From skills to work and aspirations: An examination of Barefoot College and Prime Minister’s Skill Development Programmes in India

Skill development has been recognised as being crucial for economic and human development. However, having gained greater mobility in the recent past, there is an overall paucity of research, particularly in the global south. Moreover, the need for empirical research is more prominent in the case of India since it is committed to an ambitious national skill plan, including becoming the global skills capital. The Government of India (GoI) envisions to skill at least 300 million people by 2022 to harness the demographic dividend and bridge the current skills deficit. The skill policy aims to make skills training aspirational for all and promote lifelong learning. However, it is argued that the extant policy and practice is too narrow and technicist in approach. Moving beyond the predominant productivist paradigm, this thesis aims to examine the value of skills training for participants from the lens of human development. It locates skills development in the context of enabling people to fulfil their aspirations and achieve their capabilities. It does so by examining the case of Barefoot College (BFC), a renowned NGO that primarily trains women in the solar energy sector and Prime Minister’s Skill Development Programme (PMKVY), a flagship programme of GoI that aims to train youth across key industry sectors. The examination consisted of extensive data collection across four districts in the states of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. It included administering an innovative three-part questionnaire on a large sample of BFC and PMKVY trainees. Drawing upon the Capability Approach, an integrated Skills to Capabilities (S2C) framework is conceptualised. A detailed examination is undertaken to understand why people value skills training and what attributes of the programme are particularly valued. Further unpacking people’s aspirations for work specifically and life more generally, a view of their capabilities is derived. Next, the impact of the external environment, including the particular issue of gender inequality on people’s ability to pursue skills training and fulfil their goals is examined. Finally, people’s responses during training are compared with their actual position after training to ascertain the extent of achievements and thus determine the actual value of the training. Through this process, the concepts and causality in the S2C linkage are established. The thesis thus provides empirical evidence on the potential of skills training to co-create more equitable futures by nurturing people’s aspirations and expanding their freedom to achieve. It argues for a meaningfully inclusive conceptualisation of skills development, one that makes it truly aspirational for all. It provides an expanded view of the skills discourse, one that is not individualistic and considers lifelong processes and wider questions of preparation for the good life. It also shows the significance of introducing specific reforms in the skills development ecosystem, including improving training delivery and promoting a nurturing training environment

Mango malformation: A fungal disease, physiological disorder or malady of stress

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the important commercial crops occupying a prominent place among various fruit crops. Mango malformation is a crucial malady in mango production leading to heavy economic loss. Malformation occurs in vegetative as well as floral tissue, later being virulent leading to loss of entire crop. Fusarium moniliforme is suggested as dominant causal agent of the disease although association of ‘stress ethylene’ with disease occurrence has also been studied. Fungal pathogens responsible for the malady are known to elevate the level of ‘stress ethylene’ in malformed plants. Various reports have been put forward to explain the etiology and control measures of the disease but nature and management of the disease is still a mystery. Hence, the present review aims at offering information regarding aspects of development and management of mango malformation

Effect of chlorpyrifos on survival, growth and reproductive performance of Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg)

The present laboratory study was conducted to determine the effect of chlorpyrifos on growth and reproduction of the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae. Chlorpyrifos was mixed with soil substrate at four different dose formulations i.e. D1 (2.5ml/1000ml); D2 (5.0ml/1000ml); D3 (7.5ml/1000ml); D4 (10.0ml/1000ml). Soil substrate withoutchlorpyrifos served as control. Growth and survival rates were determined till four weeks and effects on reproduction are assessed after eight weeks of exposure. A non significant decrease (p > 0.05) was observed in body weight of earthworms which was recorded on day 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 and 14. A dose dependent effect on cocoon production and survivability of hatchlings was observed in all treated groups. The effect of chlorpyrifos on life cycle of earthworm was more in dose D3 (54.25 days) when compared to control (28.75 days) while no worm survived in D4 dose. The present study revealed that chlorpyrifos at high dose levels(7.5ml/1000ml and 10.0ml/1000ml) affect the reproduction and growth of earthworms, primary bioindicators of soil fauna, whereas the base dose (5.0ml/1000ml) may be considered as safe for soil applications

Texture mapping using tiled textures

This thesis work presents a simple and practical technique for seamlessly texturing quadrilateral meshes. Using this technique, an isotropic homogeneous texture can be mapped to any quadrilateral mesh without any discontinuity or singularity in the resultant texturing. The method involves organizing a set of square texture tiles that satisfy specific boundary conditions into one texture image file which is called a tiled texture. Based on the tiled textures, we have developed an extremely simple texture mapping algorithm that randomly assigns one tile to every patch in any given quadrilateral mesh. The mapping technique developed yields singularity free textures, regardless of the singularities existing in the quadrilateral mesh, gives seamless and continuous boundaries across textures and provides an aperiodic and interesting look to the entire textured surface

A Survey of Smart Classroom Literature

Recently, there has been a substantial amount of research on smart classrooms, encompassing a number of areas, including Information and Communication Technology, Machine Learning, Sensor Networks, Cloud Computing, and Hardware. Smart classroom research has been quickly implemented to enhance education systems, resulting in higher engagement and empowerment of students, educators, and administrators. Despite decades of using emerging technology to improve teaching practices, critics often point out that methods miss adequate theoretical and technical foundations. As a result, there have been a number of conflicting reviews on different perspectives of smart classrooms. For a realistic smart classroom approach, a piecemeal implementation is insufficient. This survey contributes to the current literature by presenting a comprehensive analysis of various disciplines using a standard terminology and taxonomy. This multi-field study reveals new research possibilities and problems that must be tackled in order to integrate interdisciplinary works in a synergic manner. Our analysis shows that smart classroom is a rapidly developing research area that complements a number of emerging technologies. Moreover, this paper also describes the co-occurrence network of technological keywords using VOSviewer for an in-depth analysis

Physiological studies of whey protein in older people, with a focus on feeding behaviour, nutrition, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and post-prandial blood pressure

Australia’s population is ageing. Health problems are more prevalent in elderly than younger people, and lead to much of the health expenditure and health resource allocation in this and other countries. Nutritional problems are common in the elderly and often contribute to the development and worsening of health problems in older people. A particular problem is the interacting effects of under-nutrition, reduced dietary protein intake, anabolic resistance to dietary protein (the need for greater intakes to produce the same benefits, particular on muscle mass and function) and consequent muscle loss, reduced function, and in some cases the development of sarcopaenia. Both type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are prevalent in older people – and often coexist. Dietary measures are key to the management of both conditions, in older as in younger adults. Protein supplements either alone or in combination with other macronutrients are increasingly recommended to, and used by, older people, to prevent and/or manage these problems. Whey protein is often used alone or as part of these supplements, as it is has particularly beneficial effects on muscle anabolism. There remain gaps in our knowledge of the effects of whey protein ingestion in older people. This thesis comprises clinical studies designed to fill some of those gaps. The studies in this thesis from five clinical trials involved assessing responses to oral whey protein ingestion particularly whey protein concentrate on feeding behaviour, nutrition, obesity, T2D and blood pressure (BP) in older and younger people with a focus on older people. Dietary protein supplementation may play a role in the management of these conditions. The principal outcomes assessed were appetite; food intake; gut hormone release; gastric emptying rate; circulating glucose, glucagon and insulin concentrations; BP and heart rate (HR). Chapter 1: Introduction focusses on rising burden of ageing in Australia and other developed countries; nutritional problems and adverse body composition changes associated with ageing i.e. undernutrition and sarcopaenia; nutritional management of under-nutrition and sarcopaenia with a focus on the effects of whey protein; rising rates of obesity, T2D and BP effects in older people and whey protein as a management strategy; gastric emptying and its effects in older people. Chapter 2 is a review of the current literature relating to the use of protein supplements in the elderly, dietary protein requirements in older people, and the effects of ageing on the gastrointestinal responses to protein ingestion. Chapter 3 describes the effect of differing whey protein loads (control, 30 g whey protein and 70 g whey protein) before breakfast on appetite and food intake at subsequent breakfast, lunch and dinner in healthy younger and older men. Energy intake was suppressed by whey protein drinks in a protein load-responsive fashion at breakfast and particularly, at lunch, but not at dinner, and suppression of energy intake by protein was less in healthy older than younger men. Cumulative protein intake was increased in a protein load responsive fashion. These findings support the use of whey-protein drink supplements in healthy older patients who aim to increase their protein intake without decreasing their overall energy intake (ACTRN12618000881235). Chapter 4 describes the effect of whey protein load on energy intake, appetite and gastric emptying in young and older, obese men. The 30 g whey protein drink did not suppress appetite or energy intake in obese younger or older men suggesting that obesity may blunt/abolish the age-related effect of whey protein on suppression of energy intake (ANZCTR12616001216404). Chapter 5 describes the effects of co-ingesting whey protein and glucose alone and combined (a drink containing either 30 g glucose, 30 g whey protein, 30 g whey-protein plus 30 g glucose or control) on blood glucose, plasma insulin and glucagon concentrations in healthy younger and older men. The addition of 30 g of whey protein to 30 g of glucose in drink form substantially attenuated the increase in blood glucose concentrations induced by glucose alone; the magnitude of the whey-induced reduction in blood glucose was not affected by age, with comparable reductions in older to those in younger adult men; the stimulation of plasma insulin concentrations by whey protein was not reduced by ageing, unlike the insulin response to glucose; whey protein suppressed hunger less in older than younger men. Glucagon concentrations were unaffected by age. These results demonstrate that the ability of whey-protein to reduce carbohydrate-induced postprandial hyperglycaemia is retained in older men and that protein supplementation may be a useful strategy in the prevention and management of T2D in older people (ACTRN12619000420145). Chapter 6 describes the effects of co-ingesting whey protein and glucose alone and combined (a drink containing either 30 g glucose, 30 g whey protein, 30 g whey-protein plus 30 g glucose or control) on blood glucose, plasma insulin and glucagon concentrations in older men with (not on injectable treatment) and without T2D. The addition of 30 g of whey protein to 30 g of glucose in drink form substantially attenuated the increase in blood glucose concentrations induced by glucose alone; the magnitude of the whey-induced reduction in blood glucose was not affected by the presence of T2D and the stimulation of plasma insulin concentrations by whey protein. The ability of whey-protein to reduce carbohydrate-induced postprandial hyperglycaemia is retained in men with T2D (ACTRN12619000420145). Chapter 7 describes the effects of age on BP and heart rate responses to whey protein in healthy younger and older men after oral ingestion of 0 g and 70 g whey protein. The older men exhibited a greater fall in SBP after whey-protein versus control than the younger men, with no BP change after the two drinks in younger men. The nadir in SBP occurred later in the older than younger men with SBP still apparently declining 180 min after whey-protein ingestion in the older men. The magnitude of the rise in HR was greater in the younger men indicating that following ingestion of 70 g whey protein, healthy older men exhibited a sustained fall in BP, despite an increase in HR, whereas in younger men there was no change in BP. BP may need to be monitored after high protein meals in older people at risk of postprandial hypotension (ACTRN12612000941864 and ACTRN12614000846628). Chapter 8 describes the BP and heart rate responses to oral protein intake in healthy older men after ingestion of 30 g and 70 g of whey protein. The older men exhibited a decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) after ingestion of 30 g and 70 g of whey protein to a similar degree after both the drinks and greatest between 120 and 180 mins after ingestion. HR was increased maximally after 70 g particularly in the third hour (hr) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decreased non significantly after protein drinks. Even modest protein loads in older men can result in postprandial hypotension (PPH) and care must be taken (ACTRN12612000941864). Chapter 9 describes the acute effects of whey protein, alone and mixed with other macronutrients in varying amounts such as 70 g whey-protein (P280); (ii) 14 g whey-protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 12.4 g fat (M280); (iii) 70 g whey-protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 12.4 g fat (M504); or (iv) a non-caloric control drink (C) on BP and heart rate in healthy older men. SBP decreased after all three nutrient drinks with the greatest reduction after the M504. Maximal decreases in SBP occurred about 2 hr after drink ingestion and were sustained thereafter. Maximum DBP decreases and HR increases occurred after M504, with no differences between the effects of the P280 and M280 drinks, thereby demonstrating that the effects of whey-protein containing drinks to lower BP and increase HR appear to be primarily dependent on their energy content rather than macronutrient composition and may persist for at least 3 hr after ingestion. Pure whey-protein drinks may represent the best approach to maximize protein intake without increasing the potential for deleterious BP falls in older people (ACTRN12614000846628).Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, 202

Going Back to the Roots: a Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis of Women Entrepreneurship

We used bibliometric methods to examine studies related to women entrepreneurship. Specifically, we focused on understanding the recent trends, the most influential publications and journals, topics on which women entrepreneurship studies are conducted, and deciphering the future direction of women entrepreneurship studies. We used the Scopus database to extract 1,554 documents published from 1982 to 2022 and analyzed the scientific publications per year, the most cited articles, sources of publications, keyword co‐occurrence, thematic structure (topic modeling), and bibliographic coupling. We found that the scientific publications related to women entrepreneurship are increasing significantly each year, and the most consistent keyword is “gender.” Citation analysis identified Ahl (2006) as the most cited article, which demonstrates Ahl’s notable influence, as well as the success of the gender turn influenced by feminist theory. Co‐word analysis found seven clusters showing the thematic structure of women entrepreneurship research. Bibliographic coupling analysis found four clusters, encompassing various aspects associated with women entrepreneurship. The clusters are “Role of gender in an entrepreneur’s performance,” “Challenges and upcoming issues faced by women entrepreneurs,” “Impact of geographic location on women entrepreneurship,” and “Financial struggles of women entrepreneurs.” Topic modeling using the latent Dirchlet allocation algorithm (LDA) identified seven areas of interest in the women entrepreneurship literature. We conclude with implications and suggestions for future research