Institutional and policy reforms in water sector in India: review of issues, concepts and trends

The paper looks at the institutional and policy reforms in the context of sources and uses of water. Although the reform measures have been specific about surface water, there still is ambiguity on the groundwater situation in India. The reforms have failed to de-link the conventional linkages between right to land and right to (ground) water. Most policy reforms have been in response to the emerging crisis of water allocation, use and management. The current perspective towards water has been holistic in nature in contrast to the excessive importance to technoengineering approach that characterized the earlier period of water sector. Further, there have been changes acknowledging the rights of farmers, women and end-users as stakeholders in the whole process of water governance. In this regards, the policy changes have proceeded hand in hand with other reforms in decentralized governance, providing greater emphasis on user participation in decision making concerning water governance.Length: pp.665-678Water governanceFarmer participationInstitutional reformWater rightsProperty rightsWater policy

Theorising group work as an assessment tool in Higher Education at foundation level in Mauritius

Contemporary higher education study inherently encompasses the concepts of group work or collaborative learning into their curriculum. This is a practice-oriented paper that presents group project work within modern-day teaching, learning and assessment theoretical frameworks. By using anecdotal evidence to establish multi-cultural, assessed group work as 'troublesome knowledge' and as 'threshold concepts' for many students, this paper serves as a reminder to academic staff of the challenges faced by students as they navigate through this new learning environment. This paper uses the students' voice as a powerful means of observing students' perceptions on small group project work through private blogs, assessed within a diverse learning background. As a reflective practitioner, the researcher tries to challenge the assumptions academic staff make about student's understanding and familiarity with these fundamental notions. This paper is of significance to university staff as they prepare students for summative group work

Vegetative propagation of Karanja (Pongamia pinnata L. Pierre ) through stem cuttings

The present study on vegetative propagation of Karanja ( Pongamia pinnata L.Pierre ) through stem cuttings showed maximum sprouting (100%), rooting (90%), rooting length (28.33 cm), root number (24.66), fresh biomass (63.66 g), dry biomass (34.38 g) in semi hard wood cutting of 25 cm length treated with 1000 ppm IAA, hard wood cutting of 25 cm length treated with 800 ppm IBA, hard wood cuttings of 15 cm length treated with 1000 ppm IAA, hard wood cutting of 25 cm length treated with 2000 ppm IAA, semi hard wood cuttings of 25 cm length treated with 200 ppm IBA, and hard wood cutting of 25 cm length treated with 1000 ppm IAA, respectively. It showed that hard wood cuttings of 25 cm length treated with IBA promotes better sprouting, rooting percent, root number and biomass than IAA. For production of healthy seedlings the semi hard wood cutting of 25 cm length should be treated with 200 ppm IBA

Use of ICT tools (Tablet PC) to promote innovative teaching & learning and to develop students' 21st century skills at O' level: An action research case study in Mauritius

This paper outlines an action research case study in Mauritius to obtain crucial practitioner insights into the implementation of a Tablet PC project in a State Secondary School (National College) with O'level students, to promote innovative teaching & learning and to develop students' 21st century skills. The research was conducted over four weeks in a French literature class of 32 students when Tablet PC's were used to enhance and innovate their engagement with a satirical comedy play. Questionnaires and feedback forms were used to collect data from the students' perspective, in addition to teacher observations. This study investigates the general attitude of students about using information and communication technologies (ICT) tools such as Tablet PC and specialist softwares, as well as the impact on teaching and learning. It found that despite many limitations in the practicalities of using Tablet PC in schools, this ICT tool positively influenced student's learning behaviour, effective teaching & learning, and helped students develop 21st century skills

New Convertible Authenticated Encryption Scheme with Message Linkages

The digital signature provides the signing message with functions like authentication, integration and non-repudiation. However, in some of the applications, the signature has to be verified only by specific recipients of the message and it should be hidden from the public. For achieving this, authenticated encryption systems are used. Authenticated Encryption schemes are highly helpful to send a confidential message over an insecure network path. In order to protect the recipients benefit and for ensuring non-repudiation, we help the receiver to change the signature from encrypted one to an ordinary one. With this we avoid any sort of later disputes. Few years back, Araki et al. has proposed a convertible authenticated scheme for giving a solution to the problem. His scheme enables the recipient to convert the senders signature into an ordinary one. However, the conversion requires the cooperation of the signer. In this thesis, we present a convertible authenticated encryption scheme that can produce the ordinary signature without the cooperation of the signer with a greater ease. Here, we display a validated encryption plan using message linkages used to convey a message. For the collector's advantage, the beneficiary can surely change the encrypted signature into an ordinary signature that which anyone can check. A few attainable assaults shall be examined, and the security investigation will demonstrate that none of the them can effectively break the proposed plan

Effect of organic manures on growth and yield attributes of Soybean (Glycine max L.) under Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) based Agroforestry system

A field trail was carried out at the research farm of the School of Forestry and Environment, SHIATS, Allahabad. The experimental research site is situated at an altitude of 90 m above the sea level at 25.570 N latitude and 81.510 E longitudes. The experiment comprised seven treatments replicated thrice. The maximum germination % (96.67%), plant height (83.73cm), number of branches/ plant (11.93), fresh weight (185.28g), dry weight (45.73g), at 110 days after sowing (DAS), number of pods/plant (91.67), number of seeds/pod (3.93), pod length (6.93 cm),test weight (90.73g), seed yield (23.87q/ha), straw yield (40.73 q/ha) and harvest index (36.94%) recorded in treatment T5. The result showed that the applications of organic manure (50% Farmyard Manure + 50% Vermicompost) maximized the soybean growth and yield under subabul trees. Therefore, it may be concluded that 50% Farmyard Manure + 50% Vermicompost can be recommended for growing soybean under subabul based Agroforestry system for obtaining better growth and yield

Membrane-bound β-catenin degradation is enhanced by ETS2-mediated Siah1 induction in Helicobacter pylori-infected gastric cancer cells.

β-catenin has two different cellular functions: intercellular adhesion and transcriptional activity. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Siah1 causes ubiquitin-mediated degradation of the cytosolic β-catenin and therefore, impairs nuclear translocation and oncogenic function of β-catenin. However, the effect of Siah1 on the cell membrane bound β-catenin has not been studied. In this study, we identified that the carcinogenic bacterium H. pylori increased ETS2 transcription factor-mediated Siah1 protein expression in gastric cancer cells (GCCs) MKN45, AGS and Kato III. Siah1 protein level was also noticeably higher in gastric adenocarcinoma biopsy samples as compared to non-cancerous gastric epithelia. Siah1 knockdown significantly decreased invasiveness and migration of H. pylori-infected GCCs. Although, Siah1 could not increase degradation of the cytosolic β-catenin and its nuclear translocation, it enhanced degradation of the membrane-bound β-catenin in the infected GCCs. This loss of membrane-bound pool of β-catenin was not associated with the proteasomal degradation of E-cadherin. Thus, this work delineated the role of Siah1 in increasing invasiveness of H. pylori-infected GCCs