise of UPA does not promise that the food requirements of cities can be entirely met from this practice, since availability of enormous amounts of spaces on rooftops and vacant plots is impossible for raising crops. However, UPA reduces impact of price volatility, particularly for vegetables, which relatively have a longer shelf life. UPA improves access to fresh, nutritious and safe food for the urban poor. UPA provides employment to food handlers and traders in the supply chain. UPA can pose environmental and health risks from inappropriate agricultural practices; increased competition for land, water and energy; alter the ecological landscape and make it vulnerable to increased pollution. The present work is based on case studies in peri-urban agriculture in Hyderabad, India and relies on secondary data. This paper tries to analyze the need for more intensive production technologies without affecting the environment. An optimal solution in terms of urban-rural linkages has to be devised. There is a need to develop a spatial vision and integrate UPA in urban planning in a harmonious manner. Zoning of peri-urban areas for agriculture, milk and poultry production is an essential step to preserve the traditional nurturing character of these areas. Urban local bodies in conjunction with Departments of Agriculture and Horticulture can provide uplift to existing UPA models, without which the UPA can develop into a haphazard phenomenon and add to the increasing list of urban challenges. Land to be diverted for peri-urban agriculture may render the concept of urban and peri-urban forestry ineffective. This paper suggests that UPA may be practiced for high value vegetables which can be cultivated under protected conditions and are better resilient to climate change. UPA can provide models for climate resilient agriculture in urban areas which can be replicated in rural areas. Production of organic farm produce is another option for promote UPA owing to the proximity to informed consumers and access to markets within close range. Waste lands in peri-urban areas can be allotted to unemployed rural youth with the support of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and used for UPA. This can serve the purposes of putting wastelands to food production, enhancing employment opportunities and enhancing access to fresh produce for urban consumers.

Keywords: environment, food security, urban and peri-urban agriculture, zoning

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Authors: Safayat Ali Shaikh

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Software has been developed for optimal cropping pattern in an irrigation project considering land constraint, water availability constraint and pick up flow constraint using modified Simplex Algorithm. Artificial Neural Network Models (ANN) have been developed to predict rainfall. AR (1) model used to generate 1000 years rainfall data to train the ANN. Simulation has been done with expected rainfall data. Eight number crops and three types of soil class have been considered for optimization model. Area under each crop and each soil class have been quantified using Modified Simplex Algorithm to get optimum net return. Efficacy of the software has been tested using data of large irrigation project in India.

Keywords: artificial neural network, large irrigation project, modified simplex algorithm, optimal cropping pattern

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Authors: Brindusa Grigoriu

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Inscribing itself in the field of the history of multilingual communities with a focus on the evolution of language didactics, our paper aims at providing a pragmatic-interactional approach on a corpus proposing to scholars of the international scientific community a relevant text of early modern European literature: the first romance in French, The Conte of Flore and Blanchefleur by Robert d’Orbigny (1150). The multicultural context described by the romance is one in which an Arab-speaking prince, Floire, and his Francophone protégée, Blanchefleur, learn Latin together at the court of Spain and become fluent enough to turn it into the language of their love. This learning process is made up of interactional patterns of affective relevance, in which the proficiency of the protagonists in the domain of emotive acts becomes a matter of linguistic and pragmatic emulation. From five to ten years old, the pupils are efficiently stimulated by their teacher of Latin, Gaidon – a Moorish scholar of the royal entourage – to cultivate their competencies of oral expression and reading comprehension (of Antiquity classics), while enjoying an ever greater freedom of written expression, including the composition of love poems in this second language of culture and emotional education. Another relevant parameter of the educational process at court is that Latin shares its prominent role as a language of culture with French, whose exemplary learner is the (Moorish) queen herself. Indeed, the adult 'First lady' strives to become a pupil benefitting from lifelong learning provided by a fortuitous slave-teacher with little training, her anonymous chambermaid and Blanchefleur’s mother, who, despite her status of a war trophy, enjoys her Majesty’s confidence as a cultural agent of change in linguistic and theological fields. Thus, the two foreign languages taught at Spains’s court, Latin and French – as opposed to Arabic -, suggest a spiritual authority allowing the mutual enrichment of intercultural pioneers of cross-linguistic communication, in the aftermath of religious wars. Durably, and significantly – if not everlastingly – the language of physical violence rooted in intra-cultural solipsism is replaced by two Romance languages which seem to embody, together and yet distinctly, the parlance of peace-making.

Keywords: multilingualism, history of European language learning, French and Latin learners, multicultural context of medieval romance

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Authors: Mallikarjun Warad, C. M. Kalleshwaraswamy, P. R. Shashank

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Studies were conducted to record the occurrence of different species of hairy caterpillar on different host plants in and around Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. Twelve genera of hairy caterpillars belonging to Arctiinae and Lymantriinae were recorded on different host plants and reared to adults in laboratory on their respective hosts. The Porthesia sp. feed on castor, Creatonotus gangis on cocoa, Perina nuda on fig, Pericalia ricini on pigeon pea, Utetheisa pulchella on sunhemp and Euproctis sp. on paddy and banana. Illustrations of immature and adults were made to associate them. Along with this, light traps were also set during the rainy season, to capture adults of hairy caterpillars. An illustrated identification key was provided for easy and accurate identification of adult of hairy caterpillars based on their morphological (male genitalial) characters. The study through a light on the existence of sexual dimorphism, polyphagous nature and diapause are the major hindrance in taxonomic identification. Hence, attempts were made to address these issues in the study.

Keywords: Erebidae, hairy caterpillars, male genitalia, taxonomy

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Authors: Md. Afroz Ansari

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The Bengal basin is a spectacular example of a peripheral foreland basin formed by the convergence of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian and Burmese plates. The basin is embraced on three sides; north, west and east by different fault-controlled tectonic features whereas released in the south where the rivers are drained into the Bay of Bengal. The Bengal basin in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent constitutes the largest fluvio-deltaic to shallow marine sedimentary basin in the world today. This continental basin coupled with the offshore Bengal Fan under the Bay of Bengal forms the biggest sediment dispersal system. The continental basin is continuously receiving the sediments by the two major rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra (known as Jamuna in Bengal), and Meghna (emerging from the point of conflux of the Ganga and Brahmaputra) and large number of rain-fed, small tributaries originating from the eastern Indian Shield. The drained sediments are ultimately delivered into the Bengal fan. The significance of the present study is to delineate the variations in thicknesses of the sediments, different crustal structures, and the mantle lithosphere throughout the onshore-offshore Bengal basin. In the present study, the different crustal/geological units and the shallower mantle lithosphere were delineated by analyzing the Bouguer Gravity Anomaly (BGA) data along two long traverses South-North (running from Bengal fan cutting across the transition offshore-onshore of the Bengal basin and intersecting the Main Frontal Thrust of India-Himalaya collision zone in Sikkim-Bhutan Himalaya) and West-East (running from the Peninsular Indian Shield across the Bengal basin to the Chittagong–Tripura Fold Belt). The BGA map was derived from the analysis of topex data after incorporating Bouguer correction and all terrain corrections. The anomaly map was compared with the available ground gravity data in the western Bengal basin and the sub-continents of India for consistency of the data used. Initially, the anisotropy associated with the thicknesses of the different crustal units, crustal interfaces and moho boundary was estimated through spectral analysis of the gravity data with varying window size over the study area. The 2D density sections along the traverses were finalized after a number of iterations with the acceptable root mean square (RMS) errors. The estimated thicknesses of the different crustal units and dips of the Moho boundary along both the profiles are consistent with the earlier results. Further the results were encouraged by examining the earthquake database and focal mechanism solutions for better understanding the geodynamics. The earthquake data were taken from the catalogue of US Geological Survey, and the focal mechanism solutions were compiled from the Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor Catalogue. The concentrations of seismic events at different depth levels are not uncommon. The occurrences of earthquakes may be due to stress accumulation as a result of resistance from three sides.

Keywords: anisotropy, interfaces, seismicity, spectrum analysis

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Authors: Suparna Roy, Anatharaman Perumal

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The industrial effluent with high amount of heavy metals is known to have adverse effects on the environment. For the removal of heavy metals from aqueous environment, different conventional treatment technologies had been applied gradually which are not economically beneficial and also produce huge quantity of toxic chemical sludge. So, bio-sorption of heavy metals by marine plant is an eco-friendly innovative and alternative technology for removal of these pollutants from aqueous environment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the capacity of heavy metals accumulation and removal by some selected marine macroalgae (seaweeds) from marine environment. Methods: Seaweeds Acanthophora spicifera (Vahl.) Boergesen, Codium tomentosum Stackhouse, Halimeda gracilis Harvey ex. J. Agardh, Gracilaria opuntia Durairatnam.nom. inval. Valoniopsis pachynema (Martens) Boergesen, Caulerpa racemosa var. macrophysa (Sonder ex Kutzing) W. R. Taylor and Hydroclathrus clathratus (C. Agardh) Howe were collected from Olaikuda (09°17.526'N-079°19.662'E), Rameshwaram, south east coast of India during post monsoon period (April’2016). Seaweeds were washed with sterilized and filtered in-situ seawater repeatedly to remove all the epiphytes and debris and clean seaweeds were kept for shade drying for one week. The dried seaweeds were grinded to powder, and one gm powder seaweeds were taken in a 250ml conical flask, and 8 ml of 10 % HNO3 (70 % pure) was added to each sample and kept in room temperature (28 ̊C) for 24 hours and then samples were heated in hotplate at 120 ̊C, boiled to evaporate up to dryness and 20 ml of Nitric acid: Percholoric acid in 4:1 were added to it and again heated to hotplate at 90 ̊C up to evaporate to dryness, then samples were kept in room temperature for few minutes to cool and 10ml 10 % HNO3 were added to it and kept for 24 hours in cool and dark place and filtered with Whatman (589/2) filter paper and the filtrates were collected in 250ml clean conical flask and diluted accurately to 25 ml volume with double deionised water and triplicate of each sample were analysed with Inductively-Coupled plasma analysis (ICP-OES) to analyse total eleven heavy metals (Ag, Cd, B, Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Al content of the specified species and data were statistically evaluated for standard deviation. Results: Acanthophora spicifera contains highest amount of Ag (0.1± 0.2 mg/mg) followed by Cu (0.16±0.01 mg/mg), Mn (1.86±0.02 mg/mg), B (3.59±0.2 mg/mg), Halimeda gracilis showed highest accumulation of Al (384.75±0.12mg/mg), Valoniopsis pachynema accumulates maximum amount of Co (0.12±0.01 mg/mg), Zn (0.64±0.02 mg/mg), Caulerpa racemosa var. macrophysa contains Zn (0.63±0.01), Cr (0.26±0.01 mg/mg ), Ni (0.21±0.05), Pb (0.16±0.03 ) and Cd ( 0.02±00 ). Hydroclathrus clathratus, Codium tomentosum and Gracilaria opuntia also contain adequate amount of heavy metals. Conclusions: The mentioned species of seaweeds are contributing important role for decreasing the heavy metals pollution in marine environment by bioaccumulation. So, we can utilise this species to remove excess amount of heavy metals from polluted area.

Keywords: heavy metals pollution, seaweeds, bioaccumulation, eco-friendly, phyco-remediation

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Authors: Md. Abdul Karim, Syed Imran Ahmed, Pandora T. Hardtman

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Informed consent is one of the basic human and ethical rights for childbearing women. It plays a central role in promoting informed decision making between patients and service providers during the labor process. It gives mothers rights to accept or reject any examination and/or procedure, increases the respect and dignity of the mother during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care. To assess the practices of this right during normal vaginal delivery and immediate postpartum care in tertiary level hospital setting in Bangladesh, a quantitative study with cross-sectional design was conducted in Dhaka Medical College & Hospital (DMCH) and Sir Salimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital (SSMCH) in Dhaka in November 2015. A prevalence-based sample size of 190 was calculated where prevalence, confidence interval and level of significance were at 9.7%, 98% and 5% respectively. The respondents were the mothers who gave normal vaginal childbirth within past 24 hours and received postpartum care there. They were selected through systematic random sampling technique and their face-to-face interview of 190 mothers was done using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into the spreadsheet (MS Excel 2013 version) and descriptive analysis of findings was done. The result shows the complete absence of informed consent practices and mostly absence of consented care such as right to information, respect for choices of preferences for examination and/or procedure of childbearing women. Although 95% of the mothers were informed that they were being proceeded with normal vaginal delivery, their choice of preference was absent during the process. Only consent (not informed consent) was taken from 50%-72% mothers for examination (except breast examination ‘0%’) and 8%-83% for any procedures during postpartum care. Only one-ninth (11%) of the mothers could ask service providers regarding the services they received. No consent was taken from 3% of the mothers- neither in the labor process nor in postpartum care. This current practice doesn’t comply with the Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Charter 2011. The issue is not even clarified in the current Standard Clinical Management Protocols of the country. So, improvement of the existing protocol and increased awareness are essential to address this right of child-bearing women and to practice it during normal vaginal delivery and postpartum care.

Keywords: informed consent, normal vaginal delivery, respectful maternity care, tertiary level hospital

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Authors: Vijayabhaskar Reddy Kandula, Peter Provost Taillac, Balasubramanya M. A., Ram Krishnan Nair, Gokul Toshnival, Vibhu Dhawan, Vijaya Karanam, Buffy Cramer

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Introduction: The lack of Emergency Care Services (ECS) is a cause of extensive and serious public health problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), Many LMIC countries have ambulance services that allow timely transfer of ill patients but due to poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’ many deaths occur which are otherwise preventable. Lack of adequate training as evidenced by a study in India is a major reason for poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’. Adapting developed country models which includes staffing specialty-trained doctors in emergency care, is neither feasible nor guarantees cost-effective ECS. Methods: Based on our assessment and felt needs by first-line doctors providing emergency care in 2014, Rajiv Gandhi Health Sciences University’s JeevaRaksha Trust in partnership with the University of Utah, USA, designed, piloted and successfully implemented a 4-day Comprehensive-Emergency Care and Life Support course (C-ECLS) for allopathic doctors. 1730 doctors completed the 4-day course between June 2014 and December- 2020. Subsequently, we conducted a survey to investigate the utilization rates and usefulness of the training. 1662 were contacted but only 309 completed the survey. The respondents had the following designations: Senior faculty (33%), junior faculty (25), Resident (16%), Private-Practitioners (8%), Medical-Officer (16%) and not-working (11%). 51% were generalists (51%) and the rest were specialists (>30 specialties). Results: 97% (271/280) felt they are better doctors because of C-ECLS. 79% (244/309) reported that training helped to save life- specialists more likely than generalists (91% v/s 68%. P<0.05). 64% agreed that they were confident of managing COVID-19 symptomatic patients better because of C-ECLS. 27% (77) were neutral; 9% (24) disagreed. 66% agreed that training helps to be confident in managing COVID-19 critically ill patients. 26% (72) were neutral; 8% (23) disagreed. Frequency of use of C-ECLS skills: Hemorrhage-control (70%), Airway (67%), circulation skills (62%), Safe-transport and communication (60%), managing critically ill patients (58%), cardiac arrest (51%), Trauma (49%), poisoning/animal bites/stings (44%), neonatal-resuscitation (39%), breathing (36%), post-partum-hemorrhage and eclampsia (35%). Among those who used the skills, the majority (ranging from (88%-94%) reported that they were able to apply the skill more effectively because of ECLS training. Conclusion: JeevaRaksha’s C-ECLS is the world’s first comprehensive training. It improves the confidence of front-line doctors and enables them to provide quality care during the ‘Golden Hour’ of emergency. It also prepares doctors to manage unknown emergencies (e.g., COVID-19). C-ECLS was piloted in Morocco, and Uzbekistan and implemented countrywide in Bhutan. C-ECLS is relevant to most settings and offers a replicable model across LMIC.

Keywords: comprehensive emergency care and life support, training, capacity building, low- and middle-income countries, developing countries

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Authors: Helen S. Ghali, Haidy S. Ghali, Salma Ibrahim, Ossama Hosny, Hatem S. Elbehairy

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Infrastructure systems are essential assets in any community; accordingly, authorities aim to maximize its life span while minimizing the life cycle cost. This requires studying the asset conditions throughout its operation and forming a cost-efficient maintenance strategy plan. The objective of this study is to develop a highway management system that provides medium-term maintenance plans with the minimum life cycle cost subject to budget constraints. The model is applied to data collected for the highway network in India with the aim to output a 5-year maintenance plan strategy from 2019 till 2023. The main element considered is the surface coarse, either rigid or flexible pavement. The model outputs a 5-year maintenance plan for each segment given the budget constraint while maximizing the new pavement condition rating and minimizing its life cycle cost.

Keywords: infrastructure, asset management, optimization, maintenance plan

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Authors: Abhijit Das, Runu Chakraborty

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Tea is the most widely consumed beverage aside from water; it is grown in about 30 countries with a per capita worldwide consumption of approximately 0.12 liter per year. Green tea is of growing importance with its antioxidant contents associated with its health benefits. The various extraction methods can influence the polyphenol concentrations of green tea. The purpose of the study was to quantify the polyphenols, flavonoid and antioxidant activity of both caffeinated and decaffeinated form of tea manufactured commercially in Assam, North Eastern part of India. The results display that phenolic/flavonoid content well correlated with antioxidant activity which was performed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (Ferric reducing ability of plasma) assay. After decaffeination there is a decrease in the polyphenols concentration which also affects the antioxidant activity of green tea. For the enrichment of antioxidant activity of decaffeinated tea a herbal plant extract is used which shows a synergistic effect between green tea and herbal plant phenolic compounds.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, decaffeination, green tea, flavonoid content, phenolic content, plant extract

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Authors: Vijay Marisetty, Poonam Singh

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Research on the effect of director's network connections on investor welfare is inconclusive. Some studies suggest that directors' connections are beneficial, in terms of, improving earnings information, firms valuation for new investors. On the other hand, adverse effects of directorial networks are also reported, in terms of higher earnings management, options back dating fraud, reduction in firm performance, lower board monitoring. From regulatory perspective, the role of directorial networks on corporate welfare is crucial. Cognizant of the possible ill effects associated with directorial networks, large investors, for better representation on the boards, are building their own database of prospective directors who are highly qualified, however, sourced from outside the highly connected directorial labor market. For instance, following Dodd-Frank Reform Act, California Public Employees' Retirement Systems (CalPERs) has initiated a database for registering aspiring and highly qualified directors to nominate them for board seats (proxy access). Our paper stems from this background and tries to explore the chances of outside directors getting directorships who lack established network connections. The paper is able to identify such aspiring directors' information by accessing a unique Indian data sourced from an online portal that aims to match the supply of registered aspirants with the growing demand for outside directors in India. The online portal's tie-up with stock exchanges ensures firms to access the new pool of directors. Such direct access to the background details of aspiring directors over a period of 10 years, allows us to examine the chances of aspiring directors without corporate network, to enter directorial network. Using this resume data of 16105 aspiring corporate directors in India, who have no prior board experience in the directorial labor market, the paper analyses the entry dynamics in corporate directors' labor market. The database also allows us to investigate the value of corporate network by comparing non-network new entrants with incumbent networked directors. The study develops measures of network centrality and network degree based on merit, i.e. network of individuals belonging to elite educational institutions, like Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and based on job or company, i.e. network of individuals serving in the same company. The paper then measures the impact of these networks on the appointment of first time directors and subsequent appointment of directors. The paper reports the following main results: 1. The likelihood of becoming a corporate director, without corporate network strength, is only 1 out 100 aspirants. This is inspite of comparable educational background and similar duration of corporate experience; 2. Aspiring non-network directors' elite educational ties help them to secure directorships. However, for post-board appointments, their newly acquired corporate network strength overtakes as their main determinant for subsequent board appointments and compensation. The results thus highlight the limitations in increasing board diversity.

Keywords: aspiring corporate directors, board diversity, director labor market, director networks

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Authors: Rana Parween, Rob Marchant

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With the continued loss of global biodiversity despite the application of modern conservation techniques, it has become crucial to investigate non-conventional methods. Accelerated destruction of ecosystems due to altered land use, climate change, cultural and social change, necessitates the exploration of society-biodiversity attitudes and links. While the loss of species and their extinction is a well-known and well-documented process that attracts much-needed attention from researchers, academics, government and non-governmental organizations, the loss of traditional ecological knowledge and practices is more insidious and goes unnoticed. The growing availability of 'indirect experiences' such as the internet and media are leading to a disaffection towards nature and the 'Extinction of Experience'. Exacerbated by the lack of documentation of traditional practices and skills, there is the possibility for the 'extinction' of traditional practices and skills before they are fully recognized and captured. India, as a mega-biodiverse country, is also known for its historical conservation strategies entwined in traditional beliefs. Indigenous communities hold skillsets, knowledge, and traditions that have accumulated over multiple generations and may play an important role in conserving biodiversity today. This study explores the differences in knowledge and attitudes towards conserving biodiversity, of three different stakeholder groups living around Jim Corbett National Park, based on their age, traditions, and association with the protected area. A triangulation designed multi-strategy investigation collected qualitative and quantitative data through a questionnaire survey of village elders, the general public, and forest officers. Following an inductive approach to analyzing qualitative data, the thematic content analysis was followed. All coding and analysis were completed using NVivo 11. Although the village elders and some general public had vast amounts of traditional knowledge, most of it was related to animal husbandry and the medicinal value of plants. Village elders were unfamiliar with the concept of the term ‘biodiversity’ albeit their way of life and attitudes ensured that they care for the ecosystem without having the scientific basis underpinning biodiversity conservation. Inherently, village elders were keen to conserve nature; the superimposition of governmental policies without any tangible benefit or consultation was seen as detrimental. Alienating villagers and consequently the village elders who are the reservoirs of traditional knowledge would not only be damaging to the social network of the area but would also disdain years of tried and tested techniques held by the elders. Forest officers advocated for biodiversity and conservation education for women and children. Women, across all groups, when questioned about nature conservation, showed more interest in learning and participation. Biodiversity not only has an ethical and cultural value, but also plays a role in ecosystem function and, thus, provides ecosystem services and supports livelihoods. Therefore, underpinning and using traditional knowledge and incorporating them into programs of biodiversity conservation should be explored with a sense of urgency.

Keywords: biological diversity, mega-biodiverse countries, traditional ecological knowledge, society-biodiversity links

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Authors: L. Srikanth, D. Neelima Satyam

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The transmission line towers are one of the important life line structures in the distribution of power from the source to the various places for several purposes. The predominant external loads which act on these towers are wind and earthquake loads. In this present study tower is analyzed using Indian Standards IS: 875:1987 (Wind Load), IS: 802:1995 (Structural Steel), IS:1893:2002 (Earthquake) and dynamic analysis of tower has been performed considering ground motion of 2001 Bhuj Earthquake (India). The dynamic analysis was performed considering a tower system consisting two towers spaced 800m apart and 35m height each. This analysis has been performed using numerical time stepping finite difference method which is central difference method were employed by a developed MATLAB program to get the normalized ground motion parameters includes acceleration, frequency, velocity which are important in designing the tower. The tower is analyzed using response spectrum analysis.

Keywords: response spectra, dynamic analysis, central difference method, transmission tower

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Authors: Janos Farkas, Maria Czeller, Ildiko Tar

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A remarkable feature of today’s language teaching is the learners’ language learning motivation. It is always considered as a very important factor and has been widely discussed and investigated. This paper aims to present a research study conducted in higher education institutions among students majoring in business and administration in Hungary. The aim of the research was to investigate the motivational factors of students learning languages for business purposes and set up a multivariate statistical model of language learning motivation, and examine the model's main components by different social background variables. The research question sought to answer the question of whether the motivation of students of business learning LSP could be characterized through some main components. The principal components of LSP have been created, and the correlations with social background variables have been explored. The main principal components of learning a language for business purposes were "professional future", "abroad", "performance", and "external". In the online voluntary questionnaire, 28 questions were asked about students’ motivational attitudes. 449 students have filled in the questionnaire. Descriptive statistical calculations were performed, then the difference between the highest and lowest mean was analyzed by one-sample t-test. The assessment of LSP learning was examined by one-way analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test among students of parents with different qualifications. The correlations between student motivation statements and various social background variables and other variables related to LSP learning motivation (gender, place of residence, mother’s education, father’s education, family financial situation, etc.) have also been examined. The attitudes related to motivation were seperated by principal component analysis, and then the different language learning motivation between socio-economic variables and other variables using principal component values were examined using an independent two-sample t-test. The descriptive statistical analysis of language learning motivation revealed that students learn LSP because this knowledge will come in handy in the future. It can be concluded that students consider learning the language for business purposes to be essential and see its future benefits. Therefore, LSP teaching has an important role and place in higher education. The results verify the second linguistic motivational self-system where the ideal linguistic self embraces the ideas and desires that the foreign language learner wants to achieve in the future. One such desire is to recognize that students will need technical language skills in the future, and it is a powerful motivation for them to learn a language.

Keywords: higher education, language learning motivation, LSP, statistical analysis

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Authors: Sen Tanmoy, Jain Sarika, Panda Jagabandhu

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The studies regarding the impact of urbanization using the WRF-ARW model rely heavily on the static geographical information selected, including domain configuration and land use land cover (LULC) data. Accurate representation of LULC data provides essential information for understanding urban growth and simulating meteorological parameters such as temperature, precipitation etc. Researchers are using different LULC data as per availability and their requirements. As far as India is concerned, we have very limited resources and data availability. So, it is important to understand how we can optimize our results using limited LULC data. In this review article, we explored how a LULC map is generated from different sources in the Indian context and what its significance is in WRF-ARW modeling to study urbanization/Climate change or any other meteorological parameters. Bibliometric analyses were also performed in this review article based on countries of study and indexed keywords. Finally, some key points are marked out for selecting the most suitable LULC map for any urbanization-related study.

Keywords: LULC, LULC mapping, LANDSAT, WRF-ARW, ISRO, bibliometric Analysis.

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Authors: Mohammad Irfan

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship among the key macroeconomic variables and Islamic stock market in India. This study is based on the time series data of financial years 2009-2015 to explore the consistency of relationship between macroeconomic variables and Shariah Indices. The ADF (Augmented Dickey–Fuller Test Statistic) and PP (Phillips–Perron Test Statistic) tests are employed to check stationarity of the data. The study depicts the long run relationship between Shariah indices and macroeconomic variables by using the Johansen Co-integration test. BSE Shariah and Nifty Shariah have uni-direct Granger causality. The outcome of VECM is significantly confirming the applicability of best fitted model. Thus, Islamic stock indices are proficiently working for the development of Indian economy. It suggests that by keeping eyes on Islamic stock market which will be more interactive in the future with other macroeconomic variables.

Keywords: Indian Shariah Indices, macroeconomic variables, co-integration, Granger causality, vector error correction model (VECM)

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Authors: Gagandeep Singh Grover, Vini Mahajan, Bhagmal, Priti Thaware, Jaspreet Takkar

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Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic in many countries in the tropics and sub-tropics. The state of Punjab in India shows cyclical and seasonal variation in dengue cases. The Case Fatality Rate of Dengue has ranged from 0.6 to 1.0 in the past years. The department has initiated a review of the cases that have died due to dengue in order to know the exact cause of the death in a case of dengue. The study has been undertaken to know the other associated co-morbidities and factors causing death in a case of dengue. The study used the predesigned proforma on which the records (medical and Lab) were recorded and reviewed by the expert committee of the doctors. This study has revealed that cases of dengue having co-morbidities have a longer stay in the hospital. Fluid overload and co-morbidities have been found as major factors leading to death, however, in a confirmed case of dengue hepatorenal shutdown was found to be a major cause of mortality. The data obtained will help in sensitizing the treating physicians in order to decrease the mortality due to dengue in future.

Keywords: dengue, death, morbidities, DHF, DSS

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Authors: Sehba Saleem

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A country with a spread of only 2.4 percent of the total land surface area of the world, India is home to 17.5 percent of the world population. This fact is sufficient enough to delineate as well as simultaneously bringing to fore the paradox which exists between land and human population. It is evident that the relation which exists between both is an unequal one where the latter has the ability to multiply self, but the former remains constant. This unequal relation that exists has very significantly contributed to the depletion in the quality of land. This is because construction of every kind and nature has been forced on the land to assimilate the ever increasing population which has altered the not only the land but the environment which existed on the land. To get behind this alteration, it becomes imperative to delve into concepts like urbanization, ecology and their amalgam viz. urban ecology. The concept of urban ecology does not only involve study of buildings, flora, and fauna which exists in a given land space. It goes further into establishing a relation between construction on land and the consequent harm, which the same is causing to the environmental resources like air, water etc. This paper shall try cerebrating concepts of urbanization, ecology and urban ecology in the light of relation which exists between man and nature.

Keywords: asymmetrical growth, environment, urbanisation, urban space

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Authors: Hilal Karakuş, Berrin Akman

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Preschool years are considered as critical years because of shaping the future lives of individuals. All of the knowledge, skills, and concepts are acquired during this period. Also, basis of academic skills is based on this period. As all of the developmental areas are the fastest in that period, the basis of mathematics education should be given in this period, too. Mathematics is seen as a difficult and abstract course by the most people. Therefore, the enjoyable side of mathematics should be presented in a concrete way in this period to avoid any bias of children for mathematics. This study is conducted to examine mathematics concept acquisition of children in terms of different variables. Screening model is used in this study which is carried out in a quantity way. The study group of this research consists of total 300 children, selected from each class randomly in groups of five, who are from public and private preschools in Çankaya, which is district of Ankara, in 2014-2015 academic year and attending children in the nursery classes and preschool institutions are connected to the Ministry of National Education. The study group of the research was determined by stage sampling method. The schools, which formed study group, are chosen by easy sampling method and the children are chosen by simple random method. Research data were collected with Bracken Basic Concept Scale–Revised Form and Child’s Personal Information Form generated by the researcher in order to get information about children and their families. Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised Form consists of 11 sub-dimensions (color, letter, number, size, shape, comparison, direction-location, and quantity, individual and social awareness, building- material) and 307 items. Subtests related to the mathematics were used in this research. In the “Child Individual Information Form” there are items containing demographic information as followings: age of children, gender of children, attending preschools educational intuitions for children, school attendance, mother’s and father’s education levels. At the result of the study, while it was found that children’s mathematics skills differ from age, state of attending any preschool educational intuitions , time of attending any preschool educational intuitions, level of education of their mothers and their fathers; it was found that it does not differ by the gender and type of school they attend.

Keywords: preschool education, preschool period children, mathematics education, mathematics concept acquisitions

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Authors: R. K. Patel

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The experiment entitled “Bionomics of Cryptophlebia ombrodelta Lower (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a Major Pest of Tamarind, Tamarindus indica in Bastar tribal belt of Chhattisgarh” was conducted at S. G. College of Agriculture and Research Station, Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) during 2014-15. The moth, Cryptophlebia ombrodelta (Lower) is very destructive pest to tamarind, Tamarindus indica. The mature larva is pinkish in colour whereas, the moth is generally grayish in colour and it lays pale yellowish - white, flat and round eggs near the peduncle joint of pod (fruit) or on the pod surface. The newly hatched larva enters into the fruit by making hole packed with excreta. It completes three to four generation in a year and can cause fourty two per cent loss to tamarind fruits. The morphological details of this pest were studied.

Keywords: bionomics, Cryptophlebia ombrodelta, loss, pest, Tamarind, Tamarindus indica

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Authors: Jeyaseelan Maria Michael

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This study investigated the prevalence of cyberbullying among college female students and its effects on their psychological well-being. The respondents were from the age group of 17 and 18, doing the first-year college in Tamilnadu, India. In this study, 110 participants were selected through simple random sampling. The standardized questionnaire of David Alvare-Garcia’s Cybervictimization Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYVIC) and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being (PWB) were administered for data collection. CYVIC has four subdomains namely, impersonation, visual-sexual cybervictimization, written-verbal cybervictimization, online exclusion. Ryff’s PWB has six domains namely, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self- acceptance. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS v.23. The results indicate that cyberbullying prevails among college female students (M=1.24, SD= .21). Among the participants, 17 are scored one standard deviation above the mean (1.45). Among the subdomains of the CYVIC, the respondents have the highest score (M=1.40, SD= .38) in written-verbal cybervictimization. Cyber victimization has a significant correlation at the 0.01 level with psychological well-being.

Keywords: college students, cyberbullying, cyber victimization, psychological well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 127