PEARL Multidisciplinary Journal

Repositioning India’s Cotton Lint Export Direction

Following the recent non-impressive performance in the export volume of its cotton lint which in turn affected its foreign exchange earnings from the sector due to bear raid by USA and China price subsidies which caused imperfection in the global trade market, the researchers conceptualized the need to identify the magnitude and effects of the key drivers of India’s cotton lint exports using Engel-Granger two-step procedure. The study used dated data spanning from 1981 to 2013 which were sourced from FAO and UNCTAD databases. The results of the long-run and short-run models showed that India’s cotton lint export is stimulated mostly by the internal economic forces. However, export growth of the product was hindered by both the domestic and external forces. In this regard, in as much as the negative impact on India’s cotton lint due to distortion induced downward pressure on world prices caused by price subsidies offered by China and USA, inefficiencies and constraints in the domestic environment would preclude India from appropriately exploiting opportunities and adjusting to unexpected market developments in the short-run. Therefore, to revitaliz the gloomy export trade of India’s cotton lint, policy makers and various stakeholders in the industry should put in place measures to address domestic inefficiencies over which the country has some control compared to inefficiencies on the global market, thus placing the country in a better position to exploit market opportunities and adjust to unexpected developments in the shortest possible time.

A Study on Psycho-social Burden of Women after Surgical Removal of Breast

Breast cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women, is the disease women fear most. Breast cancer can also occur in men, but it’s far less common. Along with the physical trauma the psychological and social burden of breast cancer is severe and medical treatment must be complimented by psychosocial intervention for better result. This is the study to explore the psycho social and physical burden of women affected by breast cancer.

The objective of the study is to explore the physical burden of women after surgical removal of the breast, to discover the psychological burden of the women after the removal of the breast and to explore the social burden of women after removal of breast. The methodology is qualitative with case study method.

The study result shows that most of the respondents had physical discomfort, pain, infection and allergic reactions and psychological trauma including depression, anxiety and shyness. They were also withdrawing from social functions and scared of the society. The study has the social work implications in the areas of social work interventions to assess and diagnose the psycho social burden and to provide help in managing them.

Colloidal Processing and Slip Casting of Mullite

Mullite an aluminosilicate ceramic due to its excellent refractory, mechanical and dielectric properties find wide applications as structural and high temperature ceramics as well as for electric and optical applications. Slip casting is a well established shaping or forming method to fabricate ceramic shapes having simple to reasonably complicated shapes. In the present study commercially available mullite powders were characterized for crystallographic phase purity, particle size distribution and morphology. The optimum dispersion condition of the powder in de-ionised water was studied through measurement of zeta potential as a function of pH. The mullite powder dispersed in deionised water with and without addition of MgO was slip cast in plaster mould. The slip cast samples were sintered at different temperatures to study the effect of MgO addition on the sinterability of mullite. The products were characterized for density, porosity and microstructure.

Occupational Stress among Long Route Truck Drivers: A Study

Long route truck drivers are the people who travel from one place to another to deliver goods by truck or trolleys. Researchers have identified a number of health concerns and other health related issues, which include obesity, heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes and more. These conditions are very prevalent in the trucking industry, and impact not only the driver’s health, but also their ability to stay on the road (Thorpe, 2017). Long working hours, night work, or spending extended periods on the road away from friends and family can isolate drivers and levee them too exhausted to nourish their relationships. This descriptive study was undertaken among 200 long route truck drivers to find out the occupational stress experienced by the ong route truck drivers. Purposive sampling technique was followed. The study indicates that these drivers experience tremendous stress in several areas. The study suggests that these drivers should have a periodical medical checkup and counseling services to find out the problems related to their ailments and take steps to reduce the same.

The Milky Way - Our Home in the Universe

Aakasha Ganga, Via Lactea or the Milky Way is our home in the Universe. The discovery of the telescope by Galileo Galilei had facilitated the sky watchers to notice a variety of geometrical forms in the sky. The use of photographic techniques have expanded our knowledge about galaxies. Galaxies can be grossly put into one of the 3 types: elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies. Milky way is one among billions of galaxies present in the universe and it is spiral galaxy. Newtons law of gravitation explains the planetary motions in solar system. But to explain the motion of sun and other stars in galaxy one has to modify Newtonian gravity dynamics. Development of quantum mechanics, particle physics and the measurement of stellar velocities at unprecedented accuracies would help to unravel the mystery of the formation of Milky Way in near future.