Death of an Industry: Cultural Politics of Garment Manufacturing During the Maoist Revolution in Nepal

Dr Mallika Shakya’s scholarly contributions on industrial development dynamics in Nepal, the focus of her work being Nepal’s apparel sector (which evolved in early-1980s with the introduction of the Multifibre Agreement or the MFA), are well-known to most Nepal as well as South Asia scholars. Shakya has a longstanding and commendable engagement with not just Nepal’s apparel sector—and the institutional dynamics that govern it—but also with Nepal’s broader political economy of development. Several dimensions in Shakya’s scholarship are not only noteworthy and important but also exceptional, in part, due to the methodological approaches and interdisciplinarity that enables, inter alia, credible grounding into the context. Built on political economy frameworks—inspiration being disciplines such as anthropology and economic sociology—and principal empirical strategy being ethnography-based grounded case-studies, the publication under review here unpacks the interface of domestic and transnational politics with practices of, not only, firms but important spatio-institutional structures (relevant to industrialization) such as labour unions, bureaucracy, business associations, political parties and global retailers downstream in the apparel production network. At the risk of oversimplification, the publication analyzes how Nepal’s apparel sector evolved with the MFA and how politics within and beyond borders impacted its development and performance. The rich empirical and archival insights presented across seven chapters are a major departure from the narrow and abstract formulations coming from much of the existing industrialization literature on Nepal, produced predominantly by IFI-affiliated or commissioned (IFI or International Financial Institutions) economists. For instance, the existing industrialization literature— looking at production dynamics from, for instance, the production function lens—informs little on the production dynamics such as its governance, organization and networks. Moreover, the existing formulations pay no attention to important elements in production such as production capabilities and that such capabilities are learnt and acquired via credible policy tools. Unsurprisingly, mainstream economics has been critiqued to not have credible analytical tools to assess important aspects of production and industrialization dynamics. Other gaps in the existing apparel sector analysis on Nepal—owing significantly to deployment of narrow analytical frames—pertain to the emphasis on supply-side constraints (that hinder progress in industrialization) and somewhat problematic empirics including in analyzing apparel sector performance. On the empirical analysis front, an important limitation that the book addresses is supplementing the rather unreliable and limited published data on Nepal’s apparel sector—an issue valid for much of the Global South—with extensive ethnographic fieldwork; spaces being firms, labour unions and business associations. In this backdrop and given the methodological approaches and interdisciplinarity, the book has significantly greater explanatory power in unpacking the industrial development dynamics; more so, in the case of backward developing countries

Book-review India's Long Road: The Search for Prosperity

What policies and policy reforms can put India on the path of rapid and sustained economic growth and hence prosperity (defined in this work as average incomes close to Portugal’s and where national income is widely shared to ensure reasonable living standards for the poorest)? The analytical lenses coming from neoclassical economics—predictable given Dr Joshi’s training and subsequent affiliations—the book delves into, not only the probable explanations underlying India’s suboptimal economic growth and development performance, but also outlines the required policy initiatives to improve economic and social development outcomes. Several reforms suggested, such as in public health, are indeed critically impending ones (Chapter 9)

Death of an Industry: Cultural Politics of Garment Manufacturing During the Maoist Revolution in Nepal

Dr Mallika Shakya’s scholarly contributions on industrial development dynamics in Nepal, the focus of her work being Nepal’s apparel sector (which evolved in early-1980s with the introduction of the Multifibre Agreement or the MFA), are well-known to most Nepal as well as South Asia scholars. Shakya has a longstanding and commendable engagement with not just Nepal’s apparel sector—and the institutional dynamics that govern it—but also with Nepal’s broader political economy of development. Several dimensions in Shakya’s scholarship are not only noteworthy and important but also exceptional, in part, due to the methodological approaches and interdisciplinarity that enables, inter alia, credible grounding into the context. Built on political economy frameworks—inspiration being disciplines such as anthropology and economic sociology—and principal empirical strategy being ethnography-based grounded case-studies, the publication under review here unpacks the interface of domestic and transnational politics with practices of, not only, firms but important spatio-institutional structures (relevant to industrialization) such as labour unions, bureaucracy, business associations, political parties and global retailers downstream in the apparel production network. At the risk of oversimplification, the publication analyzes how Nepal’s apparel sector evolved with the MFA and how politics within and beyond borders impacted its development and performance. The rich empirical and archival insights presented across seven chapters are a major departure from the narrow and abstract formulations coming from much of the existing industrialization literature on Nepal, produced predominantly by IFI-affiliated or commissioned (IFI or International Financial Institutions) economists. For instance, the existing industrialization literature— looking at production dynamics from, for instance, the production function lens—informs little on the production dynamics such as its governance, organization and networks. Moreover, the existing formulations pay no attention to important elements in production such as production capabilities and that such capabilities are learnt and acquired via credible policy tools. Unsurprisingly, mainstream economics has been critiqued to not have credible analytical tools to assess important aspects of production and industrialization dynamics. Other gaps in the existing apparel sector analysis on Nepal—owing significantly to deployment of narrow analytical frames—pertain to the emphasis on supply-side constraints (that hinder progress in industrialization) and somewhat problematic empirics including in analyzing apparel sector performance. On the empirical analysis front, an important limitation that the book addresses is supplementing the rather unreliable and limited published data on Nepal’s apparel sector—an issue valid for much of the Global South—with extensive ethnographic fieldwork; spaces being firms, labour unions and business associations. In this backdrop and given the methodological approaches and interdisciplinarity, the book has significantly greater explanatory power in unpacking the industrial development dynamics; more so, in the case of backward developing countries

Book-review India's Long Road: The Search for Prosperity

What policies and policy reforms can put India on the path of rapid and sustained economic growth and hence prosperity (defined in this work as average incomes close to Portugal’s and where national income is widely shared to ensure reasonable living standards for the poorest)? The analytical lenses coming from neoclassical economics—predictable given Dr Joshi’s training and subsequent affiliations—the book delves into, not only the probable explanations underlying India’s suboptimal economic growth and development performance, but also outlines the required policy initiatives to improve economic and social development outcomes. Several reforms suggested, such as in public health, are indeed critically impending ones (Chapter 9)

Isolation of Cellulose-Degrading Bacteria and Determination of Their Cellulolytic Potential

Eight isolates of cellulose-degrading bacteria (CDB) were isolated from four different invertebrates (termite, snail, caterpillar, and bookworm) by enriching the basal culture medium with filter paper as substrate for cellulose degradation. To indicate the cellulase activity of the organisms, diameter of clear zone around the colony and hydrolytic value on cellulose Congo Red agar media were measured. CDB 8 and CDB 10 exhibited the maximum zone of clearance around the colony with diameter of 45 and 50 mm and with the hydrolytic value of 9 and 9.8, respectively. The enzyme assays for two enzymes, filter paper cellulase (FPC), and cellulase (endoglucanase), were examined by methods recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The extracellular cellulase activities ranged from 0.012 to 0.196 IU/mL for FPC and 0.162 to 0.400 IU/mL for endoglucanase assay. All the cultures were also further tested for their capacity to degrade filter paper by gravimetric method. The maximum filter paper degradation percentage was estimated to be 65.7 for CDB 8. Selected bacterial isolates CDB 2, 7, 8, and 10 were co-cultured with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Ethanol production was positively tested after five days of incubation with acidified potassium dichromate

Investigation of a holistic human-computer interaction (HCI) framework to support the design of extended reality (XR) based training simulators

In recent years, the use of Extended Reality (XR) based simulators for training has increased rapidly. In this context, there is a need to explore novel HCI-based approaches to design more effective 3D training environments. A major impediment in this research area is the lack of an HCI-based framework that is holistic and serves as a foundation to integrate the design and assessment of HCI-based attributes such as affordance, cognitive load, and user-friendliness. This research addresses this need by investigating the creation of a holistic framework along with a process for designing, building, and assessing training simulators using such a framework as a foundation. The core elements of the proposed framework include the adoption of participatory design principles, the creation of information-intensive process models of target processes (relevant to the training activities), and design attributes related to affordance and cognitive load. A new attribute related to affordance of 3D scenes is proposed (termed dynamic affordance) and its role in impacting user comprehension in data-rich 3D training environments is studied. The framework is presented for the domain of orthopedic surgery. Rigorous user-involved assessment of the framework and simulation approach has highlighted the positive impact of the HCI-based framework and attributes on the acquisition of skills and knowledge by healthcare users

‘Economics’ of prosperity: Why the dominant perspectives may be unhelpful to make sense of underdevelopment

The article is essentially a book-review of Professor Vijay Joshi's recent work, '"India's Long Road: The Search for Prosperity". In this critical essay, I take a slightly revisionist approach when it comes to a 'typical'book review. For example, the length of this article goes well-beyond the standard convention. The ‘deviation’ from rules, however, has specific objectives. I have critically analyzed Dr. Joshi’s work and in so doing include relevant evidences, debates and questions not just from economics but also from other disciplines such as history and political science

Experimental investigations of a single cylinder genset engine with common rail fuel injection system

Performance and emissions characteristics of compression ignition (CI) engines are strongly dependent on quality of fuel injection. In an attempt to improve engine combustion, engine performance and reduce the exhaust emissions from a single cylinder constant speed genset engine, a common rail direct injection (CRDI) fuel injection system was deployed and its injection timings were optimized. Results showed that 34°CA BTDC start of injection (SOI) timings result in lowest brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and smoke opacity. Advanced injection timings showed higher cylinder peak pressure, pressure rise rate, and heat release rate due to relatively longer ignition delay experienced

‘Economics’ of prosperity: Why the dominant perspectives may be unhelpful to make sense of underdevelopment

The article is essentially a book-review of Professor Vijay Joshi's recent work, '"India's Long Road: The Search for Prosperity". In this critical essay, I take a slightly revisionist approach when it comes to a 'typical'book review. For example, the length of this article goes well-beyond the standard convention. The ‘deviation’ from rules, however, has specific objectives. I have critically analyzed Dr. Joshi’s work and in so doing include relevant evidences, debates and questions not just from economics but also from other disciplines such as history and political science