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THE STUDY OF THE ONSET OF RAYLEIGH B??NARD CONVECTION IN A COUPLE-STRESS DIELECTRIC LIQUID
The linear analysis of Rayleigh-Benard convection in dielectric couple stress fluid are studied using the Galerkin technique. The effects of six basic non-uniform temperature gradients on the onset of convection are analsysied. The eigenvalue is obtained for free - free velocity boundary combinations with isothermal and adiabatic boundaries. A linear stability analysis is performed. The influence of various parameters on the onset of convection has been analyzed. Six different non-uniform temperature profiles are considered and their comparative influence on onset is discussed. The problem suggests an elegant method of external control of internal convection. -
A STUDY ON THE SELF-ESTEEM AND SOCIAL RELATIONS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITY.
According to World Health Organization Learning disability is a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind. The most common learning disabilities are Dyslexia, Dyscalculia Dysgraphia, Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities. Adolescents with learning difficulty have trouble expressing their feelings, calming themselves down, and reading non-verbal cues which can lead to difficulty in the classroom and with their peers. In India approximately 13 to 14 per cent of all school children suffer from learning disorders (Sadaket 2009). The social relationships of the adolescents with learning disability have a positive influence on their self esteem. It helps them to maintain a constructive relationship with their peers, teachers and parents. The study was focused to know the relationship of self esteem and social relation in adolescents with learning disability. The study was conducted among all the Adolescents with Learning Disability, in an alternative school in Bangalore. The size of the sample was 50 which include both genders and the sampling design was purposive sampling. Adolescents with learning disability of the age group 11 to 18 years were included for the study. The students level of self-esteem was assessed by using a 10-item scale developed by Rosenberg (1965). The Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale was rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The researcher reverse scored five items that were negative in nature so that higher scores would indicate higher level of self-esteem. The scale ranges from 0-30. Scores between 15 and 25 are within normal range; scores below 15 suggest low self- esteem. A semi structured questionnaire was designed to gather information on the socio demographic profile and social relation of adolescents with learning disability. A pilot study was conducted among 10 percent of samples and necessary modifications were made. The statistical analysis was done on the data using SPSS. The level of significance was fixed at 0.005(p<0.05). The results show that, among the total respondents, 62.0 percent of them are male respondents (n=31) and 38.0 percent are female respondents (n=19).56 percent of the respondents are being compared with their siblings by their parents. The study indicates that 44 percent of the respondents feel stressed due to parental pressure. The respondents who fall under the age group of 16-19 years have a higher self-esteem than the respondents who fall under the age group of 11-15 years. The study shows that, statically there is a significant relationship between the respondents relationship with parents with respect to respondents self-esteem. There is less significant relationship between the respondents relationship with peers with respect to respondents self-esteem. Present study indicates that, statically there is a significant relationship between the respondents relationship with teachers with respect to respondents self-esteem. Learning disability is a disorder which can be remedied using appropriate instructional strategies. The early identification helps in remedial teaching and building self-esteem. The present study indicates that adolescents with learning disability with better social relationship will have high self-esteem. Realizing the importance of self-esteem and its relationship with social relation, a multidisciplinary approach is required to initiate appropriate interventions in building self-esteem and teaching learning disabled child. Thus the learning disabled child can be mainstreamed effectively. -
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Development of Positive Self: Exploring the Experiences of Psychotherapists
Mental health professionals cater to the needs of people in distress. They utilise cognitive and emotional resources to completely empathise with the clientele and it can often lead to distress because helping profession is more prone to burnout. The benefits of practicing psychotherapy outweigh the hazards if they can bring work-life balance by creating a boundary between personal and professional lives. The aim of the current study was to explore the meaning and significance of professional experiences in the development of positive self. Seven psychotherapists with minimum ten years of experience participated in the study. Using semi structured in-depth interviews details about professional experience and the impact on personal life was explored. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study found the indicators of positive self as high self esteem, high self efficacy, experiencing positive emotions, signs of wisdom, hopeful behaviour, high optimism, self regulation, experiencing gratitude and forgiveness. Work experiences and coping strategies influenced the development of positive self. The results of the study can be used in training programmes for psychotherapists and building the conceptual model of positive self. keywords: psychotherapists, positive self, positive emotional state, functional coping strategies, professional growth, prosocial behaviour -
Recommender Systems Using Semantic Web Technologies
Recommender Systems (RS) have risen in popularity over the years, and their ability to ease decision-making for the user in various domains has made them ubiquitous. However, the sparsity of data continues to be one of the biggest shortcomings of the suggestions offered. Recommendation algorithms typically model user preferences in the form of a profile, which is then used to match user preferences to items of their interest. Consequently, the quality of recommendations is directly related to the level of detail contained in these profiles. Through the review of related literature, it is evident that the genre of a movie is a major factor influencing user decisions about movies. However, the degree of membership of a movie to a genre is typically unavailable. Sometimes, certain genres memberships to a movie might not be assigned at all. Such genre membership information, if available, would provide a better description of items and consequently lead to quality recommendations. To capture complete information on content pertaining to different genre in movies, we have used two approaches ?? one that utilizes the available binary genre information and augments it by inferring the genre degree using the information available in folksonomies and another that does not rely on previous movie categorization but captures genres that manifest automatically when forming keyword clusters. Folksonomies or tags are user-defined metadata for items and embed abundant information about various facets of user likes and their opinions on the quality and the type of object tagged. The degree of genre presence in a movie is inferred by examining the various tags conferred on them by various users. Leveraging on tags to guide the genre degree determination exploits crowd sourcing to enrich item content description. Fuzzy logic naturally models human logic, allowing for the nuanced representation of features of objects and thus is utilized to derive such gradual representation as well as for modelling user profiles. Fuzzy user and object representations are leveraged for the design of both content-based as well as collaborative recommender systems. Experimental evaluations establish the effectiveness of the proposed approaches as compared to other baselines. We call this the Fuzzy User-Based Recommendation Approach (FUBRA). Keywords related to a movie indirectly contain information related to the various narrative styles. User profiles are also constructed based on user preferences for such keyword clusters. We call this the Keyword Clustering-Based Recommendation Approach (KCBRA).These profiles are then utilized to perform both Content-Based (CB) filtering as well as Collaborative Filtering (CF). This approach scores over the direct keyword-matching, genre-based user profiling method and the traditional CF methods under sparse data scenarios as established by various experiments. -
The Living Conditions of Zeliangrong Tribe Residing in Tamenglong District
Having awareness and knowledge on the basis of population is imperative and a crucial step in effective planning programme, implementing and delivering services for all areas. The attempt with this research is to shed more light on the conditions that these ethnic groups live in. Negligence and backwardness of the study population are stretched to the extent that even literatures are scarce. The aim of the present study is describe the living conditions of Zeme, Liangmai, and Rongmei of Zeliangrong tribe residing in Tamenglong District in relation to socio economic dimension with an objective to document the demography, objective and subjective living conditions to find association with the living condition in relation to Sub-Tribes. A total of 132 sample households were participated. Descriptive research design is adopted and purposive sampling was selected. Results confirmed that Road and transportation, Health care and Sanitation facilities, Quality education, Supply of electricity and water, Income and Recreation facilities are found to be an utmost necessary intervention among this community. Even a simple analysis of the tribal people and the district clearly shows that they are in great need of attention. It is found that even within same ethnic community, there is a variance in the needs of the people which is reflected in the living condition. Geographical location itself offered a major contributor variable to accessibility. It depicted the lopsided paradigm of development. In a nation which is built on the ideals of the democracy, leaving behind any tribe or community or people is unacceptable in more ways than one. It is only logical to suggest that who brings development should also make development accessible to the people the development is intended for. Accessibility is not a magic wand that could instantly make the problems disappear into thin air. Accessibility to quality services could only make development meaning and would serve its purpose. A decent standard of living adequate nutrition, healthcare, quality education, work and protection are not just developmental goals, they are also human rights. Human rights are essential for full human development (UNDP, Human Development Report, 2000). The present study is an appeal for an action on behalf of this community who has contributed in small or big way for the development of our country to obtain their rightful share of human rights. Key Words: Living Conditions, Tribal, Zeliangrong Tribe -
Rewriting Epic as a Discourse of the Marginalized: A Study of Mahasweta Devis Select Fiction
The present dissertation engages itself with an analytical study of five short stories by Mahasweta Devi, where she has rewritten episodes from the grand narrative The Mahabharata. Her stories The Five Women, Kunti and Nishadin, Souvali, Draupadi and Bhishmas thirst have been chosen for being studied in order to show how Devi counter narrates the grand epic by looking at the religious battle of Kurukshetra and the canonical epic characters from the subaltern perspective and thus creates a discourse of the marginalised. The critical framework of the study is based on a postcolonial and subaltern study of the texts as the principal characters and Devis themes are anti-canonical and anti- hegemonic. Through Devis feminist rewriting of the ancient text the subaltern sections of the society, who have been marginally represented in the canonical text, have been given a chance to speak. A readers understanding of the epic undergoes a change by going through the rewritten stories which is Devis main intention behind rewriting The Mahabharata. Through her writing she challenges the age old notions and long established truths in the epic for which it has been granted an epic stature. Thus she makes an attempt to lend a voice to the voiceless by this narrative technique and fulfils her social commitment as a journalist and activist writer. -
Life Skills Development for Adolescent Girls at Risk with Special Reference to Rescued Devadasi Girls: An Intervention Study
Devadasi means to servant of God. The word is derived from Sanskrit language. It is originated from two words ??deva and ??dasi which mean God and servant respectively. The devadasi is attributed to girls dedicated to a Goddess called Yellama through the marriage to the deity. There are some important psycho social implications of devadasi system. The system of devadasi is a form of slave trade. In this system the young girls are exploited in the name of religious practices. A major disadvantage of this system is that it disintegrates an individual especially an adolescent girl in context of her overall development and social development in particular. Intervention has always been the essence of social work. Life skills education can be given prime importance and adolescent girls especially in situations such as rescued devadasi can be trained to apply life skills to redress their mental health problems. Teaching life skills to adolescents would help them to transform knowledge, skills, attitudes and values into real abilities. The aim of the current study was to assess the level of Life skills among the rescued devadasi adolescent girls and provide life skills training and evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the Programme. The design used was a pre experimental research design without a control group. 25 adolescent girls who are rescued from the devadasi system were part of the study from northern Karnataka. Based on the need assessment carried in the initial phase of the study, an intervention Programme was developed for the participants based on the 10 life skills laid out by the World Health Organization. A standardized Life skills assessment scale developed by Vranda (2009) was used in pre assessment and post assessments. The results indicate that the Programme was effective and displayed statistical significance in rendering the participants with Life skills. The implication of the study reiterates the importance of developing tailor made life skills Programme for vulnerable groups and girls at risk. KEY WORDS: Life skills, rescued devadasi girls -
A study on Healthcare Professionals Attitude towards Euthanasia for the Terminally Ill
The study tries to explore the attitudes that healthcare professionals have towards euthanasia for the terminally ill. In order to understand euthanasia, having knowledge of the term euthanasia and the history of euthanasia is crucial. Previous studies conducted on euthanasia and attitudes towards euthanasia showed that majority of the studies focussed on separate analysis of attitudes of the healthcare professionals. A total of 75 participants were taken for the study, out of that 52% had a positive attitude towards euthanasia whereas 48% had a negative attitude. The study has used Euthanasia Attitude Scale to determine the level of positive or negative attitudes with regard to euthanasia. In conclusion, the study found out that majority of the participants had a favourable attitude towards euthanasia. The stated result did not show to be statistically significant. The author is of the view that with the advancement in times, the society also becomes aware and more accepting to concepts which are socially ostracised. The scope for further studies on a similar topic is wide and encouraged, as there are many more areas that need to be explored and studied. Keywords: Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide, Healthcare Professionals, Attitudes on Euthanasia, Terminally Ill. -
SOURCES OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES AMONG TEACHERS
Occupational Stress in workplace occurs when the job demands that are required by the individual cannot be fulfilled at a given time, which in turn leads to adverse effect on individual. Teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful occupations in many countries. The Purpose of this research was to measure the Sources of Occupational Stress and its Consequences among Private and Government Teachers of Pre- University College of Shillong, Meghalaya. The sample of the study consisted of 60 participants from Shillong city, Meghalaya, where 16 male and 44 female teachers and the participants between the age group of 20-51 years and above who are working in Private and Government institutions were considered for the study. The data was collected using structured, open and close ended questionnaire which was mailed to some participants and personally distributed to 70 participants out of which only 60 participants responded from Private and Government institution using Purposive Sampling. The Objectives of the study were, to study the demographic details of the teachers, to identify the sources of occupational stress, to study the consequences among teachers; to compare government and private teachers in terms of sources of occupational stress and its consequences. The Tools used were demographic details, Teacher Stress Inventory (Fimian & Fastenau, 1990). The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS) 17.0 version. Frequency and Percentage: was used to interpret the demographic characteristics, sources of occupational stress and its consequences. T-test: was used for the comparison between two groups. Pearson's chi-square test was used to discover if relationship exist between two categorical variables. One way ANOVA was used for the comparison between three groups. The results shows that there were no significant differences found between private teachers and government teachers on sources of occupational stress and its consequences. Significant differences were found between male and female teachers on sources of occupational stress and its consequences. Keywords: Occupational Stress, Higher Secondary Teachers, Consequences of Stress -
K Shell X-Ray Intensity Ratios and Vacancy Transfer Probabilities of Iron, Silver and Tellurium from Electron Capture Sources
Over the years X-ray fluorescence studies have gained much importance due to the increasing applications in various fields. Today X-ray spectroscopy contributes significantly to the increasing knowledge in different scientific disciplines such as atomic, nuclear and radiation physics, solid-state and semiconductor research, space research, medicine and biomedical research, forensic science, metallurgy, geophysical research and source exploration, industry, archaeology, art, environment analysis and protection, and so on for elemental analysis. X-rays are generated in a wide variety of ways: Proton induced, ion induced, photon induced and X-ray emission following radioactive decay. There are two types of decay processes that result in K shell X-ray emission; electron capture (EC) process and internal conversion (IC) of gamma transitions. It has been reported that the values of K shell X-ray intensity ratios following electron capture (EC) decay are different from the theoretical values as well as those obtained via photon induced excitations. Eventhough several researchers have made attempts to study the K shell intensity ratios by photon excitation methods employing reflection geometries, there are very few reports on the measurements of K shell X-ray intensity ratios of elements following decay processes. In the present investigation, we have determined the K shell X-ray intensity ratios and total vacancy transfer probabilities of iron, silver and tellurium via electron capture decay of Co57, Cd109 and I125 employing 2??-geometrical configuration method. The obtained results are discussed in the light of the effects of electron capture decay on X-ray emission probabilities comparing with theoretical, semi-empirical and experimental results. This dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction to the subject and ends with specifying the relevance of the present investigation. Chapter 2 deals with the theoretical details followed by the literature review and statement of the problem. In the following chapter, we give a brief description on the experimental procedure and data analysis methods. Chapter 4 includes the results and discussions. In the concluding chapter, a summary of the present investigation and the scope for future work are clearly stated. -
A STUDY ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERCEIVED AUTONOMY SUPPORT AMONG PRE-UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TEACHERS
ABSTRACT Accountability of Teachers referred to as teacher accountability in educational literature is a multi-dimensional concept consisting of teacher participation in school decision making. It further focuses on what is best for the student and the profession of teaching. Self-determination theory postulates that when teachers perceive an autonomy supportive work climate which satisfies their three core psychological needs, (Competence, Autonomy and Relatedness) they experience a feeling of wellness and belongingness to the institution and are energized to exert extra effort in all the activities of the institution they engage in. The present study on Accountability and Perceived Autonomy Support among Pre-university College Teachers undertaken by the investigator focused on the relationship between ??Accountability of Teachers and Perceived Autonomy Support among Pre-university college teachers of Bangalore north and south belonging to three types of management such as government, private aided and private unaided. The aim of this study was to find out whether there is any relationship between Accountability of Teachers and Perceived Autonomy Support. The sample of the study consisted of 392 pre-university college teachers (both male and female) of three types of colleges; namely government, private aided and private unaided. The results of the study show that there is a significant relationship between ??Accountability of Teachers and Perceived Autonomy Support among pre-university college teachers. Further female teachers are more accountable than their male counterparts and Married teachers are found be more accountable than unmarried teachers. It was also found that there is a significant difference in the Competence dimension of ??Perceived Autonomy Support among pre-university college teachers belonging to three types of management and the Private Aided pre-university college teachers have a higher level of Competence (dimension of Perceived Autonomy Support) compared to Private unaided pre-university college teachers. Private Aided Pre-university college teachers have higher level of Relatedness (dimension of Perceived Autonomy Support) as compared to Private unaided College Teachers. These findings give a clear indication to principals and administrators of private unaided pre-university colleges regarding the imperative need to implement appropriate strategies in order to enhance perceived autonomy support of their teachers. Key words: Accountability of Teachers, Perceived Autonomy Support, Pre-university college teachers -
Study of suction and injection combination on the onset of double-diffusive convection in a micropolar fluid
The effect of suction and injection combination (SIC) on the onset of double-diffusive convection in a micropolar fluid is studied us- ing linear stability theory. The eigenvalue is obtained for free-free, rigid-free, rigid-rigid velocity boundary combinations with isother- mal or adiabatic on the spin-vanishing boundaries numerically using Galerkin Technique. The influence of various micropolar fluid param- eters on the onset of convection has been analyzed. It is found that by adjusting SIC it is possible to control the double-diffusive convection in a micropolar fluid. It is also observed that the effect of Prandtl number on the stability of the system is dependent on the SIC being pro-gravity or anti-gravity. -
Design and Fabrication of Differential Thermal Analyser for Thermal Characterization of Materials
Thermal analysis techniques are widely used in both industrial and scientific domains to understand the changes in structural and chemical composition of materials. The structural and chemical composition of most of the materials undergoes changes when heated. Using various thermal analysis techniques such changes are monitored in various atmospheres of interest. Through these analytical experimental techniques the physical properties of the substance can be studied as a function of temperature. These techniques can be used to characterize, qualitatively and quantitatively a huge range of materials over a substantial temperature range. Results from the thermal analysis instruments can be obtained quickly and henceforth it has wide variety of applications. These thermal methods find widespread use for both quality control and research applications on polymers, pharmaceutical preparations, clay, minerals, metals and alloys. Differential thermal analysis is one of the thermal analysis methods, which records the difference in temperature (??T) between a substance and an inert reference material as a function of furnace temperature or time. Any transformation ?? change in specific heat or an enthalpy of transition ?? can be detected by Differential Thermal Analyser (DTA). The automated DTA is available readily from various manufacturers but it is expensive. Therefore researchers usually prefer to design and build their own instruments as per the individual requirements of experiments under various specialized conditions. Furnace, sample holder, controlled heating source, low noise-high gain amplifier and differential recorder are the main units of a differential thermal analyser. In the present work, we have made an attempt to design and fabricate a low cost differential thermal analyser for the thermal analysis of materials.