Cashew industry in Kerala problems and potentials

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

Fiji’s sugar, tourism and garment industries : a survey of performance, problems and potentials

Sugar, tourism and garment industries are three of Fiji’s major industries. These industries have been undergoing some serious problems during the past decade. This paper analyses the performance of these industries, examines the problems besieging them, and looks at the potentials these industries have for the country. The paper also offers some suggestions which policy makers in Fiji could consider in order to ensure that these industries continue to benefit Fiji.

Ornamental fish resources of Manipur: potentials, problems and strategies for development

The study revealed 125 species of fishes in Manipur of which 95 species belonging to 48 genera and 22 families have ornamental value. Fifty percent of these belonged to the family Cyprinidae, 7% to Cobitidae, 5% to Sisoridae 7% to Balitoridae, 3% to Channidae, 8% to Bagridae, 2% each to Chandidae and Mastacembelidae. Species representation in other families (16%) includes 1.6% each in Belonidae, Nandidae, Notopteridae, Psilorhynchidae, Schilbeidae and 0.8% each in Amblydpitidae, Anabantidae, Aplocheilidae, Belonidae,Chacidae, Clupeidae, Mugilidae, Symbranchidae, Siluridae and Tetradontidae. The conservation status of fishes showed that 25.6% of them have not been evaluated, 21.6% are vulnerable, 16.0% are endangered and 2.4% are critically endangered. "Low risk near threatened" category amounted to 25.6% and only 6.4% in "low risk least concern" category. Hence a cautious and regulated approach needs to be adopted while promoting ornamental fish trade. Suitable strategies for developing a viable ornamental fish trade in the state are discussed.

School students and part-time work: Workplace problems and challenges.

This paper uses data from a large national project on student-working to examine problems and challenges for school students working in part-time jobs. While literature has identified some potential problems and challenges, and some potential difficulties can be extrapolated from the nature of a young teenage workforce and the nature of the workplaces, these were largely absent in the two companies researched because the companies already had policies in place that addressed the potential problems. Some suggestions are made about how problems and challenges could be avoided in a wider range of adolescent workplaces.

Students' and teachers' perceptions of adolescents' problems and coping strategies

In an investigation of the problems and coping strategies of Australian high school students, comparisons were made between the responses of 1664 students enrolled in years 8 to 12 in 1988, 1620 students enrolled in the same year levels in 1993, and 178 high school teachers in 1993. The subjects completed the High School Stressors Scale and the Adolescent Coping Strategies Scale. Data analyses using MANOVAs, ANOVAs, and t- tests revealed close similarities between the responses of the 1993 students and those of the 1988 students, but a considerable amount of incongruence between the responses of the students and those of the teachers. In particular, the teachers generally seemed to regard their students' problems as being more serious than was acknowledged by the students, and the teachers generally seemed to project a less positive view of adolescents' coping strategies than did the students. These discrepancies are discussed in terms of the different orientations that students and teachers bring to the student- teacher relationship. It is suggested that teachers and counsellors need to take cognisance of the differences between adolescents' perspectives and their own if they are going to be effective in assisting students to develop positive coping strategies and in creating more positive learning environments.

Identifying child sexual abuse within school contexts : policy problems and solutions, and a landmark case

As a strategy to identify child sexual abuse, most Australian States and Territories have enacted legislation requiring teachers to report suspected cases. Some Australian State and non-State educational authorities have also created policy-based obligations to report suspected child sexual abuse. Significantly, these can be wider than non-existent or limited legislative duties, and therefore are a crucial element of the effort to identify sexual abuse. Yet, no research has explored the existence and nature of these policy-based duties. The first purpose of this paper is to report the results of a three-State study into policy-based reporting duties in State and non-State schools in Australia. In an extraordinary coincidence, while conducting the study, a case of failure to comply with reporting policy occurred with tragic consequences. This led to a rare example in Australia (and one of only a few worldwide) of a professional being prosecuted for failure to comply with a legislative duty. It also led to disciplinary proceedings against school staff. The second purpose of this paper is to describe this case and connect it with findings from our policy analysis.

Floods, earthquakes and insurance coverage : issues, problems and solutions

The recent floods in Queensland and elsewhere in Australia as well as the recent earthquakes in New Zealand have again given rise to very significant uninsured losses. This article looks at the issue of cover protection against catastrophes such as floods and earthquakes affecting home buildings and contents insurance and the standard cover provisions of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). It points also to the possibility of a national scheme to cover natural disasters including floods.

Challenges and potentials for automotive ergonomics

This presentation is about Automotive Ergonomics at a glance, ergonomics challenges in current vehicles and ergonomics potentials in future vehicles.