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A Study on psycho-social problems of persons with chronic renal failure with specific reference to bangalore cosmopolitan city
The present research is an attempt to describe the psychosocial problems faced by individuals with chronic renal failure in Bangalore cosmopolitan city. The aim of the study was to describe the level of psycho social problems experienced by them and to develop a psychosocial intervention programme to address this issue. The researcher adopted newlinedescriptive research design. The sample of 200 individual with chronic renal failure was newlineselected with consecutive sampling technique from St. John s Hospital and Medical College, newlineJayanagar Government Hospital and Manipal Hospital. The researcher used structured newlineinterview schedule to collect the data; to study the psychosocial problems, Psychosocial newlineAssessment Tool (PAT-5)-A measure of psychosocial problems in Haemodialysis Patients (Kansal, 2010) was adopted. newlineThe results of the study depict that, in the health awareness domain more than half (52%) of the patients were having moderate level of problems and 13.5% reported severe level of newlineproblems. In the occupational domain, three fourth (75.5%) of the patients reported severe level of problems; in family and social domain, nearly half of the patients (46%) reported severe level of problems. In the financial domain, two third (66%) reported severe problems. In the psychological domain it is seen that near about half (41%) reported severe level of newlinepsychological distress. The overall psychosocial score of the patients reveal that nearly half (47.5%) of patients felt severe level of psychosocial problems. Based on the finding of the study, needs assessment and discussion with the experts in the field a psychosocial intervention programme has evolved. It is suggested that effective use of this intervention programme can reduce the psychosocial problems faced by the patients and lead to better clinical outcomes. -
Sale and transplantation of human organs in india critical evaluation of the legal framework
The demand for the organ transplantation far exceeds the availability of organs or donors. This leads to unfair trade and commerce in human organs. Though India has a legal framework to regulate various aspects of organ transplantation the same does not seemed to have addressed the issue either adequately or comprehensively. The supply of donated organs has been inadequate for years. Current methods of obtaining organs and tissues have not provided an adequate supply of organs for use in transplantation. Obviously, the problem of scarcity is acute newlinefor the individuals who require organ transplants.Organ Transplantation is a lifesaving method.But, still it is unclear whether existing law is adequate to curb the organ sale and regulate organ transplantation. Although the general field of transplantation is still in a state of change and growth, there have been recent developments in legislation, especially giving priority to the genuine consent of the donor. Although the majority of legislation has been written for cadaver organ donation, slowly, regulation is developing for living organ donation as well.The advantages of cadaver transplantation are obvious: the dead donor encounters no risk in the performance of the transplantation operation. At present this is the only way that a vital organ newlinecan be replaced. The donor, once pronounced dead, is not exposed to any of the hazards which face the live donor. The laws of different countries allow either the potential organ donor to consent or dissent to the donation during his life time, or his relatives to consent or dissent after newlinehis death. Due to these different legislative possibilities, the number of donations per million people varies substantially in different countries. In most countries with the dissent solutions, newlinethere is no waiting list for donations, or the list is short, while most countries with consent solutions have substantial organ shortages. -
Explanations for anomalies in semi strong from of efficient market hypithesis
The tradition notion of efficient market described in the academic literature is quite strong and probably is unrealistic because of following factors: short selling, short covering, fresh buying and profit booking. After all, science is just a human idea about phenomena which can change over time. In real markets, traders can cause markets to be inefficient. According to verifiability newlinetheory of meaning, most of statements are meaningless such as prices reflect earning .in order to make a statement meaningful that statements have to be tested with all ideas related to it. Researcher is testing EMH under various conditions to make meaningful. In this study, researcher is testing so called semi strong under market condition and firm size which is based upon market capitalization. National stock exchange provides classification of companies based newlineupon market capitalization. This is an event study to study stock return to earning newlineannouncements in recession and post recession periods. In other words, testing so called semi strong under market conditions and firm size of market capitalization such as large cap, mid cap and small cap. Researcher uses AARs, CAARS and T-test to study the impact of earning announcements on stock returns. Result of this study shows its onerous to accept semi strong so Fama received the Nobel prize in economics for what? -
Experiences of mindfulness-based relapse prevention on the smoking behaviour of working women
Smoking is the highest cause of preventable deaths in the world. The number of working women prone to addiction is high due to the levels of stress witnessed. The number of working women who have taken up to smoking has increased and is said to increase by 20 percent by the year 2025 if not addressed. Mindfulness, a Buddhist meditative technique helps with managing addiction to nicotine. Mindfulness based relapse prevention has showed promise to reduce relapse levels amongst people who smoke. The primary objective of the study is to check the experiences of mindfulnessbased relapse prevention (MBRP) on the smoking behaviour of working women in India. An embedded experimental design was carried out on eight working women who were selected using purposeful sampling. The participants went through eight two- hourly sessions of MBRP therapy, one session a week. Three sets of interviews (pre-intervention, mid intervention and post-intervention) were conducted including pre and post-test to check the levels of abstinence self-efficacy, mindfulness, perceived stress and craving. Follow up was carried out one week, one, two and six months post intervention. Thematic analysis was used for interpretation of qualitative data and paired sample t test was used for analysis of quantitative data. Themes that emerged were experiences with the habit of smoking, which included history of newlineinitiation, reasons for smoking, transformation seen and history of quit attempts. Four weeks into the intervention the themes that emerged were impactful components within self, supporting outcomes of practice and challenging experiences. Post the intervention experiencing changes, experiencing challenges through the intervention and strategies for abstinence and continued practice emerged. Mindfulness and abstinence self-efficacy had risen whereas craving and stress had reduced. Follow up at one week showed no changes in results. One and two months follow up showed newlinereduced practice hours of mindfulness with no full-blown relapse. -
Efficacy of priniciple based accounting on internal governance and financial performance
The introduction of IFRS has fuelled the expectation of users of financial newlinestatements on the potential benefits of adoption. Studies have indicated the newlinebenefits of IFRS adoption such as higher comparability of financial statements among companies operating in different jurisdictions, reduces transaction costs, and access to international capital through cross border listings and greater foreign investment (Aharony, Barniv and Falk, 2010 and newlineDunne, et al. 2008). Several studies have been done to analyze the consequences of IFRS adoption on financial statement items (Lantto and Sahlstrom, 2009; Dunne et al. 2008). Most of these studies were restricted to European countries and some Australian and Canadian countries as they were the early adopters. India has planned to converge with IFRS and not adopt. Adoption means applying IFRS as issued by IASB. Convergence means India would newlineharmonize its national accounting standards in compliance with IFRS as this provides freedom to protect the local business environment. These harmonized accounting standards are notified by Ministry of Corporate Affairs and are called Ind AS. As on date 39Indian accounting standards newlineharmonized with IFRS has been notified by Ministry of Corporate Affairs newline(ICAI,2015a). A road map for convergence with IFRS was notified by Ministry of newlineCorporate Affairs in a phased manner effective April 2011 (MCA, 2010). newlineAs the deadline was not met due to various reasons, a revised notification newlineand implementation roadmap has been issued by MCA in Feb, 2015 recommending Indian Companies with a net worth of over Rs. 500 Crore to converge with IFRS with effect from 1st April 2016 (ICAI, 2014; MCA,2015). newlineThe Finance Minister had also in his budget speech of 2014-15, indicated that Indian companies have to report IFRS voluntarily from 2015-16 and mandatorily from 2016-17 to make financial statement of Indian Companies newlinecomparable to 120 countries which are already reporting and also to fulfill the commitment made to G20 nations. -
Convective Instability of Ferromagnetic Fluids in A Porous Medium
The thesis is concerned with the study of Rayleigh-Bard ferroconvection in a horizontal porous layer. Darcy-Brinkman law is employed to describe the fluid motion. The effect of second sound,thermal radiation, internal heat generation, variable viscosity and surface tension on the onset of Darcy-Brinkman ferroconvection is considered. newlineThe findings of the problems investigated in the thesis have implications for heat transfer applications wherein magnetic fluids serve as working media. The summary of the problems addressed in the thesis is given newlinebelow. Ferroconvection in a horizontal layer of porous medium with second sound The problem of Rayleigh-Bard convection in a ferromagnetic fluid saturated porous medium with the Maxwell-Cattaneo law is studied by newlinethe method of small perturbation. Modified Darcy-Brinkman model is used to describe the fluid motion. The horizontal porous layer is cooled from the upper boundary, while an isothermal boundary condition is imposed at the lower boundary. The fluid and solid matrix are assumed to be in local thermal equilibrium. The non-classical Maxwell-Cattaneo heat flux law involves a wave type heat transport and does not suffer from the newlinephysically unacceptable drawback of infinite heat propagation speed. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved exactly for simplified boundary conditions and closed form solutions for both stationary and oscillatory instability are obtained. Some of the known cases have been deduced as newlinelimiting cases of the present study. The influence of porous, magnetic, and non-magnetic parameters on the onset of ferroconvection has been analyzed. It is found that magnetic stresses and second sound hasten the onset of Darcy-Brinkman ferroconvection. As the magnetic equation of newlinestate becomes more and more nonlinear, ferroconvection in a porous layer in the presence of second sound is advanced. However, it is delayed when the porous parameters are increased. -
Linear and Nonlinear Convection in Magnetic Fluids
The thesis deals with linear and nonlinear Rayleigh-Bard ferroconvection in a horizontal porous layer. Modified Darcy law is used to describe the fluid motion. The effect of chemical reaction, temperature newlinemodulation, gravity modulation and finite amplitudes on the onset of Darcy ferrroconvection is considered. The findings of the problems addressed in the thesis may come in handy for heat transfer application newlinesituations with ferromagnetic fluids as working medium. The summary of the problems investigated in the thesis is given below.Effect of chemical reaction on the onset of ferroconvection in a porous medium The problem of the effect of chemical reaction on the onset of Darcy newlineferrroconvection in a horizontal porous layer heated from below is investigated by means of the classical linear stability analysis. It is assumed that the fluid undergoes a zero-order exothermic chemical reaction and that there exists a local thermal equilibrium between the fluid and the solid phases. It is proved that stationary convection is preferred to the oscillatory mode. The Galerkin method is employed to determine the eigenvalues.The effect of Frank-Kamenetskii number and magnetic parameters on the stability of the system is discussed. It is newlinefound that the basic temperature profile turns out to be more and more nonlinear and asymmetric as the Frank-Kamenetskii number increases and that the effect of both chemical reaction and magnetic forces is to newlinehasten the onset of Darcy ferrroconvection. Further, it is shown that when there is very strong nonlinearity of magnetization, the fluid layer is destabilized slightly. Effect of temperature modulation on the onset of ferroconvection in a porous medium The effect of temperature modulation on the onset of Darcy ferroconvection in a horizontal porous layer heated from below is considered. The analysis is based on the assumption that the amplitude of the temperature modulation is small enough compared with the imposed newlinesteady temperature difference. -
Studies On Single Crystals and Thin Films of Tin Sulfide(SnS) For Photovoltaic Applications
The thesis is concerned with linear and nonlinear Rayleigh-Bard electroconvection in a horizontal porous layer. Modified Darcy law is employed to describe the fluid motion. The effect of non-classical heat conduction, chemical reaction, thermal radiation and finite amplitudes on the onset of Darcy electroconvection is considered. The findings of the problems investigated in the thesis may prove useful in heat transfer application situations with dielectric fluids as working medium. The summary of the problems addressed in the thesis is given below.Effect of non-classical heat conduction on Rayleigh-Bard newlineconvection in a horizontal layer of porous medium saturated with a dielectric fluid The method of small perturbations is used to examine the effect of non-classical heat conduction on the onset of Darcy electroconvection. Exact solutions for both stationary and oscillatory instability are obtained and known results have been deduced as limiting cases of the present study. It is shown that electroconvective instability in a Darcy porous layer is hastened by increasing the strengths of second sound and electric newlineforces and that the presence of second sound and dielectrophoretic force leads to shorter wavelength electroconvection. Further, it is found that the effect of Vadasz number is to advance the onset of oscillatory Darcy newlineelectroconvection and oscillatory instability sets in before stationary convection provided that the Vadasz number and the Cattaneo number are sufficiently large. Rayleigh-Bard convection in a horizontal layer of porous medium saturated with a chemically reacting dielectric fluid The problem of the effect of chemical reaction on the onset of Darcy electroconvection in a horizontal porous layer heated from below is newlineinvestigated. It is assumed that the fluid experiences a zero-order exothermic chemical reaction and that there exists a local thermal equilibrium between the fluid and the solid phases. -
Linear and Nonlinear Convection In Dielectric Fluids
The thesis is concerned with linear and nonlinear Rayleigh-Bard electroconvection in a horizontal porous layer. Modified Darcy law is employed to describe the fluid motion. The effect of non-classical heat conduction, chemical reaction, thermal radiation and finite amplitudes on the onset of Darcy electroconvection is considered. The findings of the problems investigated in the thesis may prove useful in heat transfer application situations with dielectric fluids as working medium. The summary of the problems addressed in the thesis is given below.Effect of non-classical heat conduction on Rayleigh-Bard newlineconvection in a horizontal layer of porous medium saturated with a dielectric fluid The method of small perturbations is used to examine the effect of non-classical heat conduction on the onset of Darcy electroconvection. Exact solutions for both stationary and oscillatory instability are obtained and known results have been deduced as limiting cases of the present study. It is shown that electroconvective instability in a Darcy porous layer is hastened by increasing the strengths of second sound and electric newlineforces and that the presence of second sound and dielectrophoretic force leads to shorter wavelength electroconvection. Further, it is found that the effect of Vadasz number is to advance the onset of oscillatory Darcy newlineelectroconvection and oscillatory instability sets in before stationary convection provided that the Vadasz number and the Cattaneo number are sufficiently large. Rayleigh-Bard convection in a horizontal layer of porous medium saturated with a chemically reacting dielectric fluid The problem of the effect of chemical reaction on the onset of Darcy electroconvection in a horizontal porous layer heated from below is newlineinvestigated. It is assumed that the fluid experiences a zero-order exothermic chemical reaction and that there exists a local thermal equilibrium between the fluid and the solid phases. -
Relationship beetween competencies and performance of management teachers of B-school in Bengaluru city
The concept of competency mapping is an established practice in the corporate world for ages. It has been successful in contributing for performance management. The study was aimed to find out whether newlinesimilar efforts can be made in management education. Researcher aimed to develop a competency mapping tool and to study the relationship between competencies and performance of B School faculty members in newlinethe city of Bengaluru. As an outcome of the study a competencymapping tool was developed with five key competency clusters namely Teaching Learning, Assessment Evaluation, Research Publication, Student Development and Administration Coordination. The heads of departments were also part of the study to suggest the desired level of competency levels. Faculty members were asked to rate newlinethe existing level of competencies which they feel they possess. Later the gaps were identified between existing and desired level of competencies in all clusters. Significant differences were found in the assistant professor level with respect to research and publication competency where in Heads newlineof departments expectations were more than the actual level of perceptions. In most other category faculty perception was higher than the Heads perception about competency levels. In case of associate professor newlineand professor category, the overall expected competency level was higher than the faculty perception hence making a strong case of competency gap. While analysing the relationship between competencies and newlineperformance Teaching Learning competencies had the highest relation with overall dimensions followed by Assessment Evaluation newlinecompetencies Study also aimed at exploring the relationship between demographic factors and competencies. Significant difference in the perception did not exist in the gender but in the significant difference was newlineexisting in experience, type of B-Schools belongs to and Courses taught. -
Study of the diffuse ultraviolet background radiation at high galactic latitudes
The diffuse background radiation is observed throughout the whole sky and across every wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum. The study of this background is of great importance as it contains photons coming from a va- riety of astrophysical environments, traveling over the time scales of a few hundred light years to the age of the universe itself. After the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, the diffuse sky in all the other wave- lengths was studied with great interest as they could provide useful insights into the formation history of the universe. In the work outlined in this the- sis, I will be describing this diffuse background radiation observed in the ultraviolet (UV) region. Over more than three decades of observations of the diffuse sky in the UV has revealed our lack of understanding of all the components that con- tribute to the observed background sky in this wavelength region. Initial studies arrived at controversial conclusions with one group suggesting that most of the observed diffuse surface brightness is due to the dust scat- tered starlight while another group suggested contribution from an exotic component along with the dust scattered component. We will explore this background sky in detail by trying to identify individual components and quantify its contribution at various regions in the sky. We have started our analysis at the Galactic pole regions with |b| > 80 using the data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) in the ultravio- let band. A major Galactic component of the diffuse sky in the UV is the starlight scattered by interstellar dust (also called Diffuse Galactic Light: DGL). We chose to study the Galactic poles due to the low dust environ- ment in these regions and easier modeling of the DGL component. We found consistent offsets in the UV data at a level of 230 290 photons s?1 cm?2 sr?1 1 (hereafter photon units) in the far-UV (FUV: 1539 and 480 580 photon units in the near-UV (NUV: 2316 when the UV surface brightness was compared with Galactic tracers like E(B-V) and the infrared surface brightness. These offsets represent the UV brightness at zero column densities. Part of this offset comes from the extragalactic background light (EBL) originating in background galaxies, Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSOs), etc. After careful estimation of this EBL component, we found a residual UV surface brightness of about 120 180 photon units in the FUV and 300 400 photon units in the NUV. The DGL component came to be about 120 photon units in these regions. We also found evidence for contribution from molecular hydrogen fluorescence at a column density of log NH > 20.2 (NH is in cm?2). We conclude that this contribution from H2 is from the cirrus features present at high Galactic latitudes. We further confirmed our findings at the north and south Galactic poles by studying the region between latitudes 70< b < 80 where we found similar offsets and the fluorescence contribution from H2 at the same levels as in the NGP. We proposed a possible contribution to the observed residual surface brightness coming from Hawking evaporation of Primordial Black Holes. But the level of this radiation was not sufficient to account for the entirety of the observed excess. The failure of this explanation only further deepens the mystery of the source of the excess surface brightness of the UV sky. -
An Investigative approach to hard machining of inconel 718 with coated carbide tool
Super alloys sustain good strength at high temperature and pressure conditions. Such newlinematerials have high demand in Aerospace industry, Marine industry, and Nuclear power plants. They have a great demand in Nuclear and Aerospace applications because of it retain its properties at temperature over 700 C. Machinability of nickel based super - alloys is extremely poor, mainly due to their low thermal conductivity, build up edge and self-hardening, which leads to high dynamic cutting forces. They are difficult to machine because of its high shear strength, work hardening and precipitation hardening. High abrasive particles in its microstructure and tendency forming chip to weld to tool and form Built Up Edge (BUE) make it more difficult to machine. Friction between tool and material and its low thermal conductivity newlineresults in high temperature generation. They have Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr), Ferrous (Fe) or Cobalt (Co) as base contains. Small amount of Al, Ti, Nb, Ta, W, Mo added to these alloys to sustain at high temperature. Chromium is important alloying element in order to obtain the hot corrosion resistance property. Due to these factors the tool wear is extremely high and increasing the tool life by minutes is an enormous success. To overcome this situation, various newlinematerials have been developed for Inconel 718 machining. Though Ceramic tools, Silicon newlineCarbide whiskers, reinforced alumina tools, carbide tools have been used to machine Inconel 718 but they have failed to produce good surface, better accuracy and minimum tool wear. The present study is to improvise the surface roughness, reduce tool wear and create better machining parameters for extensive use of the material. Taguchi methodology, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) have been used to analyze the cutting parameters and determine better response parameters for the machining characteristics of Inconel 718. -
Models for load forecasting and demand response
Increasing pressure on the utilities to accommodate energy efficiency, load management and progress in advanced technology has led to transformations of existing grids into smarter grids. With the development of Smart Grid Technology and the integration of smart meters it is possible to control the equipment installed at the consumer site. Creating awareness among the end- users to participate in load management programs instead of capacity addition is the best solution for maintaining the stability in the grid. Utilities can also encourage consumer participation in load control activities. They can ensure that power is given to a consumer during his priority time. For this, loads have to be categorized, prioritized and then considered for load shedding so that revenue loss and social impacts of load shedding are minimized. It would be beneficial if a consumer's load is not completely shed during load shedding. Amount of power that is shed from a consumer can be limited and consumers can be allowed to adjust their loads based on the availability of power and get incentives from the utilities for their change in load pattern. Consumers are also benefited with the reduced energy charges on the consumed energy during these periods. Review of the recent research work shows that demand response and load forecasting play an important role to relieve the power system from economic and environmental constraints. Various approaches have been used in the past for developing different demand response and forecasting methodologies including neural networks, fuzzy logic and statistical techniques. These methodologies fluctuate in complication, suppleness, and information necessity. In addition, statistical methods such as time series, regression, and state space methods have large numerical deviation in the predicted load series. In general, for accurate modeling of nonlinear and undecided type of load behavior, artificial intelligence-based techniques are employed. Also, these methods concentrate mainly on ordinary system conditions. However, proposing the possible Demand Response strategies to maintain power system security constraints in unpredicted turbulences pose a serious challenge. In the undertaken research, a novel load forecasting method using hybrid Genetic Algorithm Support Vector Regression model has been proposed. The forecast error is around 1-2%. The second part of the work focuses on formulation of demand response strategies based on time of the day and load prioritization. A Unique grading method has been proposed to prioritize the loads and load management during power deficiency by controlling the loads individually using different optimization techniques. The performance of three well recognized population based meta-heuristic algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization, to solve load management at the consumer level in the Smart Grid environment were examined in terms of their efficiency, effectiveness and consistency in obtaining the optimal solution. In the last part of the work the Demand Response model for residential load is proposed to minimize the energy cost of the electricity usage by shifting the loads from peak period to off-peak period with the help of intelligent techniques such as Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. -
Strategies to manage power outages and optimize energy cost for developing countries through supply and demand side management
Developing Countries like India, face huge amounts of power cuts starting from a few hours to few days. Some of the main reasons are transmission and distribution losses, theft, lack of smart infrastructure, poor newlinemaintenance of the existing systems, lack of smart algorithms etc., Due to this reason consumers have moved to back up systems to feed their loads. Tonnes of diesel has been consumed through generators, due to power cuts, because to this consumers are suffering to pay extra cost for electricity as their energy bills are an addition of grid cost as well as the back up cost.The load dispatch centers will implement load shedding leading to a compete outage in a few areas. As a result the consumers in these areas newlineimmediately turn on their back up sources leading to an increase in energy cost. There are no smart algorithms used either to distribute the power at the utility end or to manage the loads during an outage, especially when the loads are running on back-up supply. This report suggests some smart algorithms to provide partial power to consumers rather than a complete outage, load shifting techniques to the consumers at the time of an outage so that they can optimize their back up cost, last but not the least smart newlineintegration of solar power to the consumers to optimize the over all energy costs. newlineThe partial outage algorithm results, in supplying partial power to consumers rather than a complete outage condition this is achieved by implementing a simple unitary method based on the power consumption of the newlineconsumers. By supplying partial power, the consumers can save a certain amount of expenditure on back up cost especially from diesel generators and also utilize the on grid solar generation if the consumer is having a solar roof top installation. -
Classification of extragalactic point sources and flux variability characteristics of blazars
Classification of different types of astronomical objects in large surveys usually done through spectroscopy requires enormous amounts of time. Hence, many attempts have been made using broad band photometric magnitudes and spectroscopic observations to classify the sources, particularly extragalactic sources such as active galactic nuclei (AGNs), starburst galaxies and newlinenormal galaxies. However, a method which does not involve spectroscopic data would be ideal. With this in view, in this work we have made an effort to classify a sample of 37,492 point sources into Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSOs), galaxies and stars using template fitting technique and multiwavelength photometric magnitudes from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and newlinethe Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) with coverage from the optical (z: 8931 to the far ultraviolet (FUV: 1516 . Templates for QSOs, galaxies and stars were used to fit the data of the objects to the seven photometric bands of SDSS and GALEX. The results were compared with SDSS spectroscopic classification. Two UV bands (NUV and FUV) were included to remove the possible degeneracies in the classification based only on optical bands or in color-color method. UV bands play a crucial role in the classification and characterization of astronomical objects that emit over a wide range of wavelengths, especially for those that are bright at UV. Classification using template fitting method is consistent with spectroscopic methods, provided UV information of the objects is available. UV bands are particularly important for separating quasars and stars, as well as spiral and starburst galaxies. We have achieved the efficiency of 89% for QSOs, 63% for galaxies and 84% for stars. Objects for which spectroscopic data is not available can also be classified using this method which does not require spectroscopic information. -
Polyvinyl alcohol and epoxy based composites for radition shielding applications
The present study has been focused towards designing efficient, non-toxic and cost-effective shielding materials with good mechanical strength for protection against radiations encountered in various environments like aerospace, hospitals, research and nuclear reactor establishments. From this perspective, to impart desired shielding properties, high Z filler dispersed polymer matrices such as Bi/WO3-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Ta2O5-epoxy, Ta2O5-Bi2O3-epoxy, micro Bi2O3-epoxy and nano Bi2O3-epoxy with varying filler contents have been synthesized. Structural characterizations were carried out using X-ray diffraction newline(XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to reveal the interactions newlinebetween filler and polymer matrix. The morphological analyses were performed using newlinescanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The AC conductivity measurements and newlineoptical studies revealed low conductivity property of the composites. The thermo newlinegravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical studies were conducted to ascertain thermal newlinestability and mechanical properties of the composites. With increase in filler concentration mechanical properties of Bi/WO3-PVA composites were found to be weakening. The TGA studies of Bi/WO3-PVA composites showed decrease in peak degradation temperature with increase in filler content. This prompted us to further design epoxy composites as epoxy matrix has good thermal stability and mechanical strength. Compared to neat epoxy, dispersion of varying wt% of Ta2O5 and Bi2O3 into epoxy matrix led to significant improvement in stiffness, storage modulus, glass transition temperature and thermal stability of the composites. Epoxy composites with 5 wt% of Ta2O5 and 30 wt% of Bi2O3 revealed better thermal and tensile properties when compared to same wt% Bi2O3 filled epoxy composites. The synergistic influence of micro and nano Bi2O3 filler on epoxy matrix composites showed similar thermal behaviour. -
Self-care practices, professional quality of life and challenges : An exploration among counsellors in Kerala
The profession of counselling continues to prove its importance in today's fast- paced world, where pausing down and listening to someone are becoming an odd and luxurious concern of people. The counsellor may feel as though they are in a marathon, which demands them to continuously offer unconditional positive regard and empathy for their clients. This may leave them incapacitated to look into themselves and to recognize what is happening to them in this process of caring for others. Though profound discourses take place in the international scenario about the criticality of rendering to the need and well- being of counsellors, evidence-based studies, and effective interventions in this regard are still lacking in the Indian context. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring, how the positive and negative feelings of continuous caring can affect the professional quality of life of counsellors, what are the self-care mechanisms they adopt, and which are the professional issues they find most concerning. To meet these objectives, the present research employs a mixed- method design in a sequential explanatory fashion. The study encompasses three different phases wherein phase I and II; the sample consisted of counsellors working in various government projects in Kerala selected through dense sampling method and purposive sampling method respectively. In phase III, counsellor experts with more than 20 years of experience in the field are considered through purposive sampling. Findings describe that counsellors tend to follow an unbalanced self-care routine with significantly less focus on professional aspects. The presence of a high risk of burnout and secondary traumatic stress with a moderate feeling of compassion satisfaction call for immediate interventions for counsellors. Lack of benefits, safety issues, concerns about professional identity, poor working conditions, absence of career prospects, and lack of professional credentials are the major challenges identified by the counsellors. Considering these challenges, a set of recommendations are proposed by counsellor experts, which suggest reformations at both the systemic level and academic formation. Specific recommendations are also listed on the development of personal self and professional self for safe, effective and ethical practice of counsellors across a variety of practice settings. Implications exist for policymakers and counsellor educators to create an avenue for supporting a healthier and sustainable counsellor workforce.