Special issue: Illuminating occupations at the heart of social problems

As this special issue of the Journal of Occupational Science goes to press, the timing seems particularly pertinent to consider the intersection between how society and the rise of social problems impact upon and are influenced by the occupational lives that people, as individuals and collectives, lead. It seems that in all domains of life - work, school, home, leisure, and others - people are having to navigate the challenges of adapting their current occupations or adapting to new occupations as they seek to maintain the health and well-being of themselves and those around them. It is in times of such uncertainty that the complexity of occupation, as central to social life, becomes more visible to a range of societal actors. Drawing on liberatory pedagogical theory in occupation-based learning, Simaan illuminates a classroom activity using his research on occupations associated with olive growing in Palestine

Organoleptic Study of Deacidified and Deodourised Palm Oil

Deficiency of vitamin A has long been identified as a serious and preventable nutritional disorder, associated with increased risk of mortality and morbidity amongst children. The present study was conducted with the objectives (i) to perform organoleptic testing of food products cooked in Deacidified and Deodourised Palm oil (DDPO), by sensory evaluation method and (ii) to compare the characteristics of these food products with the same products cooled in routinely used oil. Eleven commonly used weaning food items were prepared with routinely used oil (Group a). The same recipes were also prepared with DDPO (Group B). A food testing panel conducted with sensory evaluation for assessing the acceptability of the various food items. It was observed that with respect to all characteristics there was no significant difference in the recipes made with the two types of oil. Results indicated that DDPO can be used in India for preparation of weaning foods which are routinely given to young children

Global weak solutions to a sixth order Cahn--Hilliard type equation

In this paper we study a sixth order Cahn-Hilliard type equation that arises as a model for the faceting of a growing surface. We show global in time existence of weak solutions and uniform in time a priori estimates in the H^3 norm. These bounds enable us to show the uniqueness of weak solutions

Larval rearing and production of spat of the oyster Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston) in an Experimental hatchery

The Indian backwater oyster, Crassostrea madrasensis, was spawned in the laboratory at Tuticorin. The larvae were reared and the spat settled in 15-20 days. Two species of jihytoflagellates, Isochrysis galbana and Pavlova sp. were isolated from the natural environment, cultured in mass scale and given as food throughout the larval period. Early stages of the development of fertilized egg, successive stages of developing larvae, and metamorphosis to the spat have been described. The methodology of the production of cultchless spat and rearing the post-set oysters are discussed

Soliton switching using cascaded nonlinear-optical loop mirrors

We demonstrate multiple-peaked switching in a nonlinear-optical loop mirror and present an experimental investigation of device cascading in the soliton regime based on a sequence of two independent nonlinear-optical loop mirrors. Cascading leads to an enhanced switching response with sharper switching edges, flattened peaks, and increased interpeak extinction ratios. We observe that pulses emerging from the cascade retain the sech2 temporal profile of a soliton with minimal degradation in the spectral characteristics

A plan for molluscan experimental hatchery at Tuticorin, India

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has developed techniques of oyster culture aimed at production for marketing. At present it is a semi culture depending on nature for collection of spat. Reliance on wild spat has to be reduced since it does not guarantee seed supply at all times. A plan has been evolved for hatchery production of oyster seeds. The paper describes the hatchery system being developed at Tuticorin. The layout with green house, sea water filtration, and purification and temperature control systems has been so designed as to achieve tangible resul

Powerful-synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability

This is a collection of evidence-based papers by scholars and practitioners that explore the interconnections between gender equality and sustainable development across a range of sectors and global development issues such as energy, health, education, food security, climate change, human rights, consumption and production patterns, and urbanization. The publication provides evidence from various sectors and regions on how women's equal access and control over resources not only improves the lives of individuals, families and nations, but also helps ensure the sustainability of the environment

Purification of farm grown oysters

The purification of farm grown oysters by scientific methods is essential before they are marketed. Oyster farming is a new venture in India and the technique has recently been perfected by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. The most important task is to perfect the depuration process for which there is no standard method. The present paper gives a satisfactory plan for small scale purification of harvested oysters before they are marketed for safe human consumption