A simple genetic basis for complex social behaviour mediates widespread gene expression differences.

A remarkable social polymorphism is controlled by a single Mendelian factor in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. A genomic element marked by the gene Gp-9 determines whether workers tolerate one or many fertile queens in their colony. Gp-9 was recently shown to be part of a supergene with two nonrecombining variants, SB and Sb. SB/SB and SB/Sb queens differ in how they initiate new colonies, and in many physiological traits, for example odour and maturation rate. To understand how a single genetic element can affect all these traits, we used a microarray to compare gene expression patterns between SB/SB and SB/Sb queens of three different age classes: 1-day-old unmated queens, 11-day-old unmated queens and mated, fully reproductive queens collected from mature field colonies. The number of genes that were differentially expressed between SB/SB and SB/Sb queens of the same age class was smallest in 1-day-old queens, maximal in 11-day-old queens and intermediate in reproductive queens. Gene ontology analysis showed that SB/SB queens upregulate reproductive genes faster than SB/Sb queens. For all age classes, genes inside the supergene were overrepresented among the differentially expressed genes. Consistent with the hypothesized greater number of transposons in the Sb supergene, 13 transposon genes were upregulated in SB/Sb queens. Viral genes were also upregulated in SB/Sb mature queens, consistent with the known greater parasite load in colonies headed by SB/Sb queens compared with colonies headed by SB/SB queens. Eighteen differentially expressed genes between reproductive queens were involved in chemical signalling. Our results suggest that many genes in the supergene are involved in regulating social organization and queen phenotypes in fire ants.

Production under glass : working conditions and class-consciousness of the Niagara greenhouse workers

This study applies a Marxist theoretical paradigm to examine the working conditions of greenhouse workers in the Niagara Region, and the range of factors that bear upon the formation of their class-consciousness. The Niagara greenhouse industry represents one of the most developed horticultural regions in Canada and plays a prominent role in the local economy. The industry generates substantial revenues and employs a significant number of people, yet the greenhouse workers are paid one of the lowest rates in the region. Being classified as agricultural workers, the greenhouse employees are exempted from many provisions of federal and provincial labour regulations. Under the current provincial statutes, agricultural workers in Ontario are denied the right to organize and bargain collectively. Except for a few technical and managerial positions, the greenhouse industry employs mostly low-skilled workers who are subjected to poor working conditions that stem from the employer's attempts to adapt to larger structural imperatives of the capitalist economy. While subjected to these poor working conditions, the greenhouse workers are also affected by objectively alienated social relations and by ruling class ideological domination and hegemony. These two sets of factors arise from the inherent conflict of interests between wage-labour and capital but also militate against the development of class-consciousness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 greenhouse workers to examine the role played by their material circumstances in the formulation of their social and political views as well as the extent to which they are aware of their class location and class interests. The hegemonic notions of 'common sense' acted as impediments to formation of classconsciousness. The greenhouse workers have virtually no opportunities to access alternative perspectives that would address the issues associated with exploitation in production and offer solutions leading to 'social justice'. Fonnidable challenges confront any organized political body seeking to improve the conditions of the working people.

A Study of role conflict, role ambiguity, locus of control, job satisfaction and participation in decision making among front-line vocational service workers for mentally retarded adults

This study was an investigation of individual and organizational factors, as perceived by front-line vocational service workers from Adult Rehabilitation Centres (ARC Industries) for mentally retarded adults. The specific variables which were measured included role conflict/role ambiguity (role factors), internal/external locus of control (individual differences), job satisfaction with work and supervision (job attitudes) and participation in deci~ion making (organizational factor). The exploration of these constructs was conducted by means of self-report questionnaires which were completed by sixty-nine out of a total of ninety front-line employees. The surveys were distributed in booklet form to nine distinct rehabilitation facilities from St. Catharines, West Lincoln, Greater Niagara, Port Colborne, WeIland, Fort Erie, Hamilton, Guelph and Brantford. The survey data was evaluated by the statisti.cal Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) which used the Pearson Product Moment Correlation procedure and a compar~son of means test. A comparison of correlation coefficients test was also conducted. This statistical procedure was calculated mathematically. The results obtained from the statistical evaluation confirmed the prediction that self-reported measures of participation in decision making and satisfaction (work and supervision) would be negatively correlated with role conflict and role ambiguity. As well, the speculation that perceived satisfaction (work and supervision) would be positively correlated with participation in decision making was empirically supported. Internal and external locus of control did not contribute to a significant difference in r~sponses to role perceptions (conflict and ambiguity) , satisfaction (work and supervision) or the correlational relationship between participation in decision making and satisfaction (work and supervision). Overall, the findings from this study substantiated the importance of examining employee perceptions in the workplace and the interrelationships among individual and organizational variables. This research was considered a contribution to the general area of occupational stress and to the study of individuals in work organizations.

Shop-floor narratives : how six workers and a researcher describe learning activities

I am a part-time graduate student who works in industry. This study is my narrative about how six workers and I describe shop-floor learning activities, that is learning activities that occur where work is done, outside a classroom. Because this study is narrative inquiry, you wilileam about me, the narrator, more than you would in a more conventional study. This is a common approach in narrative inquiry and it is important because my intentions shape the way that I tell these six workers' stories. I developed a typology of learning activities by synthesizing various theoretical frameworks. This typology categorizes shop-floor learning activities into five types: onthe- job training, participative learning, educational advertising, incidental learning, and self-directed learning. Although learning can occur in each of these activities in isolation, it is often comprised of a mixture of these activities. The literature review contains a number of cases that have been developed from situations described in the literature. These cases are here to make the similarities and differences between the types of learning activities that they represent more understandable to the reader and to ground the typology in practice as well as in theory. The findings are presented as reader's theatre, a dramatic presentation of these workers' narratives. The workers tell us that learning involves "being shown," and if this is not done properly they "learn the hard way." I found that many of their best case lean1ing activities involved on-the-job training, participative learning, incidentalleaming, and self-directed learning. Worst case examples were typically lacking in properly designed and delivered participative learning activities and to a lesser degree lacking carefully planned and delivered on-the-job training activities. Included are two reflective chapters that describe two cases: Learning "Engels" (English), and Learning to Write. In these chapters you will read about how I came to see that my own shop-floor learning-learning to write this thesis-could be enhanced through participative learning activities. I came to see my thesis supervisor as not only my instructor who directed and judged my learning activities, but also as a more experienced researcher who was there to participate in this process with me and to help me begin to enter the research community. Shop-floor learning involves learners and educators participating in multistranded learning activities, which require an organizational factor of careful planning and delivery. As with learning activities, which can be multi-stranded, so too, there can be multiple orientations to learning on the shop floor. In our stories, you will see that these six workers and I didn't exhibit just one orientation to learning in our stories. Our stories demonstrate that we could be behaviorist and cognitivist and humanist and social learners and constructivist in our orientation to learning. Our stories show that learning is complex and involves multiple strands, orientations, and factors. Our stories show that learning narratives capture the essence of learning-the learners, the educators, the learning activities, the organizational factors, and the learning orientations. Learning narratives can help learners and educators make sense of shop-floor learning.

Intraspecific and interspecific social variation in the sweat bee Lasioglossum Malachurum and other members of the subgenus Evylaeus

Sweat bees exhibit a range of social behaviours, from solitary nesting, in which no workers are produced, to strong eusociality, in which workers exhibit a high degree of altruism, behaviour that is measured by the degree of personal reproductive sacrifice. Field studies were carried out for seven weeks during May-June 2000 in southern Greece in order to investigate intraspecific social variation, and test the hypothesis of a north-south cline of decreasing eusociality in the obligately eusocial sweat bee L. (E.) malachurum. A comparative study, using principal components analysis, was performed to determine if patterns of intraspecific social variation in L. malachurum reflect the patterns of social variation within the subgenus, Evylaeus, as a whole. The results of the field study reveal that, in Greece, two worker broods were produced followed by a third brood consisting of gynes, males and some workers, indicating that there was an overlap in worker and gyne production. There was strong caste distinction between queens and workers. Workers actively foraged and participated in nest construction as most workers (58%, n=303) had a high degree of mandibular wear. Workers did not participate in the oviposition of Brood 3 gynes since only 0.7% (n=278) of workers were mated. Furthermore, queen survival until the end of Brood 3 and a substantial size differential of 10.6% between queens and workers suggested that queen domination over worker behaviour during the early to mid-part of the colony cycle was plausible. Male production in Brood 3 by some workers was likely, since the timing of worker ovarian development corresponded with the timing of male production. These findings suggest that workers of the first two broods were primarily altruistic, but some (28%) Brood 1 (9%) and Brood 2 (19%) workers produced males, indicating that the degree of altruistic behaviour declined during the lifetime of the colony. In comparison with other L. malachurum populations in Europe, the Greek population of L. malachurum had a weaker social level as a result of the higher proportion of workers potentially involved in male production, thus 3 supporting the hypothesis of a southerly cline of decreasing eusociality. Furthermore, intraspecific variation in social level across Europe appears to be due to longer breeding seasons in more southerly locations that would promote the production of larger colonies and provide opportunities for workers to evade queen control. The comparative study using principal components analysis on 20 solitary (of the subgenera Evylaeus and Lasioglossum), eusocial and socially polymorphic Evylaeus species and populations reveals that six traits are closely associated with stronger eusociality in Evylaeus. These traits are: (1) a reduction in the proportion of males in the early brood(s); (2) a reduction in the proportion of females that mate; (3) an increase in the mean number of first brood workers; (4) a reduction in the proportion of females with developed ovaries; (5) an increase in size dimorphism between castes, and (6) nest guarding. These are traits that most significantly define principal component one and therefore distinguish social type as indicated by a clear separation of the eusocial and the solitary populations, with a socially polymorphic species falling in between. Furthermore, most of these traits are under foundress control and may suggest that the evolutionary loss or gain of eusociality is based on selection pressures on a founding female. Colony size and female ovarian development are common factors distinguishing social variation in L. malachurum and within the subgenus as a whole. The principal components analysis excluding the solitary species and the socially aberrant L. marginatum populations show the L. malachurum populations separated based on an increasing proportion of workers with developed ovaries as populations are found more south, lending further support to the hypothesis of a north-south cline of decreasing eusociality.

A crisis of social democracy : organized labour and the NDP in an era of neoliberalism

The NDP was founded out of the ashes of the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation to cooperate with the Canadian Labour Congress to become the 'political arm of organized labour' in Canada. The NDP has long claimed they are the party which represents the policy goals of organized labour in Canada: that the NDP alone will fight for trade union rights, and will fight for Canadian workers. Divergent Paths is an examination of the links between the labour movement and the ND P in an era ofneo-liberalism. Provincial NDP governments have become increasingly neoliberal in their ideological orientation, and have often proved to be no friend to the labour movement when they hold office. The Federal party has never held power, nor have they ever formed the Official Opposition. This thesis charts the progress of the federal NDP as they become more neoliberal from 1988 to 2006, and shows how this trend effects the links between the NDP and labour. Divergent Paths studies each federal election from 1988 to 2006, looking at the interactions between Labour and the NDP during these elections. Elections provide critical junctions to study discourse - party platforms, speeches, and other official documents can be used to examine discourse. Extensive newspaper searches were used to follow campaign events and policy speeches. Studying the party's discourse can be used to determine the ideological orientation of the party itself: the fact that the party's discourse has become neoliberal is a sure sign that the party itself is neoliberal. The NDP continues to drive towards the centre of the political spectrum in an attempt to gain multi-class support. The NDP seems more interested in gaining seats at any cost, rather then promoting the agenda of Labour. As the party attempts to open up to more multi-class support, Labour becomes increasingly marginalised in the party. A rift which arguably started well before the 1988 election was exacerbated during that election; labour encouraged the NDP to campaign solely on the issue of Free Trade, and the NDP did not. The 1993 election saw the rift between the two grow even further as the Federal NDP suffered major blowbacks from the actions of the Ontario NDP. The 1997 and 2000 elections saw the NDP make a deliberate move to the centre of the political spectrum which increasingly marginalised labour. In the 2004 election, Jack Layton made no attempt to move the party back to the left; and in 2006 the link between labour and the NDP was perhaps irreparably damaged when the CAW endorsed the Liberal party in a strategic voting strategy, and the CLC did not endorse the NDP. The NDP is no longer a reliable ally of organized labour. The Canadian labour movement must decide wether the NDP can be 'salvaged' or if the labour movement should end their alliance with the NDP and engage in a new political project.

Searching for Accommodations within the Ontario Criminal Justice System for Persons with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Views of Social Service Agency and Justice Professionals

Although persons with intellectual disabilities have been conceptualized as having rights to equality in Canada and internationally, there continue to be gaps in the delivery of justice when they are involved within the criminal process. The literature consistently reported that individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASDs) often experienced challenges within the justice system, such as difficulty understanding abstract legal concepts (Conry & Fast, 2009). In the Canadian legal system, accommodations are available to enable persons with disabilities to receive equal access to justice; however, how these are applied to persons with FASDs had not been fully explored in the literature. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with social service agency workers (n=10) and justice professionals (n=10) regarding their views of the challenges persons with FASDs experience in the justice system and their suggestions on the use of accommodations. The findings showed that while supports have been provided for individuals with intellectual disabilities, there has been a lack of specialized accommodations available specifically for individuals with FASDs in accessing their right to justice.

The perceptions of commune health workers about an education strategy received for counselling fathers about infant and breastfeeding involvement

Objective To evaluate the perceptions of healthcare workers in Vietnam about the efficacy of a continuing education strategy about father involvement and breastfeeding counselling. Design One group, post-test only, quasi-experimental design Method A questionnaire based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 2004) was disseminated to participants (N=28). This questionnaire measured self-efficacy, outcome expectations, socio-structural factors, goal setting and behaviour. Multiple regressions were analyzed predicting participants’ practice of client focused father involvement consulting. Results Bivariate correlations demonstrated the anticipated patterns of association between SCT-based constructs. Multiple regression analysis indicated that outcome expectations and barriers were significant predictors of client focused father involvement consulting. Conclusions Participants reported that the education increased their self-efficacy, outcome expectations and client focused father involvement consulting behaviour. Future education should be accessible, increase counselling confidence and address beliefs about the outcomes and challenges of father involvement consulting.

Étude exploratoire du soutien social dans le processus menant à l'hébergement des aînés en perte d'autonomie

Contexte : Au Québec, la très grande majorité des personnes âgées vivent dans un logement conventionnel. Pour celles qui sont en plus grande perte d’autonomie et qui ont besoin d’un environnement adapté à leurs besoins, soit environ 12 % de la population âgée de 65 ans ou plus en 2006, les options sont relativement limitées. Au 1er rang, on retrouve les résidences privées, pour ceux et celles qui en ont les moyens. Pour les autres, il y a les centres de soins de longue durée publics ou privés. Viennent ensuite les organismes sans but lucratif qui opèrent des projets résidentiels pour aînés, les communautés religieuses qui accueillent des personnes âgées dans leurs résidences, les ressources intermédiaires, les ressources de type familial, les habitations à loyer modique pour personnes âgées et les coopératives d’habitation. Les ressources alternatives du type projets novateurs arrivent en dernière position, ce qui explique que l’on en sait encore très peu sur la transition vers ce type d’hébergement. Problème et objet de recherche : La transition vers un milieu de vie substitut est un processus qui peut être potentiellement stressant dans la vie d’une personne âgée. Son réseau de soutien peut être appelé à jouer un rôle important pour l’aider à vivre cette transition avec plus de facilité. Si la littérature sur le soutien social est abondante, elle est plus limitée en ce qui concerne la relation entre le soutien social et la transition en milieu d’hébergement. La plupart des travaux recensés étudient les conséquences de l’hébergement durant les mois qui suivent le relogement. Quelques études analysent le processus décisionnel mais rares sont celles qui s’intéressent à toutes les étapes du processus qui précèdent le relogement. La plupart des recherches analysent surtout le point de vue des aidants et parfois celui des professionnels. Celui des personnes âgées est moins connu. But et objectifs : Le but de cette étude consiste à mieux comprendre comment opèrent les différentes formes de soutien social auprès des personnes âgées durant les diverses étapes du processus de transition en milieu d’hébergement. Plus précisément, elle vise à mieux comprendre comment ces personnes perçoivent les différents types de soutien apporté par leur réseau de soutien durant la transition, la signification que prend pour elles l’aide reçue, les besoins auxquels répond le soutien reçu et pourquoi elles apprécient ou non le soutien reçu. Cadre conceptuel : Cette recherche de type exploratoire et rétrospective se situe dans une approche des parcours de vie. La transition en milieu d’hébergement est étudiée comme un processus faisant partie de la trajectoire résidentielle de la personne. On privilégie une approche interactionnelle et constructiviste du soutien social qui accorde une attention plus grande aux interprétations subjectives des personnes faisant partie des réseaux de soutien. Méthodologie : On a interviewé huit (8) résidents (6 femmes et 2 hommes) de 64 ans ou plus, vivant dans un milieu d’hébergement alternatif de type projet novateur : les Habitations St-Christophe, une ressource alternative située dans la ville de Laval au Québec. Les perceptions des sujets du soutien social reçu durant la transition sont analysées à l’aide de la théorisation ancrée, la plus appropriée pour comprendre de l’intérieur le point de vue des participants. Résultats : L’analyse des perceptions des résidents interviewés du processus qui les a conduits aux Habitations St-Christophe a permis de mieux comprendre l’influence de leurs trajectoires résidentielles, les transitions ayant mené à leur hébergement, leurs perceptions du processus décisionnel et du rôle joué par des tiers dans les décisions prises, ainsi que les motifs de ces décisions, de même que le rôle joué par le soutien social durant la transition. Trois modèles de réseaux ont été identifiés, en tenant compte de la fréquence des contacts, de l’intensité des liens et de la disponibilité du soutien. Les formes les plus importantes de soutien reçu ont été identifiées à partir des perceptions des sujets de l’aide émotionnelle, instrumentale et cognitive fournie pendant la transition et de leur appréciation du soutien reçu. L’analyse a permis d’identifier deux modèles de transition (transition réfléchie, préparée et anticipée versus transition précipitée) et deux modèles de soutien (soutien valorisé versus soutien peu valorisé). Conclusions : Outre les éléments de convergence et les points de divergence observés entre nos résultats et la littérature, un certain nombre d’enseignements ont été retenus au niveau de l’intervention. Ceux-ci concernent les conditions gagnantes à mettre en place par les gestionnaires des services publics, certains principes à respecter dans les interventions, les mesures à prendre pour améliorer les interventions des professionnels et les interventions à mettre en place à l’intention des personnes âgées et de leurs proches aidants.

La délinquance chez les jeunes : une évaluation approfondie de l’enchâssement social et du chevauchement des sphères relationnelles

Il est bien établi dans la littérature en criminologie que les pairs délinquants peuvent avoir un effet néfaste sur les comportements d’un jeune. L’analyse des caractéristiques de l’entourage social est donc essentielle à une compréhension globale des conduites individuelles. Puisqu’il est impossible pour un jeune, délinquant ou non, de se distancer complètement du monde conventionnel (Sykes et Matza, 1957; Warr 2002), il importe de considérer le chevauchement des relations conventionnelles et délinquantes pour saisir l’ampleur du phénomène de l’influence social. De surcroît, le réseau social des jeunes ne se limite pas à leurs amis, les membres de la famille, les collègues de classe et de travail pouvant aussi avoir une influence sur les comportements. La présente étude propose une analyse de l’entourage social de 237 jeunes âgés de 14 à 24 ans, fréquentant les organismes communautaires au Québec. Les résultats révèlent que: 1) la participation à un délit chez les jeunes en communauté est fréquente, 2) les caractéristiques du réseau social, reflétant l’enchâssement social, ne se trouvent pas révélatrices de la participation à un délit, 3) côtoyer les membres de son réseau social en grande intensité réduit de manière significative le volume de délits de marché commis dans une année, et ce, même en contrôlant la présence de contacts délinquants dans le réseau, 4) la présence de contacts délinquants dans plus d’une sphère relationnelle composant le réseau social permet de créer un index de dispersion de la délinquance reflétant ainsi l’enchâssement criminel des jeunes et finalement 5) plus les contacts délinquants sont dispersés à travers les sphères relationnelles, plus le risque de participation à un délit augmente. Toutefois, la dispersion des contacts délinquants dans le réseau social ne prédit pas la fréquence des délits commis. À des fins d’intervention, connaître la dispersion de la délinquance dans le réseau social peut aider à la prévention des comportements délinquants.

Préoccupations éthiques des intervenants dans leur travail d'accompagnement auprès des aînés en fin de vie résidant en centre d'hébergement

Cette thèse en bioéthique a pour objectif d'identifier les préoccupations éthiques des intervenants dans leur tâche d'accompagnement des personnes âgées en fin de vie qui résident en centre d'hébergement. Dans le cadre d'une recherche exploratoire de type qualitatif, 12 entrevues semi dirigées sont réalisées avec des intervenants travaillant en contact direct auprès de la clientèle des centres d'hébergement. L'originalité de cette thèse est de donner la parole aux intervenants en contact direct avec les résidents et de recueillir les préoccupations qu'ils ont en tête lorsqu'ils exécutent leur gestes de soins. L'analyse qualitative des contenus d'entrevue permet de dégager de multiples préoccupations de ces intervenants face à différents éléments du milieu, tels l'établissement en tant qu'organisation, les résidents en fin de vie, les pairs de ces derniers, les collaborateurs des intervenants (familles et collègues de travail), de même qu'envers eux-mêmes au plan de leur savoir-faire et de leur savoir-être. Certains éléments en limitent toutefois la portée : le choix de volontaires comme participants, le nombre réduit de ces derniers particulièrement au niveau des personnes de sexe masculin, et l'effet de désidérabilité sociale qui a pu entraîner la présentation d'une vision améliorée de la réalité. Cette thèse contribue à l'avancement des connaissances en bioéthique en démontrant que le recours à la pensée éthique de Ricœur constitue une grille pertinente à utiliser pour la compréhension et l'analyse du fonctionnement institutionnel, du vécu des résidents en fin de vie de même que des interventions du personnel au plan de leur accompagnement envers les résidents et les familles. En s'appuyant sur les composantes de la peine éthique de Ricœur pour jeter les bases d'un programme de fin de vie en centre d'hébergement, cette thèse montre également que la référence à Ricœur peut constituer une ressource valable pour élaborer une réponse à la directive ministérielle en tenant compte des recommandations des intervenants.

Social Security of Labour in the New Indian Economy

Globalisation has many facets and its impact on labour is one of the most significant aspects.Though its influence is worldwide,it is much more significant in a transforming economy like India.The right of workers to social security is seen recognised under the Constitution of India and other welfare legislations.But,after adoption of the new economic policy of liberalisation and privatisation by the Government of India,the labour is exposed to new set of challenges.They are posed mainly due to economic restructuring affected in employment relationship,coupled with the increase in unprotected informal labour force.This study is an attempt to analyse the new challenges stemming up in employment relation,efficacy of the existing measures for social security of labour in the present economic condition and the suggestions for securing workers'right to social security in the trade regime.

"Profile of Industrial workers in Kerala - A Comparative Study of the Socioeconomic Profile of Workers in Traditional and Modern Industries

The objective of this study is to assess the changes that have been taking place in the socio-economic profile of organized industrial workers of Kerala in the context of the changes that have been taking place in the state's industrial structure. with this object in view, the study seeks to find out the similarities and differences in the profile of workers belonging to two Segments of factory sector industries in Kerala viz., modern and traditional segments. It also seeks to examine the factors leading to the differences in profile, if any, and their consequences. As noted earlier, the profile of workers may be influenced both by external societal factors and by internal factors like the difference in industrial structure and the technologies used. It is proposed to assess the relative importance of these two groups of factors. In drawing up the profile, we seek to find out whether the workers belonging to the organised sector of industry in Kerala particularly the more modern sector have begun to form a ‘select group‘ in the Kerala society and the total work force. Wherever possible, it is proposed to compare the profile of the Kerala workers with those of workers in other states of India. As an incidental objective, it is also proposed to find out to the extent possible, whether trends towards labour embourgeoisement and class shifting have begun to set in among the industrial workers of Kerala, particularly among the workers in the modern industries as a result of their relative affluence and their middle class socioeconomic background. besides, the study seeks to find out whether there is any difference in the class consciousness of workers belonging to these two segments of organized industry, arising from the differences in their economic status and social background.

Social Clause of WTO and India

The concept of social clause has been accepted in the GATT agreement to prescribe the labour standards. Social clause , $tands for protecting labour standards, more specificalfy prohibition of employment of children in hazardous industries, providing adequate wages. healthy and hygienic working conditions, special social welfare protection for women, prescription of hours of work and rest and provision for efficacious remedy in case of default by employer to provide these conditions to his workers.

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.