Friday, August 3, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Women’s realm – studies and research
The Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi, develops, promotes and disseminates knowledge about women’s roles in society and economic trends which affect their lives.
Those who are interested in carrying out serious research on women’s issues can gainfully utilise the rich infrastructure and enlightened and committed faculty in the unique Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi.
The centre was established in 1980. The initiative had come from a group involved in the preparation of the first comprehensive government report on the “Status of women in India.”
Later on, the members of the group were associated with the Women’s Studies Programme of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
The Advisory Committee on Women’s Studies of the council recommended the need for an autonomous institute to build on the knowledge already generated, but with a wider mandate and resources to expand its activities in research and action. This was taken up by the Women’s Bureau of the Union Ministry of Social Welfare. This in brief is the genesis of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, 25, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, New Delhi – 110 001; Website: www.cwds.org. The centre is supported by the ICSSR.
Activities
Develops, promotes and disseminates knowledge about women’s roles in society and economic trends which affect women’s lives and status.
Promotes and coordinates research on women and development.
Organises and assists training programmes in the field; collaborates with institutions engaged in allied activities, especially in areas where under-privileged women are involved.
Provides consultancy services.
In a nutshell, the centre is a catalyst in assisting women in realising their full potential and exercising their active influence on society and its transformation. It discourages any action that marginalises women’s role in, or contribution to, society. Women’s special needs such as maternity protection, child care, literacy education and expanding employment opportunities are being focussed.
The mainstay of the centre since its inception has been research. “Women’s studies” is not a simple entity of one dimension, but it involves facing the rigours and challenges in a broad interdisciplinary field of scholarship. Research has to be responsive to contemporary problems and new questions demanding investigation.
Areas of focus
The centre makes regular studies and goal-oriented research on a wide range of topics that are intimately connected with women’s problems, and steps to empower them to be strong participants in nation-building. Even issues that may look unimportant in the first look may have immense impact on the roles of women in society. Let us take some of the topics that are/were studied at the centre to get a clear picture of the opportunities that await future students and researchers at the centre.
Mapping the public-private mix in women’s healthcare:
The special issues concerning women’s healthcare, such as coverage, type of service-providers, nature of service provided, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, sustainability and equity, were identified. The role of the private sector in healthcare is on the rise in our country. A judicious mix of the private and the public sectors can meet the requirements of low-income groups among women effectively. Studies based on PPP (public private partnerships) were held, analysing different health areas affecting women’s life.
Gender and migration: Negotiating rights — a women’s movement perspective:
This is an interesting study of motivation, compulsions and women’s experiences of domestic migration. The primary focus has been on labour migration rather than demographic movements. Changes in personal and work lives and identification of the new possibilities and tension generated by migration were analysed. There is significant impact on family relations, economic structures and a broad range of citizenship rights. There is a paradox of a high rate of female migration along with a falling rate of female work participation.
The field surveys conducted in 17 States showed an inexplicable jump in the rates of marriage migration. This deserves a detailed study and exploration.
Higher education, gender and discrimination:
Study on the relationships between higher education, gender and discrimination is made with some comparison between the conditions in India and China.
Though there are several initiatives in this area, questions of gender are often forgotten. Women’s participation in higher education is sometimes shaped by the interlocking markets of labour, education, and marriage.
Factors such as class, region, caste and community also become significant in shaping women’s higher education.
Social and political economy of care in India:
The study demonstrates how the multidimensional nature of care-giving and its quantitative or qualitative time and labour demands are not recognised.
The findings suggest a stratified familialism in care practices owing to the differences in time available to family members for care. (Familialism is an ideology that promotes the ‘nuclear family.’)
Care becomes reduced when mothers in poor families go for paid work. Crèches and pre-schools may be beyond their reach. However, women from the elite and upper middle classes can break out from the gendered moulds.
Official denial of the time and skill requirements of care, along with the non-recognition of women’s multi-layered work, adds to women’s burden.
This issue has to be addressed to liberate women and ensure justice to them.
Some of the other areas explored are:
Adverse child sex ratio in North-West India.
Globalisation and women’s work.
Multiple vulnerabilities and marginal identities: exploring violence in the everyday lives of women with disabilities.
Gender and democratic governance.
Study on women migrants of Tamil origin in France.
Women in Indian engineering: An analysis of graduate degree level education.
Gender, status, and migration of Malayali nurses.
From oppression to assertion: Women and Panchayats in India.
The tools before a forensic medicine doctor
A one-of-its kind workshop at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai threw up interesting facets of a subject that is of utmost importance to the police and the investigators.
Laymen are perhaps aware of investigation, the fieldwork that police do. They bring the victim to the forensic medicine doctor who gathers evidence and provides the investigating officer clues to finding the perpetrator of the crime. A forensic medicine doctor conducts the post-mortem and examines the wounds on the body of the victim and makes meticulous notes. He/she also follows instructions from the investigating police officer who wants samples of tissue or bone and tooth for DNA analysis at a later date.
“The investigating officer always wants us to provide the longest bone or the toughest tooth in the body for DNA analysis. Extracting it is time consuming. A simpler method would not only be safe but also make the job easy for us,” B. Santhakumar, head of the institute, says. It was modern technology that helped identify the dismembered parts of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was killed in Sriperumbudur by human bomb Dhanu in 1991, he adds.
Tamil Nadu thus became the first in the country to adopt modern technology in collecting samples, says Kamalakshi Krishnamurthy, deputy director, DNA Division of the State Forensic Science Department. “There are easier methods which are safer and can be stored for at least 20 years,” she says.
According to these experts, FTA card (Flinders Technology of Australia), a small card half the size of a visiting card, is used to collect blood and body fluid samples. Just two drops on the card is enough evidence for DNA analysis purposes, the experts say. Such cards have helped solve several murders, identify the dead in disaster zones and perpetrators of sexual assault, says Dr. Kamalakshi.
In fact, it has also helped prevent embarrassment to the government sometimes. Sometime ago, a family refused to accept the remains of their 28-year-old kin after one eye was found missing. The general belief was that rodents had feasted on it. The man was a victim of murder in Cuddalore. Some days later the eye was found and using the FTA card, the department proved that it was the murder victim's eye. FTA cards are most useful in determining paternity and maternity suits. A drop of blood from the parents or the children is enough to establish the genetic connection. Forensic experts have used it to ascertain a kidnapped child's biological parents.
Several years ago, two parents claimed ownership of a boy child born in a government maternity hospital in Chennai. Both sets of parents refused to claim the girl child while seeking to own the boy baby. Finally DNA tests were done to settle the dispute.
While the workshop focused on forensic doctors, the forensic science experts plan to hold hands-on workshops for investigating police officers and doctors in the casualty departments of hospitals too.
Winning with English
Not much is being done in colleges and universities to improve the English communication skills of students. A recent survey comes as a wake-up call.
“I can’t able to tell you.” This might just be one instance of a grammatically wrong sentence that often is a part of everyday conversations but it is just the tip of the iceberg as far as communication in business rooms is concerned.
According to the survey by employability measurement company Aspiring Minds, the English learning level among engineering graduates is very poor in India. The survey which analysed the English skills of over 55,000 aspiring engineers in 250 different engineering colleges, said “around 36 per cent of engineering graduates would be unable to read official reports and transcripts and derive information out of them, even when the information is explicitly stated.”
“The worse of it often comes out in mails — the most important medium of communication in corporate offices,” says R. Rajaram, HR head of an IT major. He explains, “They write incomplete sentences; their punctuation is non-existent and grammar very poor. This is why most companies have readymade templates with sentences, and employees just have to choose what they have to say.”
While Tamil Nadu has an excellent recruitment record with the State supplying the largest number of engineers, surveys on employability have cast the State in a poor light. A few months ago, Aspiring Minds also came out with a survey that said Tamil Nadu figured the lowest on the employability index. “This is mainly because they are not able to converse in English. Most of them are not confident of themselves,” the study concluded.
“Companies take communication very seriously and there are frequent training sessions for them. But all of that is focussed on their speaking skills. There is little done to improve their vocabulary or grammar,” says a senior HR Official.
One reason for the problem is the limited use of English in colleges though the language is the medium of instruction. “More than 70 per cent of the class is from rural areas and they understand nothing when taught in English. Once students get the concept and learn to communicate it in Tamil, English will definitely follow,” says G. Sathyamurthy, mechanical engineering professor, Anna University, explaining why the language is not used much in classrooms.
Colleges need to do their bit to inculcate an interest in the language among students but it must not just be for the sake of ensuring placements, says R. Prabha, who trains students on communication skills. “Every one thinks business English is sufficient to get a job and sustain it. But that way, one does not get a hang of conversational English, which is very important as you climb up the ladder. “As a result, students will be able to explain technical points but are at a loss when it comes to interacting and conversing comfortably with others,” she adds.
For instance, R. Gnanam, who studied computer science at Anna University and graduated last year, is yet to find a job. “I have an 8.7 CGPA but I get rejected by every company. English is a must to get into companies,” he points out. Those like R. Jayaprakash, who works as a senior software engineer, add that one cannot take it easy even after entering a company. “We are expected to constantly brush up our communication abilities. We need to network, and present demonstrations, send regular mails and make sure people understand what we are saying and vice-versa.”
There is dire lack of awareness of the issue. For instance, most bulletin boards are insensitive to the topic and common mistakes in conversation are at best a source of humour. “Companies want the best communicators who can work in tandem with clients and there is no other way to that without knowing to speak English,” says Jayaprakash.
AAT launches University of London courses
AAT College, Nungambakkam, recently announced its plan to bring the University of London courses to the country.
The arrangement will bring six different subjects covering Economics, Banking & Finance, Business, Development & Economics, Accounting with Law, and Politics & International relations to Indian students aspiring for a globally recognised degree course. The courses have been developed by academics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, one of the colleges of the University of London.
Dr. Keith Sharp, University of London, International Programmes at LSE expressed, “We are delighted that AAT will be offering University of London degree courses.
Students can be sure that our courses are designed and examined to exactly the same high standards as prevail in the University’s Colleges in London – in the case of the these degrees, the London School of Economics and Politics Science.
By studying at AAT, students will now be able to achieve a world class degree from a top British University, for a fraction of the cost of travelling to the U.K.”
University of London also offers student exchange programmes.
For Further information, log on to www.aatcollege.com
Thursday, July 26, 2012
IIT Bombay seeks changes in JEE formula
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has sought some changes in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) formula, for admission to the IITs, adopted last month.
The IIT Bombay Senate accepted the JEE, but said there should be lesser number of students from the JEE Main to be eligible to write the Advanced Test that would be held only for IIT aspirants. It has suggested reducing the number from 1,50,000 to 50,000.
The Senates of IIT Delhi and Kanpur are likely to endorse the suggestion when they meet shortly to adopt the new JEE.
In the formula, arrived at in a special meeting of the IIT Council on June 27, it was agreed that only the top 1.5 lakh students, across all categories in the JEE Main, would be eligible to appear for the Advance Test.
Students shortlisted on the basis of performance in the test must be among the top 20 percentile in the applicable category in their respective Boards.
The IIT Bombay Senate meeting on Wednesday said there were only 9,640 seats in the IITs and, therefore, there was no point in shortlisting more than 50,000 students. This would give them a ratio of 10 students per seat.
A larger number of students for the Advanced Test would only put pressure on the IIT’s entrance examination machinery.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
‘Imbalances plague education’
There are several imbalances in the higher education system in India and these continue to plague the system, coming in the way of the nation’s progress, M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, said on Monday.
“Though the education system is moving closer to the core of development thinking, there are ridiculous imbalances all over India,” the former Anna University Vice-Chancellor said. He was speaking during the inauguration of a three-day national conference on Indian Higher Education – Contemporary Challenges and Perspectives, at Madras Christian College.
Somehow the whole country was brainwashed into believing that sending young people to study engineering and medicine alone was enough and in the process, ignoring history, fine arts and literature among many other disciplines, he added.
Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner to Southern India, said foreign educational institutions should not look at India as a “pipeline for student recruitment” and that they should engage in long-term relationships based on trust and values. .
William Sweet, Director of the Centre for Philosophy, Theology and Cultural Traditions at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada, Kulbir Singh, Postmaster General, Business Development, Technology and Marketing, Tamil Nadu Circle, and others also participated.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Anxious students throng medical counselling centre
Despite clear instructions on the State government’s Health Department websites, candidates aspiring for a seat in government medical colleges arrived at the Government Kilpauk Medical College on Monday, creating a flutter.
There were several families from across the State on Monday morning even as counselling for admission to self-financing dental colleges in the State began.
A group of candidates with very high scores had brought interview call letters, but were not allowed to enter the auditorium, the counselling venue.
Even as agitated parents protested, the policeman posted outside the auditorium stood his ground. A relative of one student said parents were upset that there was no Health Department authority to express their grievances to.
K. Subramaniam said his son was keen on MBBS but not dentistry. “He has got admission in an engineering college. I am exploring the possibility of his getting a seat in medicine,” he said.
He was, however, worried if his son would lose the opportunity by not attending the allotted counselling session for BDS.
T. Devaraj’s son was admitted to BDS in a private dental college but wondered whether the private college would reimburse the fees if his son were to be admitted to a government-run college at a later date.
“I have paid the fee of Rs. 25,000 today and it is non-refundable. If after a month a vacancy arises in a government medical college and my son gets admission, I don’t know if the private college would return the fees or how much they would deduct,” he said.
Secretary of Selection Committee R.G. Sukumar said the candidates had been informed about the method of selection and the details were on the website. It was their anxiety that brought them to the counselling centre, he said.
Training programme with placement
Accel IT Academy, the training division of Accel Frontline Ltd., has launched a 100 per cent job assured training programme in IT Infrastructure Management for fresh diploma and engineering graduates and for non-graduates with two to three years of experience. The course is formulated based on industry requirements and custom-made to meet the high-end IT system and networking requirements of the industry. The selection of students will be based on enrollment along with aptitude tests and interview. The course is being conducted across all Accel Centers. The duration of the course (training programme) is 45 days. At the end of training period, all students shall receive guaranteed placements with attractive pay packages.
For details, contact Accel IT Academy, 37, Nelson Manickam Road, Aminjikarai. Ph: 42251234 / 321. Accel centres are in Adyar (65551467); T. Nagar (28144507 / 08 / 09); Tambaram (22262860 / 61); Vadapalani (42136905 / 42013295); Villivakkam (32219982 /83) and Porur (32570880 / 32570358).