Health Care and Women's Empowerment: The role of Self Help Groups

Over the last couple of decades the concept of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and its potential as an effective tool to alleviate poverty and empower women has garnered considerable interest worldwide. Considering the importance given by policy makers across various nations to the group approach while conceptualizing, formulating and implementing any scheme or programme for the welfare of marginalized and underprivileged sections of the society (especially women), we identified the need to critically examine and explore the role of SHGs in the empowerment of women with a special emphasis on health status. To date, the functioning of SHGs has essentially been viewed only from an economic perspective. The existing approach puts encourages the economic development of women, with SHGs a mechanism to achieving this. However, how these economic benefits are being translated into the change in women’s status, particularly their health status, remains unexplored and ultimately unaddressed. This working research paper attempts to review the scope and limitations of SHGs in improving women’s health and empowerment based upon empirical work undertaken in the Jharkhand state of India. Our paper also explores the extent to which SHGs can be involved in attaining better health status for women, and thereby point the way for further research. 

In re Harrods Ltd.: The Brussels Convention and the Proper Application of Forum Non Conveniens to Non-Contracting States

Although the doctrine of forum non conveniens is unknown in Continental legal systems, Community law does not prevent English courts from preserving their discretion to stay proceedings, in conflicts involving a defendant domiciliary, in favor of more appropriate courts in a non-Contracting State. Where the provisions of the Brussels Convention do not address a legal question, the answer must be sought in the objectives and scheme of the Convention. The English Court of Appeals in Harrods properly understood that Community law does not require ritualistic reliance on the Convention\u27s jurisdiction conferring provisions in cases involving a defendant domiciled in a Contracting State and the jurisdiction of a court in a non-Contracting State

Research Notes: Induced floral abnonnality in soybean

One of the M3 progenies of Type-49 soybean irradiated with 15 kr gamma rays showed segregation for plants with abnormal flowers. The progeny consisted of 30 normal plants and 8 mutant plants, indicating a monogenic inheritance. The mutant plants set only a few pods and appeared almost sterile at maturity

Research notes: Additional sterile and male sterile mutants in soybean

In the M2 populations of different soybean varieties irradiated with gamma rays, a total of seven lines showed segregation for sterility at maturity. The detailed genetic and cytogenetic studies of these lines were conducted in M3 and M4 populations derived from fertile segregates of the M2 progenies. Four of these were found to be both male and female sterile, whereas, three of these showed female fertility but male sterility as indicated below (Table 1)

Optical Spectroscopy of Type Ia Supernovae

We present 432 low-dispersion optical spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that also have well-calibrated light curves. The coverage ranges from 6 epochs to 36 epochs of spectroscopy. Most of the data were obtained with the 1.5m Tillinghast telescope at the F. L. Whipple Observatory with typical wavelength coverage of 3700-7400A and a resolution of ~7A. The earliest spectra are thirteen days before B-band maximum; two-thirds of the SNe were observed before maximum brightness. Coverage for some SNe continues almost to the nebular phase. The consistency of the method of observation and the technique of reduction makes this an ideal data set for studying the spectroscopic diversity of SNe Ia.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, 109 pages (including data table), 44 figures, full resolution figures at http://www.noao.edu/noao/staff/matheson/Iaspec.ps.g

Spectroscopic and thermal properties of GeS2-based chalcohalide glasses

The low phonon energy of germanium sulphide glasses makes them ideal candidates as hosts for 1.3µm fibre amplifier applications. However, the GeS2 glass host suffers from a major drawback of poor rare-earth ion solubility. In an efficient device, the solubility of Pr ions has to be enhanced, without adversely affecting either the thermal or the spectroscopic properties of the glass. In the present investigation, we report the synthesis and optical properties of modified GeS2-based chalcohalide glasses with excellent thermal characteristics suitable for drawing low-loss optical fibres