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.

Cashew industry in Kerala problems and potentials

India is the largest producer and processor of cashew in the world. The export value of cashew is about Rupees 2600 crore during 2004-05. Kerala is the main processing and exporting center of cashew. In Kerala most of the cashew processing factories are located in Kollam district. The industry provides livelihood for about 6-7 lakhs of employees and farmers, the cashew industry has national importance. In Kollam district alone there are more than 2.5 lakhs employees directly involved in the industry, which comes about 10 per cent of the population of the district, out of which 95 per cent are women workers. It is a fact that any amount received by a woman worker will be utilized directly for the benefit of the family and hence the link relating to family welfare is quite clear. Even though the Government of Kerala has incorporated the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) and Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Co—operative Society (CAPEX) to develop the Cashew industry, the cashew industry and ancillary industries did not grow as per the expectation. In this context, an attempt has been made to analyze the problems and potential of the industry so as to make the industry viable and sustainable for the perpetual employment and income generation as well as the overall development of the Kollam district.

On the generalized obnoxious center problem: antimedian subsets

The set of vertices that maximize (minimize) the remoteness is the antimedian (median) set of the profile. It is proved that for an arbitrary graph G and S V (G) it can be decided in polynomial time whether S is the antimedian set of some profile. Graphs in which every antimedian set is connected are also considered.

On The Center Sets and Center Numbers of Some Graph Classes

For a set S of vertices and the vertex v in a connected graph G, max x2S d(x, v) is called the S-eccentricity of v in G. The set of vertices with minimum S-eccentricity is called the S-center of G. Any set A of vertices of G such that A is an S-center for some set S of vertices of G is called a center set. We identify the center sets of certain classes of graphs namely, Block graphs, Km,n, Kn −e, wheel graphs, odd cycles and symmetric even graphs and enumerate them for many of these graph classes. We also introduce the concept of center number which is defined as the number of distinct center sets of a graph and determine the center number of some graph classes