Psychological Strength in Military Set up: Current Status and Future Direction

The paper is an attempt to critically examine the application of some the constructs in vogue of positive psychology with special reference to psychological strength. Dwelling on the application of positive psychology in American army it tries to highlight the application of some of the key psychological strength constructs which are being used to train the soldiers of American army. With reference to India the paper advocates for looking into the indigenous constructs of psychological strength rooted in religio-philosophical traditions of India and its implication in contemporary context. It identifies some of the indigenous constructs of psychological strength which have been empirically investigated in the recent past. Finally, the paper briefly discusses the outcomes studies undertaken to profile psychological strength at different levels of leadership in Indian army. Instead of following American model of psychology, the paper strongly advocates for bringing out a culturally sensitive model of psychological strength applicable to Indian socio-cultural set up. Replication of the method used in the present study is suggested to study psychological strength of other sectors of the countr

Psychosocial Response to National Security

National security is perhaps one of the key areas of research which receives continuous attention from the scholars of strategic studies, military science, and of course some of the disciplines of social science such as political science and international relation. One way of pursuing interest in national security is to delve the threat perception which emanates from across the border and is likely to influence socio-political sphere of the nation. On the other hand, the diversity in the socio-cultural landscape of the nation characterized by ethnicity and linguistic based sub-national identities is equally important so far as enriching one’s knowledge base in the domain of internal security is concerned. Within the realm of psychology, military psychology is possibly one sub-discipline which tries to address this gap. However, psychology is yet to receive a space in the intellectual terrain of studies on national security

Co constructing National Identity in the Era of Identity Chaos

At cognitive level, preliminary idea of nation and existence of a national group is essential to have a sense of national identity. For adolescents, evolving concept of social groups and possible affiliations with them starts during this period. Factors such as process of socialisation, schooling and exposure to media determines how an adolescent conceptualises the nation and reflects attachmentwith it. As adolescents are considered as the future citizens, this study aimed at tapping their perceptual understanding of nation. This study was conducted with volunteer adolescent students from senior secondary sections of four Delhi based school. They wrote essays on Indian national identity organised according to cue questions, given beforehand. Based on legibility and content appropriateness, 130 essays were selected for further grounded theory analysis. National identity was defined using references from native cultural constituents, such as norms, heritage, traditions, customs, and social values. Identity derived from nation was positive and filled with pride when contents were about patriotism and multiculturalism. However, sharp comments on perceived inadequacy of government were supported with appalling cases of disharmony. The expressions elucidating national identity were described more on the basis of external events than self-references. A possible inference may be drawn that adolescents’ experienceswere in formative stage and hence were restricted to terminologies acquired from popular media

Contribution of Kodavas to the Indian Armed Forces

Identity is a dynamic phenomenon constructed as a collective product of the actions, interactions, cognition and self-cognizance of human beings. In exploring identity as a product of individual factors and contextual - historical factors embedded in a socio-political context, this paper focuses on the contribution of the Kodavas, a community who form a substantial minority in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka to the Indian Armed Forces. Speaking a separate language, adhering to a clan-based social structure, following a belief system that is at substantial variance to other parts of the state, and at times even asserting a historical origin exterior to India, the group carries a larger number of markers that has led them to be regarded and portrayed as one of India’s groups of ‘internal exotics’. Based on literature, this paper aims to bring to light the historical relationship of this community with the Armed Forces. Further, the paper also initiates a discussion on the current status of military fervor among the Kodava youth and the necessary measures to be taken to uphold the warrior spirit of the Kodavas

A Psycholexical Study of Personality Trait Structure of Hindi Speaking Indians

This study adopted a psycholexical approach to uncover the personality trait structure of Hindi speaking Indians. The endorsement for personality descriptive adjectives was obtained from young adults (n=240) using a Likert-type 5-point rating scale. The principal component analysis using varimax rotation revealed a six-factor structure comprised of (I) rajasic (passion and mobility), (II) sattvic (goodness and harmony), (III) tamasic (dullness and inertia), (IV) competence, (V) neuroticism, and (VI) extraversion. The six-factor structure of personality in Hindi language has broader psycholexical space than what is proposed in the “Big Five” personality theory

Vegetation condition index pattern (2002-2007) over Indian agro-climate regions, using of GIS and SPOT sensor NDVI data

This study describes the Vegetation Condition Index in the near-real-time with help of SPOT based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for Agro climatic-region of India and gave the development pattern in last six year (2002-2007) over the study area of India using decadal time data set from SPOT satellite sensor for 2002-2007 time periods. The each Agro-climatic region of study, 1°x1° degree in area, part of India agro-climate regions, has been taken for analysis using remote sensing and Geographical Information System (RS and GIS)methods, SPOT satellite sensor NDVI data, and from processed data set (geo-referenced data set), cut out 1°x1° degree of area by preparing a layers representing Agro-climatic region of India as base mapping units (BMU),The results indicated that NDVI index is only water stress over vegetation while VCI is an appropriate index for vegetation pattern monitoring over study area. As satellite observations provide better spatial and temporal coverage, the VCI based system will provide efficient tools for management of the improvement of agricultural planning. This system will serve as a prototype in the other parts of the world where ground observations are limited or not available

An EPQ model with trapezoidal demand under volume flexibility

In this paper, we explored an economic production quantity model (EPQ) model for finite production rate and deteriorating items with time-dependent trapezoidal demand. The objective of the model under study is to determine the optimal production run-time as well as the number of production cycle in order to maximize the profit. Numerical example is also given to illustrate the model and sensitivity analyses regarding various parameters are performed to study their effects on the optimal policy

Assessment of geotechnical properties of uncemented/cemented clayey soil incorporated with waste crumb rubber

Discarded waste tires are becoming a serious threat to health, environment, and ecological systems worldwide if it is not disposed of properly. Every year 1000 million of waste tires are discarded. This number may grow up to 1200 million by the year 2030. On the other hand, construction of civil engineering structures such as buildings, dams, highways, etc. are at high risk of differential settlement, especially in the case of weak or soft clay, which is due to its low shear strength and high compressibility. The paper aims to assess geotechnical properties of uncemented/cemented clayey soil incorporated with waste crumb rubber. Compaction parameters, unconfined compressive strength, split tensile strength, toughness index, CBR values and swelling pressure of rubberized uncemented/cemented clayey soil (3%, and 6% cement and different percentage of crumb rubber) have been obtained. After rigorous extensive study, it has been concluded that unconfined compressive strength and split tensile strength of rubberized cemented clayey soil decreases with the increase of the percentage of crumb rubber whereas the axial, and diametral strain are found to be increased with the addition of crumb rubber up to 5% after that it starts to decrease. The CBR values, swelling pressure, and toughness index of uncemented/cemented clayey soil was significantly affected by incorporation of crumb rubber. SEM studies have also been incorporated in this investigation

Dengue outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: Entomological investigation and community awareness

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection worldwide. This study aimed to determine the entomological and community-related factors involved in dengue spread during the outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, 2018. This was a cross-sectional study. The household survey was done to find out the vector responsible for disease transmission and favourable breeding containers. Susceptibility of larvae towards the larvicide being used was carried out. A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to find out the awareness of residents in the area towards dengue. House index, Container index, and Breteau index were 92.31, 33.14 and 123.34, respectively. Larvae were susceptible to the larvicide being used by the local health department. A high number of wet containers available were contributing to high vector breeding. Community awareness was low in the affected area. Water storage practices and conducive climatic conditions lead to increased vector breeding