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Community participation has grown in prominence in mitigating disasters globally. It involves the active involvement in search and rescue to reconstruction that people affected by disasters undertake unsolicited. Predictive power in disaster recovery has further increased its relevance. However, quantitative analysis that community participation has on disaster mitigation measures is scant. The study analyses community participation's impact on disaster mitigation measures following the Kochi flood of 2018 and 2019 in India. We use a Multivariate Probit Regression model with a sample size of 750 to analyse the relationship between disaster mitigation measures (namely, disaster event planning, previous experience, following disaster-related news closely, and neighbourhood relationship) and community participation. The results show participants who were active in community events were 23% more likely to adopt all the disaster mitigation measures than those who did not. In addition, households with special needs members were more likely to be prepared for an unanticipated event. The results also showed higher education levels directly correlated to implementing more significant disaster mitigation measures. Implications for government policy formation include schemes to enhance community rehabilitation and promote social participation to mitigate future disaster events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invasive tropical American brackish water mussel Mytella strigata is recorded for the first time from the Indian sub-continent and this is the fourth report from the Indo-Pacific. The mussels were found attached in high densities (120 ± 24 ind. 25 cm-2) to floating plastic bottles, wooden pilings, walls of fish cages, hulls of boats and bottom sediment in the Cochin backwater, Kerala, India during summer 2019. The only other bivalve species found with this population was Perna viridis. The mean length to height ratio for the Cochin population of M. strigata was 2.06 ± 0.26 cm with the largest individual having a length of 5.9 cm. The general external colour of the shells in Cochin population was uniformly black when wet but they exhibit dark green over the dorsal and posterior areas with faint paler streaks when dry. In addition some of the individuals rarely form bright green colour and pattern as seen in Singapore populations. The mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences of mussels from this study were consistent with specimens in their native range, from Colombia, and from Singapore where it has recently been reported as invasive. The invasion of this species in Cochin may be through ballast water or fouling on ships hulls from its native range or from Singapore where it has been established recently. Their rapid growth, early maturity and wide salinity tolerance make them a potentially alarming fouling species in all brackish waters of India and neighbouring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender (TG) is the term which covers individuals who have a gender identity or gender expression than their assigned gender given at the time of birth. These individuals often cover themselves under one umbrella as the third gender. They are unable to identify themselves to a gender, either a male or as a female and they term themselves as the third gender. The society discriminates them since their behavior does not correlate with their congenital gender. The life of transgender is very difficult and stigmatized as they are considered as the most unwanted creatures of the society. Majority of them face discrimination from the society and the social stigma attached to them is so intense that they are ostracized from the main stream of the society. Aim: To understand about the social exclusion and overall day to day life of the transgender. In this study Transwomen were the respondents Result: Majority of the transgender said that they are undergoing a miserable life and the stigma attached to them is much higher when compared to any other anti social people such as criminals, drug addicts or people with contagious diseases etc . There is significant association between the financial status and the stigma, education and the social exclusion, family support and social exclusion, family support and stigma, financial status and social exclusion. These variables are indirectly proportional to the exclusion and stigma towards the transgender. Conclusion: The study validates that when the financial status is high, or if the family support is more the social exclusion and stigma attached is less compared to those coming from low economic strata of the society. Transgender with lower economic standards normally have lower education level and they in due course of time are forced to leave their homes and end up as manual labor coolies or sex workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adventurer, soldier and great poet, Luís Vaz de Camões (1524- 1580) arrived in India in 1555 and remained there till 1567, with ups and mishaps. The author of the Portuguese national epic poem, Camões recounted in a marvellous poetic form the heroic crossing of Vasco da Gama, who reached the Calicut coasts in 1498, skirting for the very first time the Cabo da Boa Esperança (Cape of Good Hope). The paper focuses on the analysis of some ottavas from the 7th canto of Os Lusíadas, in which the arrival of Portuguese sailors and the first meeting with emissaries from the Zamorin are narrated. These passages, concerning the religious and cultural traditions of Malabar (but Indian in general) and its political organization, will be the starting point for a reflection on Indo-Portuguese relationships, as seen not from a historical source, but from a little-studied literary one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public distribution system (PDS) in Kerala is known for its extensive coverage. The objective of this study is to assess the household food security status of people living below the poverty line (BPL) and its impact on the health of women and children in the selected coastal areas of Kochi in Kerala. Household food security was assessed using a food security core module questionnaire on 500 BPL families in coastal Kochi. The utilization of PDS, nutritional status and diet pattern of women and children 3-6years (sub sample 37) were studied. The results showed that PDS was best utilized by the majority. Poor quality of rice and inadequate quantity of commodities such as sugar forced the respondents to buy from the open market. Only 43% families were food secure, and the case of the rest of them food insecurity levels varied from no hunger to severe hunger. Significant differences in weight and height of children and the levels of food security were found. The study revealed the current food security status and identified the short comings in PDS. It shows the importance of PDS in ensuring food security and thereby good health for women and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the last 50 years, several different forms of fisheries governance have been tried and failed in the Cochin Estuary, Kerala, India. The latest shift has been from a community-based system to a co-management system, and this paper evaluates the current system in the light of the theoretical debate over the respective merits of community-based management and co-management. The paper is based on documentary material and data from interviews carried out during fieldwork in 2004, from which it concludes that provided the co-management system incorporates community principles within it, it will be an effective form of fisheries governance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As a commons institution, the padu system in Vallarpadam Island, Cochin, Kerala, defines the group of rights holders and resource boundaries and fishing sites. It is caste-specific, gear-specific (stake-nets) and species specific (shrimp). As used in Vallarpadam, and elsewhere in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, padu is characterized by the use of lottery for rotational access. The institution functions in providing equitable access, collective social responsibility, and rule-making and conflict resolution. The emergence of the institution in the study area is a response to change in markets and legislation in the 1970s. It may also be seen a response of fishing communities to keep their options open, that is, to be resilient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]