ABOLITION OR REFORMATION: OPINION AND SUGGESTION OF EDUCATED URBAN RESERVED AND UNRESERVED CATEGORIES CITIZENS ON INDIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL CASTE BASED ‘RESERVATION’ SYSTEM

In 1950 special reservation for ‘socially and economically backward classes’ was prescribed in Indian Constitution as Affirmative Action for next ten years. As per the constitution the Schedule Castes (SCs), Schedule Tribes (STs) and later Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were classified as the chosen recipients of all these social benefits and they have been receiving special conservation in public services and public educational institutes since 1950. The present study was conducted on 80 male and 80 female participants of both reserved and unreserved categories from four metro cities - Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Most of these participants have completed their Master Degrees or above and rest have their Bachelor Degrees and age of these participants was between 21 years to 65 years. Study revealed all the participants of the reserved categories have enjoyed constitutional caste based reservation benefits and have experienced some form of social discrimination in their lives. Most of the respondents believe they are the deserving candidates for such kind of social welfare irrespective of their socio-economical situation, because it’s their constitutional right. However maximum participants of both categories have agreed all these constitutional benefits didn’t reach to the every section of ‘socio-economically backward classes’ and the reason behind that uneven distribution of social benefits are lack of education, infrastructure and awareness. On the contrary most participants of unreserved categories believe they also deserve constitutional reservation benefits since they believe constitutional rights should be equal for every Indian. An astonishing percentage of participants of unreserved categories discuss their feeling of social discrimination openly. Most of the participants of reserved and unreserved categories support reformation of constitutional reservation system instead of abolition. However for reserved categories participants the criteria of that reformation should be caste; on the contrary for unreserved categories participants that criteria should merit and economical background. However the same study should be conducted on rural educated population as well for a comprehensive picture.                                                                                                                           Â

REASONS BEHIND HINDU MARRIED WOMEN LEAVING THEIR LEGAL SHARE OF ANCESTRAL PROPERTY

This study was conducted on 126 Hindu married women who were gone through the painful process of ancestral property distribution. As per the Hindu Succession Act (1956) and Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 daughters are eligible to get equal portion of ancestral property as sons. However, this study shows clearly most of the Hindu married women who are uneducated and financially dependent on their spouse or sons or daughters they generally end-up losing their fair share of ancestral property at the time of property distribution. On the other hand educated Hindu married women who are capable to negotiate their own right they generally get treated much fairly. That study also shows women who leave their legal share of ancestral property they do that under emotional pressure of their siblings and in fear of losing them permanently. As a result they regret in later period since these women are financially dependent on others and therefore in case of any financial emergency they feel really helpless and regret for their decision of leaving ancestral property share. On the contrary educated and independent women are much vocal about their legal rights and negotiate successfully to get their share and above all they don’t even regret for that decision. Therefore for uneducated, underprivileged women ancestral relations works as a social insurance and it’s more valuable than the ancestral property. However, further study should be conducted on Hindu unmarried women and the women of other religion as well to understand the actual scenario. Meanwhile changes in legal system are also necessary to prevent such dubious practices so that patriarchal society cannot exploit the loopholes of the Indian legal system.Â

Growth and Characterisation of ZnO Nanostructures: Excitonic Properties and Morphology

The growth mechanism of aligned ZnO nanostructures, grown by the vapour phase transport (VPT) growth method, specifically with nanorod and nanowall morphologies has been studied. The thesis begins with an introductory chapter on ZnO nanostructures and related topics, and the second chapter introduces the various experimental techniques used. The main thesis work involves five distinct studies. Firstly, the conditions to grow nanorod and nanorod/nanowall structures on sapphire using a ZnO/graphite powder mixture as a growth source are studied and the optimum conditions for each morphology identified. Secondly, the effects on ZnO nanostructure growth on sapphire of using activated carbon and carbon black powders, rather than graphite powder are studied. Nanostructures can be grown at significantly lower temperatures with carbon black and activated carbon, though with different morphologies, compared to graphite. Thirdly, low temperature cathodoluminescence spectroscopy measurements of ZnO nanostructures grown on Si substrate are presented. These data show significant inhomogeneity in the spatial distribution of emission throughout the sample for the Al-related donor bound exciton emission at 3.3605 eV and the Al-related emissions are compared to the other spectral features seen for these samples. The possible origin of this inhomogeneity is discussed. Fourthly, the microscopic origin of a unique photoluminescence peak at ~3.367 eV, which is known as surface exciton peak, has been studied in detail and its behaviour is studied after samples have been subjected to various post-growth treatments such as plasma treatment, UV exposure in vacuum and exposure to high voltages. Finally, post-growth passivation of nanostructures has been done using PVP and HF on ZnO nanostructure samples. The effects of these chemicals on the optical emission from these samples are studied and the potential for these to act as effective passivation agents is discussed. The thesis concludes with a summary of the work done, some general conclusions and comments on possible future directions

A study of drop-coated and chemical bath-deposited buffer layers for vapour phase deposition of large area, aligned, zinc oxide nanorod arrays

Zinc oxide films derived from drop-coating solutions of zinc acetate in ethanol followed by chemical bath deposition were examined for their suitability as buffer layers for high temperature vapour phase deposition of large area, aligned, zinc oxide nanorod arrays. An XPS analysis of substrates drop coated with zinc acetate solutions clarifies the chemistry of the deposition mechanism of the initial acetate-derived ZnO seeds. SEM, AFM and white light profilometry studies show that while zinc acetate-derived buffer layers are suitable for chemical bath deposition of aligned zinc oxide nanorod arrays, during high temperature vapour phase depositions these buffer layers undergo substantial changes leading to a loss of nanorod alignment and poor substrate coverage. We present a method to deposit aligned zinc oxide nanorod arrays uniformly over large area substrates, which combines zinc acetate drop coating, chemical bath deposition of buffer layers and vapour phase transport deposition of nanorods

Microscopic origins of the surface exciton photoluminescence in ZnO nanostructures

Photoluminescence (PL) studies of the surface exciton peak in ZnO nanostructures at ∼3.367 eV are reported to elucidate the nature and origin of the emission and its relationship to nanostructure morphology. Localised voltage application in high vacuum and different gas atmospheres show a consistent PL variation (and recovery), allowing an association of the PL to a bound excitonic transition at the ZnO surface modified by an adsorbate. Studies of samples treated by plasma and of samples exposed to UV light under high vacuum conditions show no consistent effects on the surface exciton peak indicating no involvement of oxygen species. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate involvement of adsorbed OH species. The relationship of the surface exciton peak to the nanostructure morphology is discussed in light of x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy data

Microscopic origins of the surface exciton photoluminescence peak in ZnO nanostructures

We report photoluminescence (PL) studies of the surface exciton peak in ZnO nanostructures at ∼3.367 eV aimed at elucidation of the nature and origin of the emission and its relationship to the nanostructure morphology. PL spectra in conjunction with localized voltage application in high vacuum and different gas atmospheres show a consistent variation (and recovery), allowing an association of the PL to a bound excitonic transition at the ZnO surface, which is modified by an adsorbate. PL studies of samples treated by plasma and of samples exposed to UV light under high vacuum conditions, both well-known processes for desorption of surface adsorbed oxygen, show no consistent effects on the surface exciton peak indicating the lack of involvement of oxygen species. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data strongly suggest involvement of adsorbed OH species. X-ray diffraction, scanning, and transmission electronmicroscopy data are presented also, and the relationship of the surface exciton peak to the nanostructure morphology is discussed

Internal melt figures in ice by rapid adiabatic Compression

Single crystals and bicrystals of water ice have been adiabatically pressurized to produce, and clearly illustrate, two types of internal melt figures: (1) dendritic figures that grow from nucleation imperfections on the specimen's surface, or from air bubbles at grain boundaries, into the ice as pressure is elevated; and (2) compression melt fractures, flat liquid-filled disks, that nucleate at imperfections in the crystal and grow with the application of pressure eventually to sprout dendritic fingers at the periphery. The transparency of the ice permitted visualization of the growth and behaviour of the figures, and this could be an important tool in understanding the role of phase transformations in deep-focus earthquakes. Correlation between figure size and pressure is noted for the first time.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

New Insight into the Mechanism of Sequential Infiltration Synthesis from Infrared Spectroscopy

Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) has been recently demonstrated to increase the etch resistance of optical, e-beam, and block copolymer lithography resists for sub-50 nm pattern transfer. Although SIS can dramatically enhance pattern transfer relevant to device applications, the complex processes involved in SIS are not clearly understood. Fundamental knowledge of the chemistry underlying SIS is necessary to ensure a high degree of perfection in large-scale lithography. To this end, we performed in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements during the SIS of Al2O3 using trimethylaluminum (TMA) and H2O into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The FTIR results revealed that TMA reacts quickly with PMMA to form an unstable complex. The subsequent conversion of this intermediate complex into stable Al—O linkages is slow and must compete with rapid TMA desorption. We support this interpretation of the FTIR data using density functional theory to calculate plausible structures for the unstable TMA-PMMA complex and the covalently linked species. As a consequence of this two-step reaction between TMA and PMMA, the detailed history of the TMA exposure becomes critical to achieving reliable patterns in SIS lithography. We demonstrate this using scanning electron microscopy to image the patterns resulting from SIS treatment of block copolymer films under different TMA exposure conditions. This better understanding of the SIS reaction dynamics should improve reliability in SIS lithography as well as other SIS applications

Block Copolymer Templated Fabrication of TiO₂ Nanodot Films Using Pulsed Laser Deposition

Block copolymer (BCP) templated inorganic material nanopatterning, often termed as BCP lithography, has received significant attention in recent years because of its self-assembly property offering direct synthesis of nanostructures with different morphologies. In this paper, we report an approach combining BCP template and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to synthesize TiO₂ nanodots of sub-50 nm dimension. Our results show that the BCP templated TiO₂ nanodots maintained the exact form of the top of polystyrene cylindrical template in the growth process as seen from the top view of scanning electron microscopy images. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the presence of Ti and O, and X-ray diffraction results show existence of both anatase and rutile TiO₂ crystalline phase in the nanodot films. The photoluminescence spectrum for the fabricated TiO₂ is dominated by a broad peak extending from visible to near-infrared (NIR) that appears because of overlap of the characteristic peaks for TiO₂ anatase (visible) and rutile phase (NIR). The formation of crystalline TiO₂ nanodots can be explained by crystallization by particle attachment phenomena around the BCP cylindrical domains during annealing. Fabrication of nanostructured titania or any other materials in combination with PLD and BCP as template has not been explored so far with the exception of lead titanate (PbTiO₃) nanostructures; hence, our demonstrated approach could be extended to fabricate other inorganic nanostructures integrated with BCP lithography for optoelectronics, sensing, and catalysis applications

Success Factors Barriers for Software Process Improvement: An Emperical Study

NRC publication: Ye