A Study Of Chit Finance In Kerala With Special Emphasis On Kerala State Financial Enterprises Ltd.

Chit funds contribute to the value of financial markets in India particularly in Kerala. Chit finances with its unique features are of great significance especially as a savings cum borrowing avenue. The present study entitled “A Study of chit Finance in Kerala with special emphasis on Kerala State Financial Enterprises Ltd.” examines the socio-economic aspects of Chit schemes run by the private Chit Funds, KSFE, co-operatives, and informal Chit Funds. The study is an attempt to find the reasons for the growing popularity of Chit Funds as savings cum borrowings avenues even in the presence of various other avenues of savings and borrowings and also to understand how the Chit subscribers utilize the funds. The objectives of the present study are to examine the trends and pattern of growth of Chit Funds in the formal sector in Kerala, performance of KSFE as the only public sector Chit Fund company in India, preference for joining Chit Funds, estimate the cost and return on Chit Funds etc. is an indigenous financial instrument is complementary to modern financial techniques of savings and borrowings. KSFE is the dominant foremen in the chit business in Kerala, its weaknesses result in the non-attainment of certain objectives. Driven by the growing trend of privatization, KSFE needs to be innovative and competitive. It is also necessary that KSFE continue its leadership role by being more effective in being the harbinger of more efficiency, professionalism and good governance in the Chit Fund Industry. The growth and development of chit business by protecting the interests of both the subscribers and the foremen will therefore be most beneficial for any growing economy.

Economics of Human Resource Planning With Special Reference to Higher Education in Kerala

Ongoing changes in global economic structure along information revolution have produced an environment where knowledge and skills or education and training are considered increasingly valued commodities. This is based on the simple notion that nation’s economic progress is linked to education and training. This idea is embodied in the theory of human capital, according to which the knowledge and skill found in labour represents valuable resources for the market. Thus the important assumptions of the Human capital theory are 910 Human capital is an investment for future (2) More training and education leads to better work skills (3) Educational institutions play a central role in the development of human capital(4) the technological revolution is often cited as the most pressing reason why education and knowledge are becoming valuable economic commodities . The objectives of the present study are, the investment and institutional or structural framework of higher education in Kerala, the higher education market and the strengths and weakness of supply demand conditions , cost and the benefits of higher education in Kerala , impact of recent policy changes in higher education,need for expanding higher education market to solve the grave problem of Un employment on the basis of as systematic manpower planning and the higher education and its association with income and employment.

Setilement of motor accidents claims with special reference to Kerala

The accident toll on our road traffic is staggering. Obviously this appalling toll of life and.health represents heavy economic loss in addition to human tragedy. the enormous increase in the number of motor vehicles with its rash, negligent and reckless use by unscrupulous, inexperienced and dangerous drivers in the most miserably managed roads coupled with concomitant hazards would draw our attention that Accident Prevention, and Accident compensation are thoroughly two compatiable aims. Proposed solutions to the traffic Problems abound. Preventive efforts concentrated on each of the variables the driver, the road and the vehicle are all being initiated. Still it is a Will the .Motor Vehicles are not considered as dangerous machines. Motoring activity is found useful.A competent and specially trained police force has to be created to deal with the traffic offences in a more scientific ways.The term ‘legal representative needs to be defined on the constructive aspects of relation and dependence.Services of legal aid and public counsels shall necessarily be extended to the poor Motor Accident victims.Timely reporting and timely investigation of Motor Accidents cases will reduce the number of fraudulent claims. There are instances where cases are taken in to investigation after several months of occurrence.It is hoped that the suggestions made above as a result of the present study, if pwgninto practice, may make a humble contribution to the prevention sssof motor accidents and to a faster and speedier settlement of motor accident compensation claims.

Studies on polymer blends with special reference to NBR/PVC and CR/PVC blends

The study is undertaken on PVC blends because of their all-round importance-One of the most prominent needs of PVC in application end-use is permanent plasticizationlo. Butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (NBR) has been utilized as permanent plasticizer for PVC since the 1940s for wire and cable insulation, food contact, and pondliners used for oil containment23'24. Also plasticized PVC has been added to vulcanizable nitrile rubber, to yield improved ozone, thermal ageing, and chemical resistance resulting in applications including fuel hose covers, gaskets, conveyor belt covers, and printing roll covers. This blend is miscible in the range of 23 to 45 per cent acrylonitrile content in the butadiene-acrylqnitrile copolymerzs. The first phase of the study was directed towards modification blends. These blends, in addition to the polymers, require a host of additives like curatives for the NBR phase and stabilizers for the PVC phase26of the existing PVC blends, especially NBR/PVC. The second phase of the study was directed towards the development of novel PVC based blends. Chloroprene rubber (polychloroprene) (CR) is structurally similar to PVC and hence is likely to form successful blends with PVC32.

Social skills of children with different disabilities: Assessment and implications for interventions

This study characterizes the differences and similarities in the repertoire of social skills of children from 12 different categories of special educational needs: autism, hearing impairment, mild intellectual disabilities, moderate intellectual disabilities, visual impairment, phonological disorder, learning disabilities, giftedness and talent, externalizing behavior problems, internalizing behavior problems, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Teachers of 120 students in regular and special schools, aged between 6 and 14 years old, from four Brazilian states, responded to the Social Skills Rating System. Children with ADHD, autism, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and externalizing behavior problems presented comparatively lower frequency of social skills. The intervention needs of each evaluated category are discussed.

Aproximació històrica a l'educació especial a Catalunya: l'educació institucionalitzada en centres d'educació especial a les comarques de Girona (1873-1997)

Aquesta Tesi Doctoral se situa en l'àmbit dels estudis històrico-educatius. S'estructura a partir d'una aproximació a la història de l'educació especial de les persones amb discapacitat i contextualitzada a partir de l'educació institucionalitzada en centres d'educació especial, a les comarques de Girona, durant el període de 1873 fins a 1997. El primer centre es va crear el 1873. Li seguiran, molts més anys més tard, altres iniciatives que sorgeixen a través de l'impuls de professionals i associacions de pares. L'Església participarà a través dels seus mossens i ordes religioses en la creació d'alguns d'aquests centres. L'administració educativa també assumirà un important paper en la creació, manteniment i consolidació dels centres. Aportem un important estudi sobre la legislació que va aparèixer al llarg d'aquest període. El punt final, el situem el 1997, a partir de la publicació per part del Department d'Ensenyament, del Decret 299/1997, de 25 de novembre, sobre l'atenció educativa a l'alumnat amb NEE.

A atitude dos alunos face à inclusão dos seus pares com deficiência

RESUMO: A escola actual encontra-se perante o desafio de responder com afectividade às necessidades educativas especiais de uma população cada vez mais heterogénea, onde se adopte um modelo de atendimento adequado a cada um. Neste contexto, consideramos os alunos, os professores e os encarregados de educação elementos chave de todo o processo, sobre os quais recaem responsabilidades acrescidas na concretização da filosofia inclusiva. O presente estudo tem como objectivo averiguar a atitude dos alunos face à inclusão dos seus pares com deficiência, determinando o modo como estes percepcionam as atitudes dos professores e dos pais face à inclusão de alunos com NEE de carácter permanente, vantagens e desvantagens da inclusão de alunos com NEE de carácter permanente e a cooperação entre alunos com e sem deficiência, tendo em conta a tipologia da deficiência (motora e mental). No caso do nosso estudo, contámos com a participação de 520 alunos (N= 270 género feminino e N=250 do género masculino), uma amostra distribuída pelo 2ºciclo, 3º ciclo e secundário dos distritos de Setúbal e Lisboa. A recolha de dados concretizou-se pela aplicação do AID – EF, questionário da autoria de Ramos Leitão, 2011.Esta metodologia de recolha e tratamento de informação permitiu-nos concluir que, na opinião dos alunos ditos normais a atitude dos professores face à inclusão de alunos com NEE de carácter permanente (dimensão d1), não varia em função da tipologia da deficiência (deficiência motora e mental). Da mesma forma, não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos (deficiência motora e mental), na opinião dos alunos ditos normais, no que respeita às vantagens da inclusão dos alunos com NEE de carácter permanente (dimensão d2). Na opinião dos alunos ditos normais os resultados demonstraram que a cooperação entre alunos com e sem deficiência (dimensão d3), varia em função da tipologia da deficiência (deficiência motora e mental), apontando esses resultados para uma maior cooperação entre os alunos ditos normais e os seus pares com deficiência mental. Não foram igualmente encontradas diferenças significativas no que respeita às desvantagens da inclusão dos alunos com NEE de carácter permanente (dimensão 4), quando temos em consideração a tipologia da deficiência (deficiência motora e mental). Da mesma forma, na opinião dos alunos normais ditos normais a atitude dos pais face à inclusão de alunos com NEE de carácter permanente (dimensão d5) não variam em função da tipologia da deficiência (deficiência motora e mental).ABSTRACT: Currently the school is faced with the challenge of responding affectionately to the special educational needs of an increasingly heterogeneous population, where a standard model is adopted for each individual. In this context, we consider the students, teachers and guardians, key elements in the whole process, over which fall increased responsibilities in the implementation of the inclusive philosophy. The present study aims to determine the attitude of students towards the inclusion of peers with disabilities, determining how they perceive the attitudes of teachers and parents towards the inclusion of pupils with permanent special education needs, advantages and disadvantages of including students with permanent special education needs and the cooperation between students with and without disabilities, taking into account the type of disability (mental and motor). In the case of our study, we had the participation of 520 students (N = 270 N = female and 250 male), a sample distributed to the 2nd cycle, 3rd cycle and Secondary schools in the districts of Setúbal and Lisbon. The data collected was enabled by the application of the IDA - EF, questionnaire by Ramos Leitão, 2011. This methodology of collecting and processing information allowed us to conclude that, in the opinion of the so-called normal students the teachers´ attitude towards the inclusion of pupils with permanent special education needs (dimension d1) does not vary according to the type of disability (motor and mental). Likewise, no significant differences were found between the two groups (mental and motor), in the opinion of the so-called normal students, with regard to the benefits of the inclusion of pupils with permanent special education needs (dimension d2). In the opinion of the so-called normal students, the results demonstrated that the cooperation between students with and without disabilities (dimension d3), vary depending on the type of disability (mental and motor), these results pointing to a greater cooperation between the so-called normal students and their peers with mental disabilities. There were also no significant differences with respect to the disadvantages of inclusion of pupils with permanent special education needs (dimension d4), when we take into account the type of disability (mental and motor). Similarly, in the opinion of the so-called normal students, the parents´ attitude towards the inclusion of pupils with permanent special education needs (dimension d5) does not vary according to the type of disability (mental and motor).

Espinha Bífida no Ensino Regular : perceção Docente face à Inclusão

O ensino do século XXI, associa-se à educação inclusiva, e representa o grande desafio das escolas portuguesas ao pretender dar resposta educativa a todos os alunos. A legislação consigna às escolas portuguesas o ensino obrigatório, universal, gratuito e, ainda, aspira ao sucesso educativo de todos os alunos, independentemente das suas limitações físicas e intelectuais, ou valores culturais, para formar indivíduos ativos e participativos, enquanto cidadãos responsáveis numa sociedade competitiva. Nesta perspetiva, os professores, pela diversificação de práticas pedagógicas e metodológicas devem promover a progressão e a aprendizagem de todos os jovens sem exceção, em sala de aula. Este estudo visa compreender o contributo dos professores do 3º ciclo e secundário, no desenvolvimento e inclusão de jovens com Espinha Bífida (EB), e como realizam o trabalho para dar resposta eficaz às necessidades educativas especiais (NEE) destes alunos. Foi nossa intenção, realizar um estudo exploratório descritivo de natureza quantitativa através de questionário, elaborado totalmente por nós, para identificar os obstáculos à aplicação dos princípios da escola inclusiva. Com falta dos recursos físicos e humanos, os professores realizam a inclusão satisfatoriamente, embora não tendo essa perceção. Também, erradamente consideram, a presença dos homólogos de Educação Especial, fundamental à total inclusão dos alunos.

Recovering potential: factors associated with success in engaging challenging students with alternative pre-16 provision

The study focuses on a group of young people for whom conventional school placements had broken down and were attending vocational courses at an FE college while still of compulsory school age. The students had been excluded by, or had failed to attend, their schools or had achieved at very low levels in the academic curriculum. Over half successfully completed the vocational course at college. Many factors conventionally regarded as predictors for poor educational outcomes were not associated with completion and non-completion. For example, students who had been excluded, who had statements of special educational needs and had been involved with the criminal justice system were as likely to complete their courses as other students. However, students who had very poor attendance records at school also tended to drop out of college. The results suggest that the increased flexibility, guidance and elements of work-related learning promised in current 14 - 19 developments may help meet the needs of this group of students.

Emotional and behavioural problems in children with language impairments and children with autism spectrum disorders

Background: Although it is well-established that children with language impairment (LI) and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) both show elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems, the level and types of difficulties across the two groups have not previously been directly compared. Aims: To compare levels of emotional and behavioural problems in children with LI and children with ASD recruited from the same mainstream schools. Methods & Procedures: We measured teacher-reported emotional and behavioural problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a sample of 5-to-13-year old children with LI (N=62) and children with ASD (N=42) attending mainstream school but with identified special educational needs. Outcomes & Results: Both groups showed similarly elevated levels of emotional, conduct and hyperactivity problems. The only differences between the LI and ASD groups were on subscales assessing peer problems (which were higher in the ASD group) and prosocial behaviours (which were higher in the LI group). Overall, there were few associations between emotional and behavioural problems and child characteristics, reflecting the pervasive nature of these difficulties in children with LI and children with ASD, although levels of problems were higher in children with ASD with lower language ability. However, in the ASD group only, a measure of family social economic status was associated with language ability and attenuated the association between language ability and emotional and behavioural problems. Conclusions & Implications: Children with LI and children with ASD in mainstream school show similarly elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems, which require monitoring and may benefit from intervention. Further work is required to identify the child, family and situational factors that place children with LI and children with ASD at risk of emotional and behavioural problems, and whether these differ between the two groups. This work can then guide the application of evidence-based interventions to these children.

Verbal short‐term memory performance in pupils with Down Syndrome

Research has shown that verbal short‐term memory span is shorter in individuals with Down syndrome than in typically developing individuals of equivalent mental age, but little attention has been given to variations within or across groups. Differences in the environment and in particular educational experiences may play a part in the relative ease or difficulty with which children remember verbal material. This article explores the performance of 26 Egyptian pupils with Down syndrome and 26 Egyptian typically developing children on two verbal short‐term memory tests: digit recall and non‐word repetition tasks. The findings of the study revealed that typically developing children showed superior performance on these tasks to that of pupils with Down syndrome, whose performance was both lower and revealed a narrower range of attainment. Comparisons with the performance of children with Down syndrome in this study suggested that not only did the children with Down syndrome perform more poorly than the typically developing children, their profile also appeared worse than the results of studies of children with a similar mental age with Down syndrome carried out in western countries. The results from this study suggested that, while deficits in verbal short‐term memory in Down syndrome may well be universal, it is important to recognise that performances may vary as a consequence of culture and educational experiences. The significance of these findings is explored with reference to approaches to education and how these are conceptualised in relation to children with disabilities.

Development social policy for youth with special reference to young men in Saint Lucia

Includes bibliography

A inclusão na perspectiva da organização pedagógica de escolas públicas e privadas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Escolarização inclusiva de alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais: um estudo de caso de um município paulista

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Immigrants in the Czech Republic (With Special Reference to Ukrainian Workers and "Western" Firms Operating in Prague)

International migration has increased rapidly in the Czech Republic, with more than 150,000 legally registered foreign residents at the end of 1996. A large proportion of these are in Prague - 35% of the total in December 1996. The aim of this project was to enrich the fund of information concerning the "environment", reasons and "mechanisms" behind immigration to the Czech Republic. Mr. Drbohlav looked first at the empirical situation and on this basis set out to test certain well-known migration theories. He focused on four main areas: 1) a detailed description and explanation of the stock of foreign citizens legally settled in Czech territory, concentrating particularly on "economic" migrants; 2) a questionnaire survey targeting a total of 192 Ukrainian workers (98 in the fall 1995 and 94 in the fall 1996) working in Prague or its vicinity; 3) a second questionnaire survey of 40 "western" firms (20 in 1996 and 20 in 1997) operating out of Prague; 4) an opinion poll on how the Czech population reacts to foreign workers in the CR. Over 80% of economic immigrants at the end of 1996 were from European countries, 16% from Asia and under 2% from North America. The largest single nationalities were Ukrainians, Slovaks, Vietnamese and Poles. There has been a huge increase in the Ukrainian immigrant community over both space (by region) and time (a ten-fold increase since 1993), and at 40,000 persons this represents one third of all legal immigrants. Indications are that many more live and work there illegally. Young males with low educational/skills levels predominate, in contrast with the more heterogeneous immigration from the "West". The primary reason for this migration is the higher wages in the Czech Republic. In 1994 the relative figures of GDP adjusted for parity of purchasing power were US$ 8,095 for the Czech Republic versus US$ 3,330 for the Ukraine as a whole and US$ 1,600 for the Zakarpatye region from which 49% of the respondents in the survey came. On an individual level, the average Czech wage is about US$ 330 per month, while 50% of the Ukrainian respondents put their last monthly wage before leaving for the Czech Republic at under US$ 27. The very low level of unemployment in the latter country (fluctuating around 4%) was also mentioned as an important factor. Migration was seen as a way of diversifying the family's source of income and 49% of the respondents had made their plans together with partners or close relatives, while 45% regularly send remittances to Ukraine (94% do so through friends or relatives). Looking at Ukrainian migration from the point of view of the dual market theory, these migrants' type and conditions of work, work load and earnings were all significantly worse than in the primary sector, which employs well educated people and offers them good earnings, job security and benefits. 53% of respondents were working and/or staying in the Czech Republic illegally at the time of the research, 73% worked as unqualified, unskilled workers or auxiliary workers, 62% worked more than 12 hours a day, and 40% evaluated their working conditions as hard. 51% had no days off, earnings were low in relation to the number of hours worked. and 85% said that their earnings did not increase over time. Nearly half the workers were recruited in Ukraine and only 4% expressed a desire to stay in the Czech Republic. Network theories were also borne out to some extent as 33% of immigrants came together with friends from the same village, town or region in Ukraine. The number who have relatives working in the Czech Republic is rising, and many wish to invite relatives or children to visit them. The presence of organisations which organised cross-border migration, including some which resort to organising illegal documents, also gives some support for the institutional theory. Mr. Drbohlav found that all the migration theories considered offered some insights on the situation, but that none was sufficient to explain it all. He also points out parallels with many other regions of the world, including Central America, South and North America, Melanesia, Indonesia, East Africa, India, the Middle East and Russia. For the survey of foreign and international firms, those chosen were largely from countries represented by more than one company and were mainly active in market services such as financial and trade services, marketing and consulting. While 48% of the firms had more than 10,000 employees spread through many countries, more than two thirds had fewer than 50 employees in the Czech Republic. Czechs formed 80% plus of general staff in these firms although not more than 50% of senior management, and very few other "easterners" were employed. All companies absolutely denied employing people illegally. The average monthly wage of Czech staff was US$ 850, with that of top managers from the firm's "mother country" being US$ 6,350 and that of other western managers US$ 3,410. The foreign staff were generally highly mobile and were rarely accompanied by their families. Most saw their time in the Czech Republic as positive for their careers but very few had any intention of remaining there. Factors in the local situation which were evaluated positively included market opportunities, the economic and political environment, the quality of technical and managerial staff, and cheap labour and low production costs. In contrast, the level of appropriate business ethics and conduct, the attitude of local and regional authorities, environmental production conditions, the legal environment and financial markets and fiscal policy were rated very low. In the final section of his work Mr. Drbohlav looked at the opinions expressed by the local Czech population in a poll carried out at the beginning of 1997. This confirmed that international labour migration has become visible in this country, with 43% of respondents knowing at least one foreigner employed by a Czech firm in this country. Perception differ according to the region from which the workers come and those from "the West" are preferred to those coming from further east. 49% saw their attitude towards the former as friendly but only 20% felt thus towards the latter. Overall, attitudes towards migrant workers is neutral, although 38% said that such workers should not have the same rights as Czech citizens. Sympathy towards foreign workers tends to increase with education and the standard of living, and the relatively positive attitudes towards foreigners in the South Bohemia region contradicted the frequent belief that a lack of experience of international migration lowers positive perceptions of it.