What Gender Does: Decertification of Legal Gender in India

This article explores the implications of decertification of legal gender in the Indian context, with a particular focus on the religious sphere. It explores the discourse on gender as it currently exists in India and suggests that imagining a future with no legal gender is a fruitful exercise. The article looks at the conception of gender as property to explore how recognition is granted to such property. It argues that the absolute withdrawal of the State from the sphere of gender may lead to persons being forced to conform to social conceptions of gender. Therefore, it differentiates between the idea of decertification and gender blindness of the State. Additionally, it argues for an approach to the idea of property that does not isolate it but recognises the ideas of interdependency, relational autonomy and non-domination.  The effect of decertification on religious institutions in India is firstly understood based on the extent of State control over religion and religious institutions. The article observes that in the Indian context the relationship between the State and religion is to some extent unclear. However, the decertification exercise will make the gendered construction of religious laws difficult to maintain, especially the codified religious laws

Systems Metabolic Engineering of Microbial Cell Factories for the Synthesis of Value-added Chemicals

Microbial cell factories offer us an excellent opportunity for the conversion of many different cheaply available raw materials into valuable chemicals. Systems metabolic engineering aims at developing rational strategies for the engineering of microbial hosts by providing global level information of a cell. This dissertation focuses on metabolic engineering, bioprocess modeling and pathway analysis, to develop robust microbial cell factories for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. The following research tasks were completed in this regard. First, statistical models were developed for the prediction of product yields in engineered microbial cell factories - Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli: Chapter 2). A large space of experimental data for chemical production from recent references was collected and a statistics-based model was developed to calculate production yield. The input variables: numerical or categorical variables) for the model represented the number of enzymatic steps in the biosynthetic pathway of interest, metabolic modifications, cultivation modes, nutrition and oxygen availability. In addition, the use of 13C-isotopomer analysis method was proposed for the accurate determination of product yields in engineered microbes under complex cultivation conditions: Chapter 3). Second, metabolic engineering of the cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was performed for synthesizing isobutanol under phototrophic conditions: Chapter 4). With the expression of the heterologous genes from the Ehrlich Pathway, by incorporating an in situ isobutanol harvesting system, and also by employing mixotrophic conditions, the engineered Synechocystis 6803 strain accumulated a maximum of ~300 mg/L of isobutanol in a 21 day culture. In addition, Synechocystis 6803 was engineered for the synthesis of D-lactic acid: Chapter 5), via overexpression of a novel D-lactate dehydrogenase: encoded by gldA101). The production of D-lactate was further improved by employing three strategies:: i) cofactor balancing,: ii) codon optimization, and: iii) process optimization. The engineered Synechocystis 6803 produced 2.2 g/L D-lactate under photoautotrophic conditions with acetate, the highest reported lactate titer among all known cyanobacterial strains. Finally, an E. coli cell factory was engineered to study the fermentation kinetics for scaled-up isobutanol production: Chapter 6). Through kinetic modeling: to describe the dynamics of biomass, products and glucose concentration) and isotopomer analysis, we have also offered metabolic insights into the performance trade-off between two engineered isobutanol producing E. coli strains: a high performance and a low performance strain). The kinetic model can also predict isobutanol production under different fermentation conditions. I and my colleagues have also demonstrated that E. coli cell factory can also be used for converting waste acetate into free fatty acids through metabolic engineering. In conclusion, the opportunities and commercial limitations with current biotechnology as well as the role of systems metabolic engineering for the development of high performance microbial cell factories were discussed: Chapter 7)

Degradation and Characterization of Bio-Waste Reinforced Polymer Composite

In this study the degradation and mechanical characteristics of the bio-waste composites will be studied. The bio-waste composite used in this instance is the watermelon rind (WR) with polypropylene (PP). The WR is first collected and washed to fabricate the composite. After that, it is dried in a drying oven under the temperature of 60˚C for 18 hours to remove all moisture. The dried WR are then grinded in a mortar grinder to turn it into a fine powder. The composite is then put through an extruder where it is blended well and composites of10% and 20% of WR as filler in PP (10WR/90PP and 20WR/80PP) are produced. The composite will be subjected to immersion into two different solutions namely tap water and seawater. The percentage of moisture absorbed at time intervals of 24 hours for a total time of 168 hours is recorded. The increase in weight percentage of WR powder from 10% to 20% used correlates to a more exponential increase in the amount of moisture absorbed over a period of 24 hours. The composite immersed in the seawater absorbs more moisture than the same composite immersed in the tap water up to the 48 hours mark

Locating the past in its silence: history and marketing theory in India

The paper aims to argue, while examining the history of marketing theory in India, that the discipline is a historical, serves large business interests and is shaped by hegemonic Western knowledge

Underdeveloped other in country-of-origin theory and practices

Consumers and marketers employ extant sociocultural discourses to give meaning to the products they consume or sell. In this paper, we present data and analyses that illustrate the manner by which American consumers and marketers draw upon one such sociocultural discourse, development, in the context of “craft” objects. Beyond the focus on discourse, however, our intent is to apply a post-development perspective to the Otherness inherent in country-of-origin (COO) theory and practices. We critique the COO framework and see it as a ramification of, and further creator of, economic difference and hierarchy

Privileging Localism and Visualizing Nationhood in Anti-Consumption

The main aim of this research is to understand the genesis and nature of an anti-consumption movement in India and its emphasis on nationalism through localism. This research adopted a case study design, including in-depth interviews and discursive analysis. Through a historical analysis this research shows the influence of anarchist political philosophy in a contemporary anti-consumption movement. It demonstrates that anti-consumption is inflected with discourses of freedom, anti-authoritarianism, and anti-statism, which are central to the anarchist conception of localism. This research shows that anti-consumption movements in India use consumption objects to privilege local over both national and international. This helps to expand the framework of product-place-images and country-of-origin effects by showing how nationalism can become anti-nationalist in an anti-consumption discourse. It further helps to differentiate anti-consumption from consumer resistance as a deeper systemic challenge to consumerist lifestyle and consumer culture

The line transect method for estimating densities of large mammals in a tropical deciduous forest: An evaluation of models and field experiments

We have evaluated techniques of estimating animal density through direct counts using line transects during 1988-92 in the tropical deciduous forests of Mudumalui Sanctuary in southern India for four species of large herbivorous mammals, namely, chital (Axis axis). sambar (Cervus unicolor). Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and gaur (Bos gaurus) Density estimates derived from the Fourier Series and the Half-Normal models consistently had the lowest coefficient of variation. These two models also generated similar mean density estimates. For the Fourier Series estimator, appropriate cut-off widths for analyzing line transect data for the four species are suggested. Grouping data into various distance classes did not produce any appreciable differences in estimates of mean density or their variances, although model fit is generally better when data arc placed in fewer groups. The sampling effort needed to achieve a desired precision (coefficient of variation) in the density estimate is derived. A sampling effort of 800 km of transects returned a 10% coefficient of variation on estimate for ehital; for the other species a higher effort was needed to achieve this level of precision. There was no statistically significant relationship between detectability of a group and the size of the group for any species. Density estimates along roads were generally significantly different from those in the interior of the forest, indicating that road-side counts many not be appropriate for most species