Energetics reveals physiologically distinct castes in a eusocial mammal.

Eusociality, which occurs among mammals only in two species of African mole-rat, is characterized by division of labour between morphologically distinct 'castes'1. In Damaraland mole-rats (Cryptomys damarensis), colony labour is divided between 'infrequent worker' and 'frequent worker' castes2. Frequent workers are active year-round and together perform more than 95% of the total work of the colony, whereas infrequent workers typically perform less than 5% of the total work3. Anecdotal evidence suggests that infrequent workers may act as dispersers, with dispersal being limited to comparatively rare periods when the soil is softened by moisture4, 5. Here we show that infrequent workers and queens increase their daily energy expenditure after rainfall whereas frequent workers do not. Infrequent workers are also fatter than frequent workers. We suggest that infrequent workers constitute a physiologically distinct dispersing caste, the members of which, instead of contributing to the work of the colony and helping the queen to reproduce, build up their own body reserves in preparation for dispersal and reproduction when environmental conditions are suitable.

Cooperation among selfish individuals in insect societies

Kin selection is the key to understanding the evolution of cooperation in insect societies. However, kin selection also predicts potential kin conflict, and understanding how these conflicts are resolved is a major goal of current research on social insects

Ant genomics sheds light on the molecular regulation of social organization.

Ants are powerful model systems for the study of cooperation and sociality. In this review, we discuss how recent advances in ant genomics have contributed to our understanding of the evolution and organization of insect societies at the molecular level.

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.

Gestion des ressources naturelles, dégradation de l’environnement et stratégies de subsistance dans le désert de Thar : étude ethnographique dans la région du Marwar, au Rajasthan en Inde

Cette recherche porte sur les origines et les effets de la dégradation de l’environnement dans le désert de Thar, au Rajasthan en Inde. Elle expose les processus politico-économiques qui conditionnent la gestion des ressources naturelles dans la région du Marwar depuis l’indépendance de l’Inde à aujourd’hui. Les modes de gestion des ressources environnementales et agraires dans le contexte du système jagirdari, un système foncier domanial qui prévalait dans la région avant l’indépendance de l’Inde, sont d’abord présentés. S’en suit une analyse de la manière dont les diverses idéologies liées au développement postcolonial ont reconfiguré le paysage socio-administratif et environnemental de la région. Ces transformations ont engendré des désordres écologiques qui ont donné lieu à une crise environnementale et agraire qui connaît son paroxysme avec les nombreux déficits pluviométriques qui sévissent depuis la dernière décennie dans la région. À partir d’une recherche de terrain effectuée dans la communauté de Givas, l’impact – au plan physique et métaphysique – de ces problèmes environnementaux sur la population locale est examiné. L’étude porte également sur les réponses à ces changements, soit les stratégies de subsistance adoptées par la population locale, de même que les interventions déployées par une organisation non gouvernementale et par l’État indien – à travers le National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). L’analyse démontre que l’expérience de la dégradation de l’environnement, à travers ses effets et les stratégies d’adaptation qui s’en suivent, est tributaire de facteurs politiques, économiques et socioculturels et donc différenciée selon le genre, la classe et la caste.

Un cinéma de l’entre-deux : identité, altérité et construction de la nation indienne dans Lagaan d’Ashutosh Gowariker.

Ce mémoire est composé de deux parties : une recherche sur le film Lagaan (2001) du réalisateur indien Ashutosh Gowariker, et un scénario de moyen métrage de fiction. La partie théorique analyse un courant émergeant du cinéma indien que Gowariker a initié avec Lagaan. Ce courant véhicule une vision progressiste de l’identité nationale et semble donc s’opposer au mouvement nationaliste hindutva par ses préoccupations gandhiennes proches de la Nouvelle vague indienne. Pourtant, du point de vue dramatique et esthétique, il adopte une facture commerciale qui correspond bien plus aux attentes du public du Bollywood post-1990. Conjuguant dimension intellectuelle militante et divertissement populaire, il cherche ainsi à réorienter sa vision de la société indienne. Mon analyse, à la fois formelle et sociologique, permettra de comprendre cette tendance dans son contexte sociopolitique. Le scénario raconte l’histoire d’Aastha, une jeune Indienne de caste inférieure luttant pour exister entre tradition et modernité dans l'Inde rurale contemporaine. Il montre la relation ambiguë qu’elle entretient avec une culture qu'elle aime profondément, mais qui est paradoxalement trop oppressante pour lui permettre de s'affirmer.

Les déterminants du travail des enfants en Inde

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Impact of the elderly on household health expenditure in Bihar and Kerala, India

Dans le contexte d’une population vieillissante, nous avons étudié l’impact de la présence de personnes âgées sur les dépenses catastrophiques de santé (DCS), ainsi que leur impact sur trois effets reliés (le fait d’éviter des traitements, la perte de revenu, et l’utilisation de sources de financement alternatives). Nous avons utilisé les données d’une enquête du National Sample Survey Organization (Inde) en 2004, portant sur les dépenses reliées à la santé. Nous avons choisi un état développé (Kerala) et un état en voie de développement (Bihar) pour faire une comparaison des effets de la présence de personnes âgées sur les ménages. Nous avons trouvé qu’il y avait plus de DCS au Kerala et que ceci était probablement lié à la présence accrue de personnes âgées au Kerala ce qui mène à plus de maladies chroniques. Nous avons supposé que l’utilisation de services de santé privés serait lié à une augmentation de DCS, mais l’effet a varié en fonction de l’état, du présence d’une personne âgée, et du type de service utilisé (ambulatoire ou hospitalisation). Nous avons aussi trouvé que les femmes âgées au Bihar utilisait les services de santé moins qu’elle ne devrait, que les ménages ayant plus de 4 personnes ont possiblement un effet protecteur pour les personnes âgées, et que certains castes et group religieux ont dû emprunter plus souvent que d’autres groupes pour payer les frais de santé. La présence de personnes âgées, les maladies chroniques, et l’utilisation de services de santé privées sont tous liés aux DCS, mais, d’après nos résultats, d’autres groupes retardent les conséquences économiques en empruntant ou évitant les traitements. Nous espérons que ces résultats seront utilisés pour approfondir les connaissances sur l’effet de personnes âgées sur les dépenses de santé ou qu’ils seront utilisés dans des discussions de politiques de santé.

Aspirations de la relève et nécessité de convaincre dans le culte du Teyyam

Le Teyyam est un rituel de possession hindouiste du Kerala (Inde du Sud) qui nécessite une pratique intransigeante : restrictions, jeûnes, exploits physiques, résistance à la chaleur du feu. Vêtus de costumes spectaculaires, des performeurs de caste intouchable dansent l’épée à la main, au son des tambours frénétiques, et font entendre la parole du dieu qu’ils incarnent; ils auront même le droit de critiquer le système des castes devant la communauté assemblée, le temps d’une inversion rituelle. Alors qu’autrefois il s’agissait d’un devoir de caste associé à une grande précarité, aujourd’hui il s’agit d’un métier que l’on peut choisir d’exercer ou non. Bien qu’on ait déploré un manque de relève à cause des conditions jugées trop difficiles, il y a toutefois de jeunes hommes qui ont décidé de poursuivre cette tradition ancestrale. Au Kerala, de nombreux jeunes aspirent à la classe moyenne et misent sur l’éducation pour espérer un bon emploi, il y a des opportunités, mais pas pour tous, et surtout beaucoup de compétition. C’est dans ce contexte que de jeunes hommes éduqués souhaitent poursuivre une tradition qu’ils admirent et dont ils sont fiers, mais sans avoir à sacrifier leurs chances de réussite sociale. Quelles sont leurs aspirations, quel sens donnent-ils à ce qu’ils souhaitent accomplir? Traditionnellement les relations de patronage dans le Teyyam ont été très dures sous le joug du système des castes, qu’en est-il aujourd’hui? Comment ces performeurs arrivent-il à négocier la réalisation de leurs aspirations dans les coulisses du Teyyam?

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.

The Right to Freedom of Information in Inida

This thesis entitled “The right to freedom of information in india”.In a democracy, the citizens being the persons to choose their own governors, the right to know from the Government is a pre-condition for a properly evaluated election. Freedom of speech and expression, one of the repositories of self~government, forms the basis for the right to know in a wider scale. The functions which the free speech rights serve in a society also emphasize the need for more openness in the functioning of a democracy.Maintanance of law and order and investigation of crimes are highly important in a country like India, where no risk may be taken on account of the public‘s right to know. The Indian situations relating terrorist activities, riots based on language, region, religion and caste are important in this respect. The right to know of the citizens may be regulated in the interests of secrecy required in these areas.On the basis of the conclusions reached in this study, a draft Bill has been proposed for the passing of an Access to Public Documents Act. This Bill is appended to this Thesis.

A study of occupational aspiration of college students i Ernakulam district as related to their Socio-economic backgrounds

The major objective of the study is to find out how far the differential location in the socio-economic status and the various interests determine the occupational aspirations of the college students in Ernakulum district. The study gives a detailed picture of the influence of caste and community affiliations, rural-urban background, gender differences and academic achievements on the occupational aspirations of college students. The thesis aims to see how far the economic status of the family is associated with the occupational aspirations of the college youth .The study also throws light on the influence exerted by the occupational and educational standards of the parents on the occupational aspirations of the students and brings out the relation between the occupational aspirations and interests of the college students.

Impact of land reforms on scheduled castes in kerala - a case study

Perhaps the most characteristic feature of our timesis that economic development has become the goal and ambition of people. The needs which this desire creates are immense they are of course urgent everywhere and they cannot be postponded. Consequently there was a frantic search for formulae of rapid economic development. It was claimed that agrarian reform is the indispensable condition for the development of productive forces and industrialization of the state.A key element in the land reform policy is the provision for ownership of land .Measures taken include redistribution of large estates ,assistance to tenants or labourers to acquire holdings and settlement schemes to establish new farming units on reclaimed or developed lands.In this thesis an attempt is made to evaluate the impact of these reforms on the agrarian structure in general and the scheduled caste in particular.

Accessing Education: Legal Perspectives

Access to education becomes an issue of equity with diverse claims from stakeholders justifying their rights based on perceptions of equity — both social and individual. In-spite of the phenomenal increase since independence in the number of institutions imparting education and the number of beneficiaries, India being the second largest nation in terms of population of the young finds its resources spread thin in meeting the demand for education. Quality education comes at a premium in India whether it is provided in the private or in the public sector. Education seemingly enables the individuals, singly and collectively. to overcome the social barriers perpetuated by the caste system. Taken together, these unleash grave demands on formulating equitable standards. It is in this context that identifying the deserving for favourable consideration becomes all the more important. In this sea of claims and counter-claims, this thesis tries to identify the issues involved on the question of equitable access to education on the basis of the factual position in the field of education. Identifying the issues correctly provides the necessary impetus for framing the questions that provide meaningful answers. The objective of this research is to help formulate the policy guidelines governing the principles of equity that is needed to ensure universal access to education in India.

Customary Laws of Lakshadweep Islands

The customary laws of Union Territory of Lakshadweep islands are a challenge for judicial institution as well as administrative machinery. With the peculiarities of socio-legal institutions, Lakshadweep system stands apart from the mainstream of legal systems in India. How far do the charismatic modernisation trends flowing into the Lakshadweep society affect the people already protected by the uncodified laws of the past? Many are the issues at this stage. This study analyses them. It examines the growth, evolution and development of the legal system in the islands vis-a-vis the administrative mechanism imposed by the mainland ethos and culture.