R. Saravanan ¹, P. Jawahar ², T. Francis ², B. Ahilan ², R. Santhakumar ², A. Anand ³

Affiliations
1 Regional Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mandapam Camp, Ramanathapuram District - 623 520, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Fisheries College and Research Institute, Thoothukkudi – 628 008, Tamil Nadu, IN
3 Regional Remote Sensing Centre–Central (ISRO), Nagpur - 440 010, Maharashtra, IN

Abstract

The present study was conducted to find out whether the abiotic factors in Gulf of Mannarviz., Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Day light photoperiod would have an effect on the Gonado somatic index of the dominant sea urchin species Salmacis virgulata. A sampling survey for 20 months was conducted from October-2013 to May-2015 in Vedalai landing centre, along the Gulf of Mannar. The freshly collected sea urchin were brought to Mandapam CMFRI and their Gonado Somatic Index (GSI) was estimated. The remote sensing data of the SST from Gulf of Mannar sourced from ICOADS and the daylight photoperiod were compared with the GSI data for 20 months in order to assess the synchrony among the three parameters. The pearson correlation coefficient of the association among the GSI, SST and Photoperiod revealed that there was no significant correlation (p>0.001). The result of the present study revealed that the Gonado Somatic Index of S. virgulata is independent of abiotic factors, which is in contrast to the temperate sea urchin species, where SST and Photoperiod play a major role in gonadal development.

Keywords

Gonad Index, Gulf of Mannar, Sea Urchin, Salmacis

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C. Sudha ¹, P. T. Ravichandran ¹, K. Divya Krishnan ¹, P. R. Kannan Rajkumar ², A. Anand ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Civil Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur - 603203, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Department of Civil Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur - 603203, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Background/Objectives: National Green Tribunal which has taken cognisance of this and has enforced severe restrictions on sand mining from river beds and relevant laws for obtaining licence have been made very stringent. Hence there is a need to look for alternatives to river sand without sacrificing performance of concrete / mortar. Methods/Statistical analysis:  In this work, experimentally investigate the effect of M-sand in concrete by replacing the river sand (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) and develop a high performance high strength concrete with target strength of 40MPa. Findings: The investigations are carried out to study the effect of M-sand on mechanical properties of concrete such as Compression, Tensile and Flexural Strength at the age of 3, 7, 28 and 56 days. Result shows that, there is a liner increase in compressive strength with the replacement of 0 to 100% river sand by M-sand. Replacement of 100% of river sand by M-Sand induced higher compressive, split tensile and flexural strength at the end of 28 days. The increase in strength was in the order of 12-18% as compared to concrete with river sand. Similar results also showed an increase in the strength parameters at the longer duration of curing periods. Applications: Studies revealed that, the use of M-sand in concrete for the construction purpose is acceptable for the concrete of grade upto M40 and also reduce the exploitation of river sand

Keywords

Compressive Strength, Flexural Strength, Flyash, M-Sand, Split Tensile Strength

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S. Arunkumar ¹, A. Anand ², V. Vijay Anand ¹, V. Rengarajan ¹, M. Shyam ¹

Affiliations
1 SOM, SASTRA University, Thanjavur - 613401, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Gnanam Business School, Thanjavur - 613402, Tamil Nadu, IN

Abstract

Objectives: The study is to understand and analyze the role of microfinance in women empowerment through Self Help Groups in Chidambaram taluk, to understand the demographic profile of Self Help Group members and to give suggestions for the improvement of performance of microfinance toward women’s empowerment through self help groups. Methods/ Analysis: This study is both empirical and descriptive in nature. Both Primary and Secondary data have been made use of the analysis. Primary data will be collected through field survey and questionnaires. Personal interviews with the officials concerned are also conducted to get the needed information for the analysis. Here structured questionnaire is used as a tool for data collection from SHG members. The overall progress of the project is being assessed with the help of secondary data which are collected from published sources like annual reports, records of CREED (Centre for Rural Education and Economic Development) office, internet, books etc. A proportionate random sampling method has been used for selecting the respondents from the total SHG’s. The population of this study is the total SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk, which is a finite population. There are 680 number of SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk. It refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute as a sample. In this study 200 number of SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk would be selected as size of the sample. The total sample comprises of 50 SHG members from each 4 blocks of Chidambaram Taluk (Chidambaram urban, Chidambaram rural, Vallampadugai, Kattumanarkoil). This study is conducted for duration of two months from 28th April 2015 to 30th of June 2015.The statistical tools used for analysis are as follows, Percentage Analysis Method, Weighted Average Method, and Paired ‘t’ test. The data analyzed used SPSS Version 16 software. The study has the following limitations, some of the respondents might have answered in biased manner, the Study was limited and confined to Chidambaram Taluk only and time was a major constraint due to which the sample size is limited. Findings: The study reveals that there is a significant difference observed between income generation, contribution to house hold income, participation in house hold financial decision, improvement in standard of living, change in social status, awareness about social issues, involvement in social issues at locality, improvement in basic house hold facilities and amenities, ability to solve family related problems, self-confidence, attainment of knowledge and skills, decision making capability and ability to tackle family problems before and after microfinance usage and participation in Self Help Group. Hence, the study concludes that women are empowered because of the usage of microfinance and participation in Self Help Group. Novelty/Improvement: In every economy, women play an integral part. For achieving all round development and harmonious growth, women should also be given equal rights. In order to achieve economic development, importance has to be given to the women labor. Nowadays SHG are voluntary organizations, through which members are given micro credits and it ease them to become entrepreneurs. The empowerment of women in rural as well as urban areas can be achieved through formation of Self Help Groups (SHG) of women. The economic empowerment, which is dependent on the overall empowerment of women, can be achieved through these SHGs which involve women in the areas like health, sanitation, nutrition, agriculture, forestry etc., apart from involving them in activities pertaining micro credit.

Keywords

Empowerment, Entrepreneurial Activities, Microfinance, Self Help Groups.

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