Social Studies

The centre of concern in the Indian economy these days is the falling value of the Indian currency. Though much is being said about the reasons and the impact a fall in currency will have, little is being presented with clarity. As Lionel Trilling rightly said "We invented money and we use it, yet we cannot understand its laws or control its actions. It has a life of its own." This life blood of the economy is very enigmatic in nature, and more so for the common man. In the global economy that we live in it is essential for the people of the nation to understand the economic implications of money, its fall and its weakening. When he Indian rupee touched a lifetime low of 68.85 against the US dollar on August 28, 2013 RBI had announced a number of measures to take control of the situation, with government requesting not to but gold. All these measures and actions did not yield the desired result. This qualitative research paper aims at presenting the complex matter of the falling value of Indian currency, its reasons and its impact in a simple way to be understood by a layman. The research uses secondary data from various sources. To make the perplexing figures understandable the paper uses flow charts and diagrams.

Communication is an important element in each society. Through communication, people express themselves, their attitudes, their beliefs and opinions. They interact with other people as well. But how well this interaction continues depends on different factors. For example, the way you use language, the choices you make, and the way you express your wants and attitudes all are important and affect your interaction with others. According to Coulmas (2005, p. 84), "speakers make many choices when speaking, including the politeness level of their utterances". Every verbal utterance, as it is an instance of language use, has certain degree of politeness. This article aimed at investigating the reflection of politeness principle and face theory in EFL students' writing in Iran. For this purpose, a sample of 50 undergraduate students learning English as a foreign language, were selected from Hakim Sabzevari University. After administering a standard language proficiency test, a writing task was given to participants to investigate whether this aspect of sociolinguistics is reflected in Iranian writing. After analyzing the papers based on Brown and Levinson (1987) framework, it was found that politeness principle and face theory are reflected in the writing of Iranian EFL learners to a considerable extent.

This study focusses on Sex Reassignment Surgery among transgender women. In Chennai Transgender Women are called as Aravanis. Few of them seek the assistance of Health Care Providers while few others get the assistance from Quacks and rest of them get the sex reassignment surgery done by senior Transgender Women. To explore the method adapted for SRS, reasons of undergoing SRS and the reasons for choosing the particular method. In June 2016, 784 Male to Female Transgender enrolled in the CBO - Thozhi, 275 in Transgender Rights Association (TRA) and 282 in Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association (THAA). A sample size of 299 was taken. As mixed method was used in depth interviews (9) and three focus group discussion (6 respondents in each group) was conducted to collect data qualitative data. Semi structured Interview Schedule was used for quantitative study. Interview guide and Focus Group Discussion Guide was used for qualitative study. It was found that of the 58% of the respondents had undergone SRS and called themselves as Nirvanas. Of the 174 respondents who had undergone SRS, 43 (25%) of them had taken assistance of Senior Transgender Women while 40 of the respondents had SRS done through unqualified persons (quacks). Of the 35 (12%) of the respondents who lived with parents, only two of them were Nirvanas. When compared to Aquas (Transgender Women who have not under gone sex reassignment surgery), more number of Nirvanas were married to males if not had permanent sex partners. The CBOs can assist the respondents to get the necessary documents which are required for SRS. Thaiammas can be trained by PHC doctors for a surgery and also to handle the post-surgery complications. The delay which is government hospitals needs to be addressed. Law enforces should take care of the Quacks. The Tamil Nadu government has taken many steps to assist the Transgender Women. Few government hospitals also perform SRS. But still not all the Transgender Women make use of this facility. The gaps needs to be identified and addressed.

Nigerians in my view are a people who live beside the ocean yet, dying of thirst. Our beloved country is blessed with both human and natural resources but her rate of poverty is one that is alarming. In the area of science and technology she is rich abroad but poor at home. Every year, her universities produce graduates who continue to roam the streets in search of white collar jobs. Gradually, the harsh and unpleasant economic situation sows evil seeds in the hearts of these youths thereby, taking to crimes. A people born free now find themselves everywhere in chains. Hopeless as she may seem today, Nigeria is however, not beyond redemption. Critically yes, but not entirely hopeless. To pull her back and turn her around obviously requires a change of ideology. Should we continue to do same thing the same way and expect a different result? How long shall we continue to be slaves in our father’s palace? Mills conception of liberty provides a way out of our national predicament as this essay adopts both analytic and evaluative methods in establishing that liberty would make the people to be creative and innovative, thereby bring about the needed technological breakthrough.

The problem of HIV/AIDS is not only a medical issue, but it is also a psychosocial issue. Infection as well as stigma presents the victim with a broad range of personal psychological experiences to negotiate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of psychological counseling on social acceptance of PLWHA. The target population of this study was 1000 (690 counseled and 310 not counseled) PLWHA. Out of the 1000 PLWHA a 30% was obtained and a total of 300 (208 counseled and 92 not counseled) PLWHA was selected through stratified sampling and simple random sampling. A total of 35 psychological counselors were identified using purposive sampling. The research instruments used were questionnaire and interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS (14.0) by use of means and One-way ANOVA. Qualitative data was analyzed using selective coding, percentages and chi-square. The study established that psychological counseling has significant effect social acceptance of PLWHA. The findings may be useful in sensitizing the infected and affected persons on the significance of psychological counseling in enhancing psychosocial wellbeing of PLWHA. The results can be used to mobilize the Ministry of Health, NGOs, CBOs to employ psychological counselors to help in psychological counseling PLWHA.

This paper aims at examining the state capacity in enforcement of environmental standards in the context of organizational development, central to which is the need for continuous effectiveness. The neo-liberal proponents presuppose that with a limited scope of functions, the state becomes more effective and efficient in discharging its core functions. From the mid 1980s Tanzania has been implementing neo-liberal reforms. A new environmental policy was formulated in 1997 then followed by the enactment of the new environmental management legislation in 2004. The question is, to what extent have these changes improved the Tanzanian state capacity in effectively managing the environment? The central argument of the paper is that in spite of the changes in the policy and legal framework in order to improve its mandate, the state, through the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), is still institutionally impaired to the extent it cannot effectively ensure and monitor compliance with environmental standards. This then suggests that the assumption that the state’s capacity would be enhanced if the state had concentrated on its ‘core’ functions requires re-examination.

At the age of thirty, Uzun Hasan took over Amed (Diyarbakir), the capital city of Ak Koynlu state and became the unrivaled ruler. He married his first wife at the age of fifteen; soon after, he married his second and third wives. His first wife was a Turcoman, the second was a Kurd and the third was a Christian. Each of the wives acted in accordance with the personalities, potentials, personal skills and the wills they possessed. The Turcoman queen or Seljuk Shah could not stand to lead a life away from the Ak Koynlu palace; thus she established a broad network of relations with the Ak Koynlu dignitaries and military leaders and also was an influential figure among the Ak Koynlu members. She was so skillful that she could easily gather Ak Koynlu family around herself. After her husband died, her role became even greater. Hasan’s Kurdish wife kept a low profile. Most of her decisions and wills were expressed by her son Ughrlu Mohammed. In factMohammed’s personality overshadowed his mother’s personality since she was not allowed to work within the palace. As for Hasan’s third wife, Dspina, the Christian, it is obvious that she married Hasan to protect Trabzon Empire ruled by her father. Then she started to influence Uzun Hasan to work against the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, she played an active role in building relations between Hasan and the West, particularly the Venetian Republic.

This study deals with the History of the Mullai-Periyar Water Dispute

Willful or unintended and negligent noncompliance to the advice of a clinician and recommended prescription medication by the elderly may have widespread ramifications, and often leads to hospitalizations, and increases in home health care costs and death. The elderly in the United States, average 12.7 prescriptions per year, consume 30% of prescription medications, spend $15 billion annually, and some receive eight or more medications per day. The focus of this qualitative study with a phenomenological design was to gain insight into the lived experiences in respect of pharmacological noncompliance. The participants for this study included 20 elderly African American individuals from Wisconsin. The research questions were framed to conform to a phenomenological study. The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the personal lived experiences of study participants in respect of medication compliance and adhering and complying with the medical advice of physician medical practitioners. Participants narrated life’s story regarding a personal medical condition and the ability to adhere to the instructions of a physician. The normative decision-making theory served as the conceptual framework and reference, to gain a deeper understanding of the motivations that drive, or constrain compliance to medication. The analysis of the data took place after completion of the research. The interviews were coded, transcribed, and categorized to facilitate the analysis of the data using an appropriate software program. The findings of the study indicated that the elderly experience different challenges. The responses of participants showed that the compliance levels increased when a greater and individualized interest is taken in the patient by healthcare providers. Patients are less likely to comply with the medical advice of a physician when there is little effort made to build and sustain a caring physician-patient relationship. The findings of this study may advance understanding of compliance to medical treatment, as the quest for improving the quality of life is ongoing and continuous in the United States.

Community policing is an effort between the security agents and the community that identifies and solves community problems such as insecurity issues. This paper thus discusses the challenges facing the local private security guards toward enhancing community policing. The study found that poor working conditions, poor pay, lack of recognition from the public, inadequate working facilities, and poor communication channels were among the major challenges facing private guards in Eldoret town. The study recommends that there is need for improving working conditions as well as communication.