Re-engineering and Re-defining University Libraries in the context of modern Information and Communication Technologies: a study with special reference to the University Libraries in Kerala

Information and communication technologies are the tools that underpin the emerging “Knowledge Society”. Exchange of information or knowledge between people and through networks of people has always taken place. But the ICT has radically changed the magnitude of this exchange, and thus factors such as timeliness of information and information dissemination patterns have become more important than ever.Since information and knowledge are so vital for the all round human development, libraries and institutions that manage these resources are indeed invaluable. So, the Library and Information Centres have a key role in the acquisition, processing, preservation and dissemination of information and knowledge. ln the modern context, library is providing service based on different types of documents such as manuscripts, printed, digital, etc. At the same time, acquisition, access, process, service etc. of these resources have become complicated now than ever before. The lCT made instrumental to extend libraries beyond the physical walls of a building and providing assistance in navigating and analyzing tremendous amounts of knowledge with a variety of digital tools. Thus, modern libraries are increasingly being re-defined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources.The research was conducted in the university libraries in Kerala State, India. lt was identified that even though the information resources are flooding world over and several technologies have emerged to manage the situation for providing effective services to its clientele, most of the university libraries in Kerala were unable to exploit these technologies at maximum level. Though the libraries have automated many of their functions, wide gap prevails between the possible services and provided services. There are many good examples world over in the application of lCTs in libraries for the maximization of services and many such libraries have adopted the principles of reengineering and re-defining as a management strategy. Hence this study was targeted to look into how effectively adopted the modern lCTs in our libraries for maximizing the efficiency of operations and services and whether the principles of re-engineering and- redefining can be applied towards this.Data‘ was collected from library users, viz; student as well as faculty users; library ,professionals and university librarians, using structured questionnaires. This has been .supplemented by-observation of working of the libraries, discussions and interviews with the different types of users and staff, review of literature, etc. Personal observation of the organization set up, management practices, functions, facilities, resources, utilization of information resources and facilities by the users, etc. of the university libraries in Kerala have been made. Statistical techniques like percentage, mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, correlation, trend analysis, etc. have been used to analyse data.All the libraries could exploit only a very few possibilities of modern lCTs and hence they could not achieve effective Universal Bibliographic Control and desired efficiency and effectiveness in services. Because of this, the users as well as professionals are dissatisfied. Functional effectiveness in acquisition, access and process of information resources in various formats, development and maintenance of OPAC and WebOPAC, digital document delivery to remote users, Web based clearing of library counter services and resources, development of full-text databases, digital libraries and institutional repositories, consortia based operations for e-journals and databases, user education and information literacy, professional development with stress on lCTs, network administration and website maintenance, marketing of information, etc. are major areas need special attention to improve the situation. Finance, knowledge level on ICTs among library staff, professional dynamism and leadership, vision and support of the administrators and policy makers, prevailing educational set up and social environment in the state, etc. are some of the major hurdles in reaping the maximum possibilities of lCTs by the university libraries in Kerala. The principles of Business Process Re-engineering are found suitable to effectively apply to re-structure and redefine the operations and service system of the libraries. Most of the conventional departments or divisions prevailing in the university libraries were functioning as watertight compartments and their existing management system was more rigid to adopt the principles of change management. Hence, a thorough re-structuring of the divisions was indicated. Consortia based activities and pooling and sharing of information resources was advocated to meet the varied needs of the users in the main campuses and off campuses of the universities, affiliated colleges and remote stations. A uniform staff policy similar to that prevailing in CSIR, DRDO, ISRO, etc. has been proposed by the study not only in the university libraries in kerala but for the entire country.Restructuring of Lis education,integrated and Planned development of school,college,research and public library systems,etc.were also justified for reaping maximum benefits of the modern ICTs.

Targeted Public Distribution System in Food Grains:Extent of Utlization by the Tribal Population in Kerala

In India, Food Security meant supply of food grains and the medium was Public Distribution System. Public Distribution System (PDS) is a rationing mechanism that entitles households to specified quantities of selected commodities at subsidized prices. The Objectives of PDS are maintaining Price Stability, rationing during times of scarcity, welfare of the poor, and keeping a check on private trade. Kerala has registered remarkable improvement in poverty reduction in general over the years among all social sections, including scheduled caste and scheduled tribe population. As part of the structural adjustment intended to reduce public expenditure, PDS has been modified as Revamped PDS (RPDS) during 1992 and later on as Targeted PDS (TPDS) in 1997, intended to target households on the basis of income criterion, classifying people as Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL). TPDS provides 25Kg. of food gra.ins through the Fair Price Shops per month @ Rs.3/- per Kg. of rice/ wheat to the BPL category and @Rs.8.90 and Rs.6.7O for rice and wheat respectively to the APL category of people. Since TPDS is intended to target the poor people, the subsidy spent by the government for the scheme should be beneficial to the poor people and naturally they should utilize the benefits by purchasing the food grains allotted under the scheme. Several studies have shown that there is underutilization of the allotments under TPDS. Therefore, the extent of utilization of TPDS in food grains, how and why remains as a major hurdle, in improving the structure and system of PDS. Livelihood of the tribal population being under threat due to increasing degradation of the resources, the targeting system ought to be effective among the tribal population. Therefore, performance of the TPDS in food grains, in terms of the utilization by the tribal population in Kerala, impact thereof and the factors, if any, affecting proper utilization were considered as the research problem in this study. The study concentrated on the pattern of consumption of food grains by the tribal people, whether their hunger needs are met by distribution of food grains through the TPDS, extent to which TPDS in food grains reduce their share of expenditure on food in the total household expenditure, and the factors affecting the utilization of the TPDS in food grains by the tribal population. Going through the literature, it has been noted that only few studies concentrated on the utilization of TPDS in food grains among the tribal population in Kerala.The Research Design used in this study is descriptive in nature, but exploratory in some aspects. Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad have more than 60% of the population of the tribals in the state. Within the three districts mentioned above, 14 villages with scheduled tribe concentration were selected for the study. 95 tribal colonies were selected from among the various tribal settlements. Collection of primary data was made from 1231 households with in the above tribal colonies. Analysis of data on the socio-economic factors of the tribal people, pattern of food consumption, extent of reduction in the share of expenditure on food among the household expenditure of the tribal people and the impact of TPDS on the tribal families etc. and testing of hypotheses to find out the relation/association of each of the six variables, using the data on BPL and APL categories of households separately have resulted in findings such as six percent of the tribal families do not have Ration Cards, average per capita consumption of food grains by the tribal people utilizing TPDS meets 62% of their minimum requirement, whereas the per capita consumption of food grains by the tribal people is higher than the national average per capita consumption, 63% deficiency in food grains may be felt by tribal people in general, if TPDS is withdrawn, and the deficit for BPL tribal people may be 82%, TPDS facilitates a reduction of 9.71% in the food expenditure among the total household expenditure of the tribal people in general, share of food to non-food among BPL category of tribals is 55:45 and 40:60 among the APL, Variables, viz. household income, number of members in the family and distance of FPS from tribal settlements etc. have influence on the quantity of rice being purchased by the tribal people from the Fair Price Shops, and there is influence of household income and distance of FPS from tribal settlements on the quantity of rice being purchased by the tribal people from the open market. Rationing with differential pricing on phased allotments, rectification of errors in targeting, anomalies in norms and procedures for classifying tribal people as BPL/APL, exclusive Income Generation for tribal population, paddy cultivation in the landholdings possessed by the tribal people, special drive for allotment of Ration Cards to the tribal people, especially those belonging to the BPL category, Mobile Fair Price Shops in tribal settlements, ensure quality of the food grains distributed through the TPDS, distribution of wheat flour in packed condition instead of wheat through the Fair Price Shops are recommended to address the shortcomings and weaknesses of the TPDS vis-avis the tribal population in Kerala.

Analysis of System Signals Based on Cross Recurrence Method for System Dynamics Characterization

Natural systems are inherently non linear. Recurrent behaviours are typical of natural systems. Recurrence is a fundamental property of non linear dynamical systems which can be exploited to characterize the system behaviour effectively. Cross recurrence based analysis of sensor signals from non linear dynamical system is presented in this thesis. The mutual dependency among relatively independent components of a system is referred as coupling. The analysis is done for a mechanically coupled system specifically designed for conducting experiment. Further, cross recurrence method is extended to the actual machining process in a lathe to characterize the chatter during turning. The result is verified by permutation entropy method. Conventional linear methods or models are incapable of capturing the critical and strange behaviours associated with the dynamical process. Hence any effective feature extraction methodologies should invariably gather information thorough nonlinear time series analysis. The sensor signals from the dynamical system normally contain noise and non stationarity. In an effort to get over these two issues to the maximum possible extent, this work adopts the cross recurrence quantification analysis (CRQA) methodology since it is found to be robust against noise and stationarity in the signals. The study reveals that the CRQA is capable of characterizing even weak coupling among system signals. It also divulges the dependence of certain CRQA variables like percent determinism, percent recurrence and entropy to chatter unambiguously. The surrogate data test shows that the results obtained by CRQA are the true properties of the temporal evolution of the dynamics and contain a degree of deterministic structure. The results are verified using permutation entropy (PE) to detect the onset of chatter from the time series. The present study ascertains that this CRP based methodology is capable of recognizing the transition from regular cutting to the chatter cutting irrespective of the machining parameters or work piece material. The results establish this methodology to be feasible for detection of chatter in metal cutting operation in a lathe.

Studies on the macrobenthic community of Cochin backwaters with special reference to culture of Eriopisa chilkensis (Gammaridae-Amphipoda)

This thesis Entitled studies on the macrobenthic community of cochin backwaters with special reference to culture of eriopisa chilkensis (Gammaridae- amphipoda).Benthic organisms are usually studied for environmental impact assessment, pollution control and resource conservation. The benthic monitoring component has three major objectives: 1) characterize the benthic communities to assess the estuarine health, 2) determine seasonal and spatial variability in benthic communities, and 3) detect changes in the estuarine community through examination of changes in abundances of specific indicator taxa and other standard benthic indices.Cochin backwaters situated at the tip of the northern Vembanad lake is a tropical positive estuarine system. The backwaters of Kerala support as much biological productivity and diversity as tropical rain forest and are responsible for the rich fishery potential of Kerala. Backwaters also act as nursery grounds for commercially important prawns and fishes.The thesis has been subdivided into seven chapters. The first chapter gives a general introduction about the topic and also highlights the scope and purpose of the study. The second chapter covers the methodology adopted for the collection and analysis of water quality parameters, sediment and the macrobenthic fauna.Chapter 3 deals with hydrographic features, sediment characteristics and the spatial variation and abundance of macrobenthic fauna in the Cochin estuary.Chapter 4 explains the impact of organic enrichment on macrobenthic popUlation in the Cochin estuary and includes the comparison of the present data with the earlier work in this region.Chapter 5 deals with seasonal variability in abundance of macrobenthic species in the estuary. The study was conducted from 9 stations during three seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon) in 2003.Chapter 6 deals with Life history and Population Dynamics of Eriopisa chilkensis Chilton (Gammaridae-Amphipoda). The life cycle of the gammarid amphipod Eriopisa chilkensis from the Cochin estuary, south west coast of India was studied for the first time under laboratory conditions.

Photonic applications of biomaterials with special reference to biopolymers and microbes

This thesis Entitled Photonic applications of biomaterials with special reference to biopolymers and microbes. A detailed investigation will be presented in the present thesis related to direct applications of biopolymers into some selected area of photonics and how the growth kinetics of an aerial bacterial colony on solid agar media was studied using laser induced fluorescence technique. This chapter is an overview of the spectrum of biomaterials and their application to Photonics. The chapter discusses a wide range of biomaterials based photonics applications like efficient harvesting of solar energy, lowthreshold lasing, high-density data storage, optical switching, filtering and template for nano s tructures. The most extensively investigated photonics application in biology is Laser induced fluorescence technique. The importance of fluorescence studies in different biological and related fields are also mentioned in this chapter.

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.

Hysteresis in a system driven by either generalized force or displacement variables: martensitic phase transition in single-crystalline Cu-Zn-Al

We report on experiments aimed at comparing the hysteretic response of a Cu-Zn-Al single crystal undergoing a martensitic transition under strain-driven and stress-driven conditions. Strain-driven experiments were performed using a conventional tensile machine while a special device was designed to perform stress-driven experiments. Significant differences in the hysteresis loops were found. The strain-driven curves show reentrant behavior yield point which is not observed in the stress-driven case. The dissipated energy in the stress-driven curves is larger than in the strain-driven ones. Results from recently proposed models qualitatively agree with experiments.

Studies on the Intercompartmental Exchange of Trace Metals in an Estuarine System

The present study is an attempt at investigating the intercompartmental exchange of trace metals (copper, cadmium, zinc, lead and nickel) in the Cochin estuary. The nature and extent of distribution in the different compartments with special reference to the transport from environmental compartments to biological compartments have been dealt with in detail. The suitability of the shells of Villorita cyprinoides var cochinensis (Hanely) in pollution monitoring activities has been assessed. A mathematical model (SAAMPLE - Shells in the Assessment of Aquatic Metal Pollution Levels) based on kinetic laws that govern the intercompartmental exchange has been proposed.

Studies on the bacteria associated with Penaeus indicus in a culture system

Ocean persists as a rich and renewable source of cheap protein for the whole world. Among the prawns/shrimps landed from the Indian Ocean and her backwaters, more than 90% are exported to affluent countries. The Indian white prawn Penaeus indicus, constitutes the major portion of the frozen shrimps exported from India every year. The present study is aimed at gathering information on the total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) associated with B. indicus, with special reference to eggs, nauplii, zoeae, mysis, and post larvae in hatchery, and juveniles and adults in culture pond. Simultaneously, IHB associated with E. indicus in its natural habitat also is studied for comparison. It is envisaged that this information will be highly useful for modifying the existing hatchery and pond management-practices.

Studies on fungal flora with special reference to Yeasts in the Cochin backwaters

Man's concern with environmental deterioration is one of the major reasons for the increased interest in marine and estuarine microbes. Microbes form an important link in the biogeochemical cycling and their cyclinq activites often determine to a large measure the potential productivity of an ecosystem In the recycling of the nutrients in the estuary, bacteria and fungi therefore play a particularly significant role.The allochthonous plant materials contain biopolymers such as cellulose, lignin, humus etc., that are difficult to degrade into simpler substances. The fungi have the ability to degrade _substances, thereby making them available for cycling within the system. The present study is devoted to find the composition and the activity of myco populations of Cochin backwater. For convenience the thesis is divided into eight chapters. The opening chapter briefly reviews the literature and projects the importance of work and the main objectives. Second chapter discusses the materials and methods. In the third chapter the systematic and taxonomy of estuarine yeasts are examined in detail since this information is scarcely available for our waters. The general ecological aspects of the yeasts and filamentous fungi in the area of study are examined in the fourth chapter using appropriate statistical techniques. A special reference to the fungi in a small mangrove ecosystem is attempted in the fifth chapter. The biochemical studies are discussed in the sixth chapter and the penultimate chapter provides an overall discussion. In the last chapter the summary of the work is presented.

Role of academic bodies with special references to the academic programmes in the universities in Kerala

This makes a thorough study of Role of Academic Bodies with Special Reference to the Academic Programmes in the Universities in Kerala. The present study has dealt with the constitution, powers and functions of the authorities of the universities in Kerala, especially the academic bodies which have well-defined powers and function. This thesis gives in detail the role and functions of the academic bodies in the four universities in Kerala, under study: and examines the role-effectiveness of these bodies. To sum up, it can be concluded that the academic bodies in the universities in Kerala do not function as effectively as envisaged in the laws of the universities. They have a maintenance-oriented approach rather than a dynamic one, without thinking in terms of introducing innovations. They need improvement in the various aspects of their constitution, selection of members and their mode of functioning

Materials management in state transport undertakings in india with special reference to kerala state road transport corporation

Scientific studies on the materials management systems and practices actually followed in various organizations in India are rather limited. This is particularly true with respect to service industries. In this context ,the present study on the “materials management in state transport undertakings in India, with special reference to kerala state road corporation” assumes particular significance . This study, examines critically, the prevailing set up, procedures and practices of materials management in the Kerala state road transport corporation and compares them with the prevailing practices in other similar state transport undertakings. It indicates several areas for improvement with respect to the organization, materials planning, purchasing, store keeping and other aspects. It also seeks to develop a comprehensive inventory control system for KSRTC.

Organisational alienation: A study with special reference to Kerala water authority

The term 'organisation' is used in different contexts. In this study, organisation is considered as a 'socio—technical system. Alienation, as a term and as a theme, are found in many writings from very early times. But the concept and emphasis differ. The writers who have explained alienation includes theologians, philosophers, anthropologists, economists, political scientists, historians, psychologists and sociologists

Studies On Vulcanization, Rheology And Reinforcement Of Natural Rubber Latex With Special Reference To Accelerator Combinations, Surface Active Agents And Gamma Irradiation

In the present work, studies on vulcanization, rheology and reinforcement of natural rubber latex with special reference to accelerator combinations, surface active agents and gamma irradiation have been undertaken. In vulcanization, the choice of vulcanization system, the extent and mc-zie of vulcanization and network structure of the vulcanizate are important factors contributing to the overall quality of the product. The vulcanization system may be conventional type using elemental sulfur or a system involving sulfur donors. The latter type is used mainly in the manufacture of heat resistant products. For improving the technical properties of the products such as modulus and tensile strength, different accelerator combinations are used. It is known that accelerators have a strong effect on the physical properties of rubber vulcanizates. A perusal of the literature indicates that fundamental studies on the above aspects of latex technology are very limited. Thereforea systematic study on vulcanization, rheology and reinforcement of natural rubber latex with reference to the effect of accelerator combinations, surface active agents and gamma irradiation has been undertaken. The preparation and evaluation of some products like latex thread was also undertaken as a part of the study. The thesis consists of six chapter

Efficacy of Cluster- Based Approach for the revival of Handloom Co-operative Societies in Kerala- with special reference to Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur Districts

one of the key sectors, identified by the Department of Industries Government of Kerala, for the cluster development initiative is Handloom, which gives employment to over over 50,000 people directly. Despite its age old tradition and fame, the performance of the sector vis-à-vis power looms is not very rosy owing to (i) competition from cheap power loom cloth from other states (ii) scarcity of quality yarn (iii) price escalation of yarn, dyes, chemicals and other raw materials (iv) the shrinking market for handlooms in Kerala (v) non-demand based production and inadequacy of new designs and (vi) inefficiencies in the system, particularly in the co-operative sector. Cluster based approach is adopted in the handloom sector with the objective of providing necessary support mechanism to come out of the crisis that the sector faces now. While four cluster schemes are being implemented in Kerala, it is under IHDS-CDP that the State got a sizeable number of clusters benefiting a large number of societies and weavers- 24 handloom clusters, bringing 152 handloom co-operative societies and over 19,800 handloom workers under the Programme. This research attempts to revisit the underlying rationale and context of the new direction and would attempt to broadly analyze the growth trends under the influence of cluster model adopted by the State IHDS-CDP for the revival of handloom sector through a detailed study of the handloom co-operative societies in Kerala. If handloom sector in Kerala can be revived using cluster based approach, it can be easily concluded that cluster is capable of taking the MSME in Kerala to a ‘high growth path.’ The study is aimed at understanding how best clusters emerge as appropriate industrial organization suitable for the current global structure of manufacture