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Effectivrness of family centered psychosocial intervention programme for primary caregivers of the children with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is one of the multiple disabilities affecting 2 to 2.5 per thousand new born babies in India. It usually affects both individual and families. Though care giving is a normal part of being the parent of a child, caring a child with special needs takes on an entirely different life perspective when a child with disabilities, and especially one with multiple disabilities like cerebral palsy which have an effect on long-term dependence. The task of rearing and caring for a child with complex disabilities like cerebral palsy at home might be a great challenge for parents. The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of family centered psychosocial intervention programe for the primary caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. Objectives are to assess anxiety, stress, family burden and perceived social support, and to determine the newlineeffectiveness of family centered psycho social intervention programme on primary caregivers of the children with cerebral palsy. The study followed before and after research experimental research design without control group. The sample of this study consisted of thirty five mothers of the children with cerebral palsy. The heterogeneous socio demographic background was drawn for the present study. The results revealed that extent of psycho social problem was present in the domains of anxiety, stress, family burden and perceived social support among mothers. It also revealed newlinethat the extent of psycho social problems was significantly reduced in the domains of newlineanxiety, stress and family burden and increased perceived social support after family centered psycho social intervention programme. It is indicated that the family centered viji psychosocial intervention is effective in psychosocial domains of the primary caregivers of the children with cerebral palsy. -
A search for a grounding source in interpersonal relationships through metaxology in the select novels of bernard malmud
This research examines interpersonal relationships in the select novels of newlineBernard Malamud from a metaxological perspective. By examining the formation of newlinethe community through individuals where there are agapeic service and transformation newlineof individuals, it attempts to bring out the relevance of metaxological relationships that newlinegive importance to dialogue, ethical relationships and love. It is essential to understand the space between interpersonal relationships to lead a meaningful life in the contemporary world. It explores to ascertain whether human beings attain fulfilment in the community through transformation. This thesis addresses the issues that are relevant to the novelist in the context of Jewish identity and assumes that this study is essential since the study informs us about the interpersonal relationships which are very relevant newlinein today s context. This study claims that the interpersonal relationships portrayed in newlinethe novels of Malamud are metaxological because it affirms the self and transcends newlinetowards the other and forms a community where there is agapeic love and service. This newlineresearch claims that interpersonal relationships attain its fulfilment through newlinemetaxological relationships. This mode of interpersonal relationships is relevant since newlineit enables us to understand many existing problems between people, culture and nations, newlineand to find a solution to it. The question of how to maintain a proper relationship with newlineother human beings by giving equal importance to the individuals who are involved in the relationship is prominent today. The analysis of the novels based on metaxology newlinechanges our existing understanding of the interpersonal relationships and gives a new newlinedimension to it. -
Implementation of speech recognizer and synthesizer for the physically challenged
Speech Recognition and Speech Synthesis are two complementary technologies that are used in systems to which the human voice serves as input or output. People with physical, motor disabilities prefer systems that can be driven by their voice than using the strenuous, usual and standard input-output devices such as keyboard, mouse and monitor. Solutions under the umbrella of Assistive Technology are designed to support people with disabilities to overcome the difficulties in handling their diurnal chores. Present-day commercial speech processing systems have received wider customer acceptance, yet not suitable for people with speech disabilities. It is observed that present-day speech recognizers fail to recognize voices with distortions, misrepresentations and deformations. The unintelligibility of the input voice limits the use of off-the-shelf speech processing products by the speech-impaired user community. In such scenarios, the speech processing systems require alterations to become suitable for the specialised user group. Techniques of adaptation are popular in the field of speaker recognition, which can be applied in the domain of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The main aim of this research is to model a speaker adaptive system for the speech-disabled users with articulation disorders and neurologically-based disorders due to illnesses like cerebral palsy. The problem context for this research work is two-fold: accepting the incomprehensible speech input and transforming the same into a more understandable speech. The first portion is to adapt a speech recognizer and verify the recognition accuracy; the second portion is to substitute the recognized words with a better- comprehensible voice. Due to the medical requirements of the research subjects, collecting and using live speech data of individuals is an onerous task with complex infrastructure. Also, the collection and storage of patients data are restricted by ethical procedures. Hence, the data created by various Universities, following the standard procedures in a noise-free environment are used for this research work. Experiments are conducted on the voice data sets in order to improve the recognition accuracy for speakers uttering individual words. The Speech Recognizer is implemented using Hidden Markov Models and Speech Synthesizer is implemented using a pattern-searching algorithm on a database with text input and voice output (concatenative synthesis). The adaptation techniques, viz., Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression (MLLR) and Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) are applied in a pipeline with adjusted language model and pronunciation dictionary. This has reduced the Word Error Rates (WER) of recognizing the incoherent speech. In the process of adaptation, the parameters of the acoustic model of a generic speech recognizer are altered using the feature vectors generated from the training data set applying maximum likelihood linear regression. Parameters of this updated model are then used as informative priors to MAP adaptation. Speech Synthesizer, i.e., the Text-to-Speech system then translates the recognized text into a more-intelligible voice which is clearer to the listeners. The simulation with test data sets measured the effectiveness of the combined algorithm proposed here; it produced improvements in recognition accuracy from 43% (for a speaker with 93% speech intelligibility) to 90% (for a speaker with 2% speech intelligibility). An analysis of the improvement in recognition accuracy and speed of recognition for each speaker reveals that the proposed methodology is more effective for severely dysarthric speakers than those with less speech impairments, making the proposed model socially significant. -
Predictive analytics for cardiac arrhythmia using machine intelligence
Myocardial Infarction (MI) is the primary cause of death worldwide. MI occurs when a plaque buildup in the inner surface of the coronary artery suddenly ruptures and prevents the blood flow. A heart attack is medically termed as MI. It is the irreversible damage caused by the prolonged ischemia. Ischemia is nothing but the heart organ doesn t get enough blood and oxygen which is also termed as coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease. The heart gets damaged if it has not received enough blood or oxygen. In connection to the damage of the heart, arrhythmia would occur. Arrhythmia is the problem based on the heart rhythm or rate of the heartbeat. Tachycardia, when there is a fast beat in the heart. Bradycardia, when the heart beats too slow. The common type of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation. The great concern is that the patient who has arrhythmia has to be treated immediately. They lose consciousness in a few minutes when the heart is not pumping enough blood mainly to the brain. Death occurs when the patient is not given emergency treatment. newline Treatment which is included in the emergency is defibrillation and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). CPR is an emergency procedure which is combined with the chest compressions. It is through artificial ventilation which gives manual effort, preserves the brain functions until further treatment for the restoration of spontaneous blood circulation. The common symptoms of sudden cardiac death are chest pain, shortness of breath, severe wheezing, irregular heartbeats, fainting etc. newlineHeart Scar tissue which is not like heart muscle. It doesn t contrast like the normal heart muscle. Heart muscles get damaged for the heart attack patient based on the time of the treatment. The damage of the heart is based on the blockage of the artery. Arrhythmia can be predicted based on the volume of the scar region in the heart. Arrhythmia patients are treated by fixing Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). -
Investigations on plasma sprayed Yttria stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings on Al-11si
6-8% Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, (Y2O3-ZrO2), typically known as 8YPSZ, Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) when applied via Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EBPVD) finds wide application in aerospace engineering. TBCs, applied on aero turbine super-alloy blades protect them from the high operating temperature environment and permit reduction in the required amount of cooling air, thereby improve engine performance and efficiency / component life. Likewise, 8YPSZ TBCs are widely used in larger components of the power generation turbines as well. In addition to aerospace, TBCs also find applications in automobiles and many other newlineengineering fields where high temperature and protection to metals is involved. Though a good amount of published literature is available on the 8YPSZ TBCs on super alloys (high temperatures alloys used in jet newlineengines), the same on TBCs on Al-11Si alloys (frequently used in automotive components) is very limited; even though the potential of this alloy in the automobile industry is enormous.In this research work, results from thermal barrier coating qualifications on a popular aluminium based alloy used in the automobile industry (removed from diesel engine piston), i.e. aluminium-11% silicon newline(Al-11Si) alloy is presented. Detailed coating qualification tests were performed on the Al-11Si alloy substrates with the 8YPSZ TBCs on them which comprised of material assessments at room temperature and higher newlinetemperatures. The performance of an actual multi (four) cylinder diesel engine incorporated with TBC coated pistons also was evaluated and compared with the performance of the baseline engine (without any coated newlinecomponents). Thus, the concept of Low Heat Rejection (LHR) engine was also assessed in this research work. Commercial plasma sprayable powders of 8YPSZ (METCO 204NS, newlineUSA) were plasma spray coated (TBC deposition) by employing an Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) system on substrates previously coated with Nickel Aluminide (NiAl) (AMDRY 956) plasma sprayable bond coat newlinepowders. -
Development and efficacy of creativity enhancement programme for adolescents with specific learning disability
Adolescents with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) face academic and emotional challenges in their school life. Creativity is a skill which helps adolescents to approach problems of daily life differently. That would help them to explore and nurture their self-esteem. Though there is a debate on whether creativity is innate or learned, activities are still required for children to recognize and nurture the creative skills in children. Studies show that creative tasks develop self-esteem in children and also decrease depression in children with SLD. Creativity newlineEnhancement Programme (CrEP) is developed as part of the study in consultation with experts in the field based on Torrance s Theory of Creativity. The Programme tested newlinethe efficacy in improving the creativity and the self-esteem as well as reducing anxiety and depression of 100 adolescents with SLD. The adolescents with SLD, studying in class sixth to ninth in five schools that follow newlinethe state syllabus and English medium of instruction, which are situated in South Bengaluru were selected. Initial screening consisted of an assessment of SLD and newlineintelligence to select participants. Out of 100 students with SLD, 50 students each were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The intervention programme consisted of creativity enhancement activities such as drawing, bridge construction, sand art, best out of waste, and find a friend. Baqer Mehdi Test of Creative Thinking and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale at were used as assessment tools and measured the study variable before, after and three months after the intervention. newlineResults showed CrEP could improve non-verbal newlinecreativity: Elaboration and Self-esteem. Similarly, this intervention could reduce depression. CrEP is useful in helping adolescents with SLD to explore and nurture their creativity, which would help them build their self-esteem and reduce the risk of mental health problems. -
Indian catholic priests' identity, relational autonomy and attachment to god : A Narrative analysis
A thematic narrative analysis was carried to explore the 28 South Indian Roman Catholic religious priests identity, relational autonomy and attachment to God. Fourteen participants were selected from the structured priestly ministry settings newlinenamely education ministry and, another 14 participants from the semi-structured newlinepriestly ministry settings namely parish and priestly formation ministry settings. The newlinequalitative data collected through the interviews were analyzed through the narrative thematic analysis method. The thematic narrative analysis found five major themes, influence on the priestly identity, value-oriented life, purpose in life, priestly celibacy and challenges in the priestly ministry and 46 subthemes for the participants priestly identity narratives. For relational autonomy, the study found five major themes, impactful childhood, the influence of priestly formation, nterpersonal relationships, relationship with the person in authority and decision making and 42 subthemes. For attachment God, it found six major themes, God as an attachment figure, seeking and maintaining proximity to God, God as a haven of safety, God as a secure base, newlineperceiving God as stronger and wiser, and individual differences in attachment to newlineGod, and 24 sub-themes. The study results revealed strong support for the newlinecorrespondence pathway, as the majority of the participants had narratives of newlinecorrespondence between the attachment to their parents and their attachment to God. newlineIt also found evidence for the theme of compensation in three participants narratives. The qualitative comparison between the groups found that for 19 sub-themes for priestly identity, 20 sub-themes for relational autonomy and 13 sub-themes for newlineattachment to God, the priests from the structured ministry settings differed from the priests from the semi-structured ministry settings. -
Adoption of cashless payment systems among consumers
The primary goal of any national payment system is to ensure smooth circulation of money. An efficient and secure payment system triggers economic activity and electronic payment systems in particular, benefit both the customer s and the country s economic growth. Diverse payment systems function ranging from paper-based ones where the instruments are physically exchanged and settlements worked out manually, to the sophisticated electronic fund transfer systems which are fully secured and transactions settled on a gross, real-time basis. Researchers have used various technology adoption models to predict their usage. The purpose of the study is to investigate the key driving factors responsible for the consumers adoption of cashless payment system. A descriptive study method using the paradigm of post - positivism was employed with a sample of 390 respondents from Bangalore who have used cashless payments. They were selected by purposive sampling using snowball sampling. The study is based on both primary and secondary sources of information. The current study extended the UTAUT with new constructs Habit, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value, Trust, Innovativeness, Perceived Risk, Attitude Towards Using Cashless Payment System and Anxiety. The findings of the study reveal that the factors namely Effort Expectancy, Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Habit, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value, Trust, Innovativeness, Perceived Risk, Attitude Towards Using Cashless Payment System and Anxiety have significant influence on the consumers cashless payment usage. A close positive correlation of cashless payment systems usage with the independent variables was seen. The gender, age, income, occupation and educational qualification of the respondents has a significant role to play in their willingness to use cashless payments. The study gives an insight on what the considerations to look into while launching a new payment system are and the means to deal with consumers to adopt and use the same. -
Organic and Inorganic compunds anchored graphene frameworks as materials for sensor and supercapacitor applications
The specific atoms or group of atoms that can attach to the other organic or inorganic newlinecompounds due to the strong affinity is called as the anchoring group. The electrons newlinefrom these organic and inorganic compounds are potent to travel through the anchor newlinegroup. This leads to specific features with the change in the arrangement of atoms in newlinethe entire molecule/system. Hence, the redox reaction properties, molecular chain newlinelength and the extent of conjugation of the resultant anchored product vary. Depending upon the binding nature, anchoring groups can be divided into monodentate, bidentate, and multidentate. Among these, multidentate anchoring groups are more significant since it can bind either partially to the molecules or with the whole surface. Though many multidentate anchoring groups like fullerene, carbon nanotubes, polymers, calixarenes, and graphene are presented in the literature, newlinegraphene oxide anchored organic and inorganic compounds are important because of its amazing contributions to the material science and design. The high thermal and electrical conductivity, large surface area, mechanical strength, and availability of more mobile electrons make graphene as the suitable anchor group for diverse applications in the field of adsorption of polluted gases, catalyst for the organic conversions, medicinal chemistry, electrochemical sensing, and energy storage devices. Therefore, Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the good choices to develop supercapacitance systems and electrochemical sensing materials. Heteroatom doping, conducting polymer, metal complexes, and metal oxides anchored graphene oxide are more significant because they change the electroactive properties significantly. Considering these, we studied the photophysical and electrochemical properties of chromium complex anchored GO synthesised by silane and diazonium coupling. -
Influence of emotional intelligence as mediator between workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviour
Spirituality at work has developed as a research discipline over the last decade. There have been a few theoretical studies emphasizing on the significance of the construct. The external and internal factors affecting the relationship of this construct need to be analysed for enabling its newlineimplementation in the business world. The construct needs further empirical studies to establish itself as an implementable HR practice, contributing significantly to the bottom line. Organisational citizenship behaviour is critical for performance amidst uncertainty. Emotional intelligence has newlinebecome more critical in overcoming the challenges faced by the Information Technology (IT) sector in India. This study fills the gap in the current literature studying the influence of emotional intelligence in the relationship between workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviour in the Indian IT sector context. The challenges faced by the Indian IT sector are unique and needs alternative solution to avoid a downfall in the sector contributing majorly to the national GDP. The sample is 800 IT sector employees selected through judgmental sampling. The data is collected by using online survey newlineinstruments. SEM modelling has been used to analyse the data and use the same for development of an implementable model relating the dependent and the independent variables. The findings state that there is a direct and positive relationship between newlineworkplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviour. In addition, newlineemotional intelligence mediates the relationship between workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviour. Longitudinal testing of the relationships has been left as the scope for further studies. -
Duplex functionally graded and multilayered thermal barrier coatings based on 8 % yttria stabilized zirconia and pyrochlores
Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) protect gas turbine engine metal components while they serve in a high temperature environment (upto 1200?). 8% Yttria- Stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) is the current state of the art material for TBCs. Typically, 250 to 500 ?m (upto 2 mm) thick TBCs can lower the metal temperature by upto 150C than the service temperature and thereby enhance life to the components. 8YSZ TBCs however, suffer from (a) increased sinterability, (b) phase de-stabilization and (c) poor adhesion with time in service at high temperature. In order to facilitate longer engine running time, research is being directed towards finding (i) newer materials that do not possess these deficiencies or (ii) configurations that can overcome them. In order to further improve the performance efficiency of the engines, TBC materials with extended thermal fatigue life at higher than current service temperatures (>1100?) are also being actively investigated. In the same area of research, this thesis presents the findings of work on air plasma sprayed (i) duplex, (ii) functionally graded and (iii) multilayered configurations of TBCs synthesized from commercial 8YSZ and lab synthesized pyrochlore (lanthanum zirconate, lanthanum cerate and lanthanum cerium zirconate) compositions with NiCrAlY bond coat. Duplex i.e., 2-layered TBCs, synthesized by depositing commercial 8YSZ ceramic topcoat (METCO 204 NS) and NiCrAlY bond coat (AMDRY 962) plasma spray powders on Inconel 718 and/or stainless-steel substrates were used for benchmarking purpose (designated as conventional 8YSZ TBC). Next, TBCs were prepared by using these two powders in blended form (8YSZ+NiCrAlY) to serve as a third intermediate layer between the duplex TBC layers in functionally graded material (FGM) configurations. The role of he third intermediate layer is to minimize the thermal expansion mismatch between the ceramic and bond coat layers at elevated temperatures. 8YSZ FGM TBCs were prepared from three different blends of plasma spray powders of NiCrAlY and 8YSZ (i .e., 25%NiCrAlY +75%8YSZ, 50% NiCrAlY + 50% 8YSZ and 60% NiCrAlY + 40% 8YSZ). The development of newer ceramic TBC materials and configurations was achieved by the synthesis of novel pyrochlores and FGM TBCs from them. The Rare-earth pyrochlores and Rare-earth zirconate pyrochlores studied were (i) Lanthanum Zirconate (La2Zr2O7), (ii) Lanthanum Cerium Zirconate (La2 (Zr0.7Ce0.3)2O7 and (iii) Lanthanum Cerate (La2Ce2O7). Plasma sprayable powders of these compositions were synthesized in the laboratory via a solid-state method. They were spray-coated by Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) method in duplex layers by using three different spray parameters on NiCrAlY bond coated substrates. The spray parameter that provided the best TBC for each composition was identified based on preliminary thermal fatigue tests. FGM TBCs with (50% NiCrAlY+ 50% 8YSZ) blend as intermediary layer exhibited significantly improved thermal fatigue resistance (life) over conventional 8YSZ TBC (up to 1400?). Hence, in the FGM pyrochlore system too, further studies were restricted to TBCs with (50%NiCrAlY+50% pyrochlore) blend layers to serve as the intermediate FGM layers. Further studies involved the synthesis of multilayered TBCs: two types of systems have been experimented (a) FGM with commercial 8YSZ integrated with the pyrochlores - here the intermediary blend layer was (50% NiCrAlY+ 50% 8YSZ), and lab synthesized pyrochlores were the topcoats and (b) 8YSZ as an intermediary layer and pyrochlores as the topcoats. Identical (to the extent possible) characterization methods were employed to study and evaluate all TBCs synthesized in this research work. They were (1) thermal fatigue tests between high temperature & ambient by using (a) gas flame (1200? & 1400?) and (b) furnace (1150C) (2) oxidation stability tests (at 800?,1000? and 1150?) (3) structural phase analysis (XRD) and (4) microstructure with chemical composition analysis (SEM/EDS). The work was aided by studies on adhesion strength test (ASTM C633 standard), residual stress analysis and assessment of thermal barrier effect (temperature drop across TBC) in chosen few TBCs. TBCs fabricated from three pyrochlores exhibited significant improvements in terms of thermal fatigue resistance at 1200? and 1400?. In duplex, Multilayer (ML) FGM and Multilayer (ML) configurations, La2Ce2O7 (LC) TBC performance was exemplary in all configurations studied in this research work. XRD analysis of pyrochlores in duplex, ML-FGM and ML configurations TBCs evaluated for thermal fatigue at 1200? and 1400? (gas flame heating) exhibited no phase destabilization in the failed specimen, confirming the thermal stability of the TBC system within the coated layers. The trend of improved thermal fatigue resistance of lanthanum cerate TBCs continued when studied via high-temperature furnace heating at 1150? as well. The experimental research work with details of TBC systems, processing, characterizations, and discussion based on findings and published literature to explore the prospective TBC material system and configuration with the potential to serve as an alternative to conventional 8YSZ TBC, in terms of life and thermal fatigue resistance, comprise the main contents of this thesis. -
A Critical analysis of the law relationg to elementary education in india Viz-A-Viz Minimum level of learning
The demand for free and compulsory education started in the British period. newlineThe framers directed that the object of Article 45 must be achieved within ten years newlineof the commencement of the constitution. After several judicial strictures the newlineConstitutional (Eighty Sixth) Amendment Act 2002 (Amendment Act, 2002) declared education as a fundamental right. To execute this mandate the Children Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (RTE Act, 2009) was passed. However, the government has failed to fulfil the mandate of giving quality education in terms of minimum level of learning under the RTE Act. One of the newlineparameters of the Quality Monitoring Tool under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is newlineto give quality education in terms of minimum level of learning. But, when it was newlinerealized that the children from Government schools are completing their primary newlineeducation without minimum level of learning, three amendments had been made to the RTE Act 2009, i.e., during 2012, 2015 and 2019. Yet, the latest Annual Survey on Education Report shows that there is poor minimum level of learning among children who have completed their primary education in government primary newlineschools. Thus, the purpose of this research is to critically analyse the RTE Act 2009 newlineand the subsequent amendments to the Act of 2009 and to study various policies and schemes under SSA, to explore the reasons for low level of learning in government primary school and to make suggestion to improve the minimum level of learning. -
Instabilities in ferrofluids with temperature and magnetic field dependent viscosity under different modulations
There has been a vigorous effort by researchers to study and characterize Rayleigh Be and#769;nard convection in ferrofluids owing to their interesting applications. From the survey of the literature pertinent to the problems under consideration in our study we realize the importance of using variable viscosity and thus explore the dynamics of a ferrofluid with temperature and magnetic field dependent viscosity which is in a Rayleigh- Be and#769;nard situation. The system under consideration is subjected to external constarints viz., an imposed time-periodic body force, rotation speed modulation, temperature modulation and magnetic field modulation. The problem considers both sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal time-periodic variations of these modulations to study the onset and post-onset regimes of Rayleigh-Be and#769;nard ferroconvection. We perform a weakly non-linear stability analysis using a truncated Fourier series representation and arrive at the Lorenz system for ferrofluid convection with variable viscosity. By using the linearized form of the Lorenz system we arrive at the critical Rayleigh There has been a vigorous effort by researchers to study and characterize Rayleigh Be and#769;nard convection in ferrofluids owing to their interesting applications. From the survey of the literature pertinent to the problems under consideration in our study we realize the importance of using variable viscosity and thus explore the dynamics of a ferrofluid with temperature and magnetic field dependent viscosity which is in a Rayleigh- Be and#769;nard situation. The system under consideration is subjected to external constarints viz., an imposed time-periodic body force, rotation speed modulation, temperature modulation and magnetic field modulation. The problem considers both sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal time-periodic variations of these modulations to study the onset and post-onset regimes of Rayleigh-Be and#769;nard ferroconvection. -
A Study on work engagement of secondary school teachers in relation to their psychological well-being, leadership behaviour of principals and organizational health
Organizational success is determined by work engagement and psychological well-being of the workforce. Efficient leadership and a healthy teaching environment determine the professional conduct of school teachers. Work engagement not only reflects teachers performance but also implies the performance of pupils and the school. Work engagement depends on the congeniality of the working conditions. The present study explores work engagement of 516 secondary school teachers working in Bengaluru, India. The Work and Well-being survey (UWES) was used to measure teachers work engagement by assessing their vigour, dedication, and absorption. The scale of psychological well-being scale (developed by Ryff) was employed to evaluate in terms of self-acceptance, positive relation with others,autonomy,environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth.The leadership behaviour of principals questionnaire was used to measure in terms of consideration and initiating structure. The Organizational health Inventory was employed to quantify the Organizational health at the institutional, managerial, and technical levels. Results from the regression analysis suggest that work engagement of teachers was positively correlated and significantly influenced by psychological well-being, leadership behaviour of principals and organizational health. -
Empowering women living with HIV AIDS A study on organisational strategies and challenges
The acts of discrimination and exclusion meted out to the people living with HIV/AIDS, and the stigma attached to the condition deprives the afflicted, of their capacity to exercise their fundamental rights and to access basic necessities. Specifically, the suffering of the women stricken by this chronic, incurable malady, the majority of whom from newlineeconomically weaker sections of our society is very poignant. From the time this pandemic broke out in 1984, world organisations, national and local organisations, both government and non-government have come to newlinethe aid of the PLWHA. Some of them cater singularly to the needs of the WLWHA, who are as such more vulnerable ever since the plight of the women living with the deadly disease was brought to light. But as the years went by, there has been a decline in the help extended to the WLWHA. This study is undertaken to ascertain the current state of newlineservices and strategies used by the organisations to empower the WLWHA and the challenges faced by the organisations in their endeavours. Appropriate questionnaires were administered to analyse the situations and find the facts about the services, strategies and challenges from the perspective of the organisation WLWHA. A few case studies of the WLWHA were done to delve into the depths of their perceptions. From the study, it has been learned that the organisations have prioritized medical and rehabilitation services to empower the women. Medical care is given directly by the organisations and also through networking with government bodies and other services newlineproviders. Affected women and family members are counselled for acceptance of the condition and familial and societal integration. Occupational therapy and vocational training are other strategies for newlineempowerment.Organisations provide nutritious food for the women and arrange for them to get the necessary provisions through Public newlineDistribution System (PDS) or through donors. -
Social media campus party politics and political participation
Political Participation is a desired quality among citizens in a democracy. Earlier studies have indicated that Political Knowledge, Political Efficacy and Civic Engagement enhance the Political Participation of college students. The current study has its background in two key aspects in the Indian context: First, the proliferation of Social Media Usage among newlinecollege students in the last decade; Second, the implementation of the Lyngdoh Commission Report (May 2006) on Campus Party Politics. newlineStudies have not adequately addressed the question of the direct impact of Social Media Usage among college students, on their level of Political Knowledge, Political Efficacy, Civic Engagement, and Political newlineParticipation. The present study attempts to assess the impact of Social Media Usage on Political Knowledge, Political Efficacy and Civic Engagement and Political Participation of college students in the context of Kerala. In the context of the implementation of the Lyngdoh Commission report by some of the college and University campuses in India thus banning Party Politics in their campuses, while some of the other campuses still retaining Campus Party Politics, the newlinepresence/absence of Campus Party Politics is used as a control variable to see the impact of Campus Party Politics on Social Media Usage, Political Knowledge, Political Efficacy, Civic Engagement, and Political newlineParticipation. To check the impact of various factors on Political Participation, a path model is framed and analysed using Structural newlineEquation Modelling. Key demographic variables such as gender, political student union membership, type of management that own and operate the college, the stream of study of students, etc are also examined to see its newlinevarying effects on the key variables under consideration. The results indicate that Social Media Usage and Political Knowledge do not impact Political Participation while Political Efficacy and Civic Engagement do newlineimpact Political Participation. -
Actualization of educational vision of chavara by principals of congregation of mother of carmel (CMC) school as perceived by teachers inrelation to transformational leadership organizational socialization and organizational learning
Education is one of the most powerful instruments of desirable social changes and transformation. It plays a fundamental role in human, social and economic development. St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara. a transformational leader of the 19th Century strived to transform the society through education. This educational vision immensely contributed in the development of the archaic society of Kerala. The education envisaged by Chavara was a flawless blend of intellectual, practical and spiritual formation. He aimed at the growth of the individual from the narrow boundary of self and doing service for the society. The religious Congregations (CMI and CMC) which were established by Chavara play a vital role in the field of education. These Congregations made its mark in the Indian educational system by their systematic and excellent performance through their educational institutions. In this study, the author explores the Actualization of the Educational Vision of Chavara by the principals in CMC schools. Descriptive survey method was used in the study. The population consisted of all the teaching faculty members of CMC schools and the sample size was 844. The study includes the independent variables such as Transformational Leadership, Organizational Socialization and Organizational Learning and its influence in actualizing Chavara vision by the principals. The finding of the study reveals that, the independent variables channelize the actualization of Chavara vision in CMC schools. The study throws light on the educational field of the CMC Congregation and inspires to renovate the present educational system on the basis of Chavara vision. -
Synthesis spectroscopic and DFT studies of some benzimidazole and benzothiazole derivatives
Benzimidazole, benzothiazole and benzoxazole compounds and their derivatives having azole newlinemoieties are biologically active and are extensively used in pharmaceutical industry. newlineBenzimidazoles/benzothiazoles scaffolds have also been widely used as and#61552;and#8722;spacers and newlinedonor/acceptor units. The lone pair electrons and conjugated structures of these heterocyclic molecules assist in tuning of electronic properties enabling their use in devices like dye sensitized solar cells, organic light emitting diodes etc. However, the design and synthesis of organic ligands newlinefor these applications is still a challenging task. Though we have made an effort in this direction fabricating a dye sensitized solar cell with benzimidazole based sensitizer, the moderate Stokes shift and efficiency prompted us to tune these molecules and improve their electronic properties. Considering that some of the benzimidazole/benzothiazole fluorophores possessing metal-ion newlinechelating properties and having hydrogen donor-acceptor sites in close proximity play vital role in sensor and bioimaging applications, we have designed and synthesized novel fluorophores for newlinemetal ion sensing applications. Since most of the available literature shows studies on fluorophores with single excited state intramolecular proton transfer sites or dual proton transfer sites with symmetrical structures, we have considered investigating fluorophores having asymmetrical newlinestructures and proton donating sites. In this perspective, we have synthesized and conducted spectroscopic and density functional theory studies on some novel fluorophores based on benzimidazole/benzothiazole Schiff bases and the details are presented in this thesis. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the benzimidazole/benzothiazole heterocycles and the different photophysical and chemical phenomena involved. A brief literature survey in support of our studies is presented in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 gives a brief description of the experimental methods newlineand techniques used in our work. -
Pain Detection System In Real Time Healthcare Environment
The negative feeling of pain is often involuntarily expressed through facial expressions. Facial expression therefore is an important non-verbal cue to determine if a person is in pain. This property can be applied for diagnosis of pain especially among patients who are differently newlinechallenged and lack the ability of expressing their issue. In spite of the developments made so far, this field still lags behind in finding pain expressing faces in an uncontrolled environment through unprocessed newlinereal time images and videos. To bridge this gap, the study proposed a hybrid or fusion model that could adequately detect a face expressing pain. The model was executed with inputs taken from pre-recorded or stored newlinevideos and live streamed videos. It involved the combination of Patch Based Model (PBM), Constrained Local Model (CLM), and Active newlineAppearance Model (AAM) in concurrence with image algebra. This allowed the efficient pain identification from raw home-made stored newlinevideos and live stream even through a bad recording device and under poor illumination. The hybrid model was implemented in a frame-by-frame manner for feature extraction and pain detection. The feature extraction part was done in pixel-based and point-based representation. For point-based representation, a concept called image algebra was used. For classification, three approaches viz. histogram technique, Feed newlineForward Neural Network (FFNN), and Multilayer Back Propagation Neural Network (MLBPNN) were implemented and analyzed. The videos newlineof different subjects showed facial expressions of pain::face, not::pain face and neutral::face. A home-made dataset was produced for storing the videos which was later used as the input and the selected features were stored. This dataset served as the training set for the proposed model. Though the data was not highly sensitive it was sufficient to confer adequate information for detecting pain expression.