Implications of Government Sponsored Social Security and Welfare Schemes on Socioeconomic Status of Small Scale Marine Fisherfolk in Kerala

A socio-economic research is required as an attempt to address the socio-economic issues facing small-scale fisheries. A study of the socio economic conditions of small-scale fishermen is a prerequisite for good design and successful implementation of effective assistance Programmes. It will provide an overall pidure of the structure, activities and standards of living of small-scale fisherfolk The study is confined to the coastal districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts. It also gives a picture of socio-economic conditions of the fisher folk in the study area. The variables that may depict the standard of living of the small-scale fisherfolk are occupational structure, family size, age structure, income, expenditure, education, housing and other social amenities. It attempts to see the asset creation of the fisherfolk with the help of government agencies, and the nature of savings and expenditure pattern of the fisherfolk. It also provides a picture of the indebtedness of the fisherfolk in the study area. The study analyses the schemes implemented by the government through its agencies, like Fisheries Department, Matsyaboard, and Matsyafed; and the awareness of fisherfolk regarding these schemes, their attitude and reactions, the extent of accessibility, and the viability of the schemes.

Implication of Trade, Livelihood and Employment Exclusion among Workers in Plantation Sector in Kerala

The first part of the study has focused on the trends in area, production and productivity comparing the state’s performance with of national level performance. Also an attempt was made to understand the trends in commodity price over the years especially in the post liberalization period from the early 1990s. Plantation commodities occupy an important share in the country’s export basket and thereby earning foreign exchange to the national exchequer. Taking into consideration the competitive dimension of natural rubber, cardamom and pepper in the export market was analyzed to see penetration of these commodities in the world market.The second part of the study has tried to understand the plantation workers livelihood by understand the employment generation in the sector. Livelihood assets of plantation workers were analyzed to understand the nature of ownership of various assets. Understanding the poor quality and ownership of various livelihood assets and their relative deprivation the study also tried to understand the income-expenditure patterns and the nature of indebtedness among workers and the factors responsible for deprivation and thereby social exclusion.Area, Production and productivity trends of rubber, pepper and cardamom show a mixed picture. Area, Production trends are impacted greatly by the commodity price of the plantation crops.High correlation exists between commodity price and area and production trends of plantation crops in the state.In terms of Natural Rubber, Kerala experienced a steady growth over the years in terms of area production and productivity as the price of rubber has increasedIn terms of black pepper, the state witnessed a deceleration in growth.In the case of cardamom the area of cultivation declined whereas production increasedProductivity of natural rubber, pepper and cardamom has increased substantially over the yearsEmployment pattern in rubber and spices sub-sector has been analyzed by looking in to the commodity prices so as to see the changes in employment pattern over the years. The study has helped to understand that commodity price and employment generation in plantations are interconnected to such an extent that a fall in the commodity price have greater reverberations on the employment pattern in plantations.Livelihood analysis both in the small and large holdings show that workers belonging to rubber (large and small rubber) plantations have shown better possession of livelihood assets when compared to spices plantation workers as 16.2 percent of the spices sub-sector workers claimed about ownership of house which is considered to be an important and primary livelihood asset.In the case of natural assets like accessibility, availability and duration of water for drinking and other household purposes, the situation of workers in spices plantation still remain poor as around 80 percent of workers depending on public well public taps and canals as source of drinking water.Evaluating financial assets also give clear indication that the road to secure financial assets still remains a distant dream for the workers in plantation sectorEvaluating income and expenditure trends pinpoints to the fact that disparity in terms of income exist among the plantation workersWhile observing the employment though wage levels have improved because of improvement in commodity price of plantation crops, significant improvements are not visible in their livelihood and they remain excluded compared to other sections of the society.

Development of Time - Frequency Techniques for Sonar Applications

Sonar signal processing comprises of a large number of signal processing algorithms for implementing functions such as Target Detection, Localisation, Classification, Tracking and Parameter estimation. Current implementations of these functions rely on conventional techniques largely based on Fourier Techniques, primarily meant for stationary signals. Interestingly enough, the signals received by the sonar sensors are often non-stationary and hence processing methods capable of handling the non-stationarity will definitely fare better than Fourier transform based methods.Time-frequency methods(TFMs) are known as one of the best DSP tools for nonstationary signal processing, with which one can analyze signals in time and frequency domains simultaneously. But, other than STFT, TFMs have been largely limited to academic research because of the complexity of the algorithms and the limitations of computing power. With the availability of fast processors, many applications of TFMs have been reported in the fields of speech and image processing and biomedical applications, but not many in sonar processing. A structured effort, to fill these lacunae by exploring the potential of TFMs in sonar applications, is the net outcome of this thesis. To this end, four TFMs have been explored in detail viz. Wavelet Transform, Fractional Fourier Transfonn, Wigner Ville Distribution and Ambiguity Function and their potential in implementing five major sonar functions has been demonstrated with very promising results. What has been conclusively brought out in this thesis, is that there is no "one best TFM" for all applications, but there is "one best TFM" for each application. Accordingly, the TFM has to be adapted and tailored in many ways in order to develop specific algorithms for each of the applications.

Sustainability of Participatory Projects: Study of Productive Sector under Peoples’ Planning in Chempu Village Panchayat of Kottayam District

The study has wider policy implications as it identifies the possible variables which influence the sustainability of participatory productive sector projects. The method which is developed to study the sustainability of projects under People’s Planning in Chempu Panchayat could be used for studying the same in other panchayats also. Unlike the case of the standard features of sustainability identified, the independent variables vary according to the nature of the project. Hence, this needs to be modified accordingly while applying the method in a dissimilar domain. Selection of a single panchayat for the present study is relevant on the basis of a common package of inputs for decentralised planning which is forwarded by the State Planning Board respectively for the three-tier panchayat system in Kerala. The dynamic filed realities could be brought out in view of a comprehensive planning approach through an in depth study of specific cases.The assessment of the nature and pattern of productive sector projects in the selected Village Panchayat puts the projects under close scrutiny. The analysis has depended largely on secondary sources of information, especially from panchayat level plan documents, and also on the primary information obtained using direct observation and on-site inspection of project sites. An analysis of the nature and pattem of productive sector projects is important as it gives all necessary information regarding follow-up, monitoring/evaluation and even termination of a particular project. It has also revealed the tendencies of including infrastructure and service sector projects under ‘productive’ category, especially for maintaining the stipulated ratio (40:30:30) of grant-in-aid distribution. The study regarding the allocation and expenditure pattern of plan funds is vital in policy level as it reveals the under-noticed allocation and expenditure pattern of plan funds other than grant-in-aid. One major limitation of the study has been the limited availability of secondary data, especially regarding project-wise expenditure and monitoring/evaluation reports of various project committees.

Socio-Economic Survey of a Specific village

This thesis Entitled Socio-Economic Survey of a Specific village.For the purpose of analysis the thesis is divided into nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the subject of study and explains the significance of the study.It also provides the profile of the village. Chapter two deals with the different aspects of agriculture in the village.Chapter three discusses the problems of industrialisation in the Village. Chapter four is on village administration. It elaborates on the services rendered by government machinery in facilitating the development of agriculture and industry in the village.Chapter five explains the ways and means of marketing of village produce, both industrial and agricultural origin. It also explains the relevance of intra village connections in facilitating marketing.Chapter seven provides information regarding the income and expenditure pattern of the village.Chapter eight is on village social life. It explains the social life of the villagers, including religious

Personal Finance of Gazetted Officers in Kerala

The purpose of personal financial management is achievement of personal financial freedom. It is a stage where finance will not be a hindrance against the fulfilment ofthe financial objectives of persons. After counting individual values and preferences we arrive at a standard or normal financial behaviour. Even though individuals differ in their tastes and preferences, there are a very large amount of commonality among them. The financial manager should list out the various financial objectives ofthe family. Then he should make the best choice from among the various alternatives on a priority based system. In short personal finance is concerned with the way in which a person manages his income and expenditure to achieve his personal financial objectives. Thus a proper personal financial planning is essential in every family for attaining financial discipline in the family. The fall ofthejoint family system, the growing financial responsibilities of modern families, limited chance ofincreasing income, growing population, financial insecurity of the government employees, lack of financial freedom, lack of proper personal financial practice and its awareness, the growing suicide rate on account offinancial crisis etc.,make the study a necessity

A Case Study Of The Finance Of Selected Panchayats In Ernakulam District

The objectives of the present study are to inquire into the financial aspects of the selected Panchayats in Ernakulam district; , to analyse the income and expenditure pattern of selected and ‘District Panchayats'16 during 1969-70 through 1983-84; , to suggest the steps to be taken by the Panchayat for the proper utilisation of resources and for increasing the availability of resources; to suggest the additional sources of revenue for the Panchayats

Social Structural Determinants of Education among Tribes in Kerala

The study is focused on education of tribes particularly the problem of high dropout rate existing among the tribal students at school level. Scheduled Tribe is one of the marginalized communities experiencing high level of educational deprivation. The analysis of the study shows that the extent of deprivation existing among STs of Kerala is much higher compared to that of other communities. The present study covered tribes of three tribal predominant districts of Kerala such as Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad. Out of the 35 tribal communities in the State, 17 of them are concentrated in these districts. Tribes concentrated in Idukki include Muthuvans, Malai Arayan, Uraly, Mannan and Hill Pulaya. The present study analyzed dropouts situation in tribal areas of Kerala by conducting Field Survey among dropout and non-dropout students at school level. High dropouts among STs persist due to many problems which are of structural in nature. Important problems faced by the tribal students that have been analyzed, this can be classified as economic, social, cultural and institutional. It is found that there exists high correlation between Income and expenditure of the family with the well-being of individuals. Significant economic factors are poverty and financial indebtedness of the family. Some of the common cultural factors of tribes are Nature of Habitation, Difference in Dialect and Medium of Instruction etc. Social factors analyzed in the study are illiteracy of parents, migration of family, family environment, motivation by parents, activities engaged in for helping the family and students’ lack of interest in studies. The analysis showed that all these factors except migration of the family, are affecting the education of tribal students. Apart from social, economic and cultural factors, there are a few institutional factors which will also influence the education of tribal students. Institutional factors analyzed in the study include students’ absenteeism, irregularity of teachers, attitude of non-tribal teachers and non-tribal students, infrastructure facilities and accessibility to school. The study found irregularity of students and accessibility to school as significant factors which determine the dropout of the students.