Where there is no hope: a teacher’s experience with homelessness

Stereotypical notions of who experiences homelessness frame how educational institutions approach policy and program development. This life history of a teacher challenges assumptions by providing an in-depth look at a mother’s struggle to find stability.     

Understandings of gender and education in the political and cultural context: the case of Afghan students in an MA (education) programme

Globally, gender differences in education have been an area of policy concern, research, and development partnerships. The international agenda of gender equality has been adopted by national governments even in countries, such as Afghanistan, where predominant views are clearly at variance with this agenda. Attempts to analyse such conditions must be based on examination of gender and education in the broader political and cultural context. Gender issues have been a central theme in an EU-funded Master's programme in Educational Research and Development for Afghan students at Nangarhar University, conducted during 2008–2010. This article analyses the political and cultural context of gender in Afghanistan, which constitutes the framework for the Afghan students' understandings of gender and education. These are examined as expressed in texts produced by the students and in group interviews. On the basis of our analysis, the following tension is clear: the students are aware of the international agenda of gender equality in education, but at the same time they are concerned about problems in the practical application of this agenda in their own society and relate these concerns to their interpretations of principles of Islam and Afghan cultural traditions.     

Evaluation of antioxidant profile and activity of amalaki (Emblica officinalis), spirulina and wheat grass

Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of amalki (Emblica officinalis), spirulina and wheatgrass were prepared and analyzed for antioxidant vitamin content (vitamin C and E), total phenolic compounds. Antioxidant status, reducing power and effect on glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity were evaluated in vitro. Vitamin C content of crude amalaki powder was found to be 5.38 mg/g, while very less amount 0.22 mg/g was detected in wheat grass. Amalki was rich in vitamin E like activity, total phenolic content, reducing power and antioxidant activity. Total antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of amalki, spirulina and wheat grass at 1mg/ml concentration were 7.78, 1.33 and 0.278 mmol/l respectively. At similar concentrations the total antioxidant activity of alcoholic extract of amalaki, spirulina and wheat grass was 6.67, 1.73 and 0.380 mmol/l respectively. Amalki was also found to be rich source of phenolic compounds (241mg/g gallic acid equivalent). Alcoholic extract of wheat grass showed 50 % inhibition in FeCl₂- ascorbic acid induced lipid peroxidation of rat liver homogenates in vitro. Both aqueous and alcoholic extracts of amalaki inhibited activity of rat liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) in vitro in dose dependant manner. Since GST acts as powerful drug metabolizing enzyme its inhibition by amalaki offers possibility of its use for lowering therapeutic dose of herbal preparations. The aqueous extracts of both amalki and spirulina also showed protection against t-BOOH induced cytotoxicity and production of ROS in cultured C₆ glial cells.     

Children’s access to pre‐school education in Bangladesh

Using the Education Watch household survey database, this paper explores children’s access to pre‐school education in Bangladesh. Participation in pre‐school education has been increasing in Bangladesh at the rate of 0.6% per year and the net enrolment rate was found to be 13.4% in 2005. Enrolment of over‐aged children in pre‐school education made the gross enrolment ratio as high as 30.5%. However, over half of the four to five year olds at school were actually enrolled in primary school and not in pre‐school. Moreover, 71% of the four‐ to five‐year group were out of school. Only a third of the four‐ to five‐year‐old children enrolled in schools had the opportunity to attend the English‐medium kindergartens or NGO‐run non‐formal schools, both of which provide better quality pre‐school education. Urban children, especially those with educated parents and from more privileged socio‐economic backgrounds, were more likely to have access to pre‐school education. The lack of a common pre‐school curriculum seems to have created further inequity among children at this very early age. An educational policy targeting poor and socially disadvantaged children with support from both the state and current pre‐school providers is urgently needed to provide four‐ to five‐year‐old children appropriate education for their needs.     

Use of IT in university libraries of Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh: A comparative study

This paper is designed to measure the use of Information Technology (IT) in the university libraries of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh with an ulterior objective to establish some co-relation between quality in libraries and use of IT. The paper highlights the use of hardware and software facilities in university libraries. It also highlights the access of networks, information services and barriers in IT applications. A survey conducted on four university libraries, namely Panjab University library, Chandigarh; Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla; Punjabi university Library, Patiala; and Guru Nanak Dev University Library, Amritsar found that only Panjab University Library, Chandigarh and GND university library, Amritsar have provided computerised access to in-house databases. The findings presented are based on a survey conducted with the help of questionnaires, interview and observation methods. Library literature reveals that quality depends on merging print culture with digital culture but the result of this survey confirm that print culture is still dominating in university libraries of this region.     

Establishment of Trimester-Specific Reference Intervals of Serum TSH & fT4 in a Pregnant Indian Population at North Kolkata

Reference intervals (RIs) of serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT₄) were determined in 402 healthy pregnant women by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique after partitioning them into three trimesters. The reference population was chosen from a study population of 610 pregnant females by applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The assays were done using proper quality control measures. RIs were calculated from the central 95 % of the distribution of TSH and fT₄ values located between the lower reference limit of 2.5 percentile and upper reference limit of 97.5 percentile value 0.90 confidence intervals for the upper and lower reference limits were also determined. The reference intervals for TSH were 0.25–3.35 μIU/ml for the first trimester; 0.78–4.96 μIU/ml for the second trimester and 0.89–4.6 μIU/ml for the third trimester. Similarly, the reference intervals for fT₄ for first, second and third trimesters were 0.64–2.0, 0.53–2.12 and 0.64–1.98 ng/dl respectively. The values thus obtained varied from those provided by the kit literature. In comparison to our derived reference intervals, the reference data from kit manufacturer under-diagnosed both subclinical hypo- and hyper-thyroidism within our pregnant reference population.