40 research outputs found
The corruption of a republic
No full textEminent Indian psychoanalyst and social commentator Dr Ashis Nandy found himself in the middle of a controversy recently after he made a few remarks on corruption at a session entitled ‘The Republic of Ideas’ at the Jaipur literary festival, 24– 28 January 2013. Author and publisher of Tehelka magazine Tarun Tejpal spoke of corruption as an equalising force, to which Dr Nandy said:
Just a response to this part, very briefly. He’s not saying the most important part of the story, which will shock you and it will be a very undignified and, how should I put it, almost vulgar statement on my part. It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and the Scheduled Castes and now increasingly Scheduled Tribes and as long as this is the case, the Indian republic will survive.
A journalist present at the panel took up this statement, which was later endlessly replayed on a 24-hour television news channel. Dalit organisations and activists protested against Dr Nandy. Not surprisingly, considering the upcoming elections in some key states, some politicians jumped into the fray and called for Dr Nandy’s arrest. In India anti-Dalit speech is punishable under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, and is a non-bailable offence. There were demonstrations and police complaints were filed against him in three different locations. Fearing physical harm and the possibility of imprisonment, Dr Nandy and his family went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of India did grant a stay order on the arrest warrants against him, but at the same time the Chief Justice of India told Dr Nandy’s lawyer ‘Whatever your intent, you can’t go on making statements. Tell your client he has no license to make such comments.’
The Indian social media and blogsphere exploded, with various arguments emerging on behalf of and against Dr Nandy. The most common complaint against Dr Nandy is that he was casteist, and that he had stereotyped Dalits. Such complaints came even from those defending him. A passionate critique by Anoop Kumar outlined Dalit oppression in India and accused specific media personalities of defending Dr Nandy instead of interrogating ‘upper caste anxieties’. There are blogs that, while disagreeing with Dr Nandy, argue for his right to express his opinion and to ‘be wrong’. There are those who argue that his remarks were made in humour, and lament the dearth of an understanding of wit, satire or irony.6 While the case seems to be closed after the Supreme Court judgment, there is still debate about whether this was a victory for freedom of speech or another instance of the way in which the upper castes in India can get away with any derogatory statement against the lower castes.
The freedom of speech argument is unsatisfying. The difference between ‘provocative speech that forces you to think’ and ‘provocative speech that is intended to hurt, denigrate or provoke’ is very context dependent. The intention of any speaker is not only difficult to prove, but also difficult to know. I would like to base my defence of Dr Nandy neither on his right to say what was on his mind, nor on his intention. Instead, I would suggest that his remarks should be understood through a discussion of corruption, and the way in which Dr Nandy uses the term.
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Shvetal Vyas is a PhD student in the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, University of South Australia
Miners’ return to work following injuries in coal mines
No full textBackground: The occupational injuries in mines are common and result in severe socio-economical consequences. Earlier studies have revealed the role of multiple factors such as demographic factors, behavioral factors, health-related factors, working environment, and working conditions for mine injuries. However, there is a dearth of information about the role of some of these factors in delayed return to work (RTW) following a miner’s injury. These factors may likely include personal characteristics of injured persons and his or her family, the injured person’s social and economic status, and job characteristics. This study was conducted to assess the role of some of these factors for the return to work following coal miners’ injuries. Material and Methods: A study was conducted for 109 injured workers from an underground coal mine in the years 2000–2009. A questionnaire, which was completed by the personnel interviews, included among others age, height, weight, seniority, alcohol consumption, sleeping duration, presence of diseases, job stress, job satisfaction, and injury type. The data was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier estimates and the Cox proportional hazard model. Results: According to Kaplan-Meier estimate it was revealed that a lower number of dependents, longer sleep duration, no job stress, no disease, no alcohol addiction, and higher monthly income have a great impact on early return to work after injury. The Cox regression analysis revealed that the significant risk factors which influenced miners’ return to work included presence of disease, job satisfaction and injury type. Conclusions: The mine management should pay attention to significant risk factors for injuries in order to develop effective preventive measures. Med Pr 2016;67(6):729–74
Genetic algorithms for feature selection of image analysis-based quality monitoring model: An application to an iron mine
No full textLoglinear Model for Assessment of Risk Factors of Occupational Injuries in Underground Coal Mines
No full textIn this study a loglinear model has been investigated to evaluate the role of various factors in coal mine injuries. Data on the varieties namely age, safety performance, working condition, safety environment, management and supervision, emotional stability, job involvement, job satisfaction, and job stress have been collected through questionnaire survey. The associations of the risk factors with occupational injuries are assessed through adjusted odds ratios (OR). The case study results reveal that significant contributing factors responsible for injuries are emotional stability (OR 2.36, 95% confidence interval(CI) 1.51-3.67), working condition (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.37-3.35), safety performance (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.30-3.17), safety environment (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.25-3.06), and age with two ORs of 1.84 (95% CI 1.04 to 3.28), and 2.38 (95% CI 1.27 to 4.45). Identification of these risk factors of injuries will provide valuable information in injury preventive programs
A Critical Analysis of the Post-structuralist Thought with Reference to ‘The Death of the Author’ by Roland Barthes
No full textRoland Barthes in his famous essay “The Death of the Author” from a post-structuralist position took a stand against the notion of authority in a text. He while referring to the myth of Sarrasine in Balzac asks certain essential question regarding the position of authorship. For him the author only is a participant in the existing discourse of the time—a mere explorer of the existing symbols and pre-existing linguistic and literary systems. One the other hand he only narrates the events through the existing codes but never participates in it. It is here where Barthes connotes that the author might be praised for his mastery over the existing codes but not for his genius. Likewise, Barthes explores various concepts of post-enlightenment to give his concept of the death of the author not in a literary sense where the work is found importance rather than the author who is the product of the industrial strategy and his position changes over time according to the changes in society
Assessment of Whole-body Vibration Exposures Among Dumper Operators in Iron Ore Mines: A Comparative Investigation of Haul Truck Activity
No full textThis study aimed to fill the research gap on whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure of dumper operators in India, conducting a comprehensive investigation into specific phases of dumper operations. Results indicated that 59% of operators exceeded lower limits, with 90.8% exposed to vibration levels surpassing the lower limit for A(8) and VDV(8) values. Frequency analysis identified peaks aligning with crucial body parts, corroborating epidemiological findings. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) demonstrated significant differences in WBV exposure across activity groups (p \u3c 0.001), dumper speeds (p \u3c 0.001), and haul road conditions (p \u3c 0.001). Optimising driver speed, improving haul road surfaces, and regular vehicle maintenance are some recommendations to reduce WBV exposure among dumper operators
Causal relationship of some personal and impersonal variates to occupational injuries at continuous miner worksites in underground coal mines
No full textBackground: Studies regarding predictors of underground continuous miner technology-related injuries have been scarce in number, especially from the human error perspective. This study deals with risk factors (personal, including behavioral and work organizational) that influence human error and evaluates those risk factors as predictors of injury occurrences at continuous miner worksites. This study also deals with small sample size and collinearity between predictors. Material and methods: A match case-control study design was adopted. 135 cases were matched with 270 controls using matching criteria age (±5 years) and job occupation maintaining matching ratio of 1:2. A standard protocol was followed, which included: (1) a participation request to the mine management; and (2) administration of the standardized questionnaire, known as a worker\u27s response device questionnaire, to the selected workers for data collection. Four models (statistical and machine learning) were explored through the empirical training–testing approach. Results: Bootstrap integrated conditional logistic regression was found to be the best model based on predictability and interpretability. Results revealed that injury occurrences were associated with multiple factors. Personal factors included big family size (ORa = 3.37, p \u3c 0.001), no formal education (ORa = 2.80, p \u3c 0.01), regular alcohol consumption (ORa = 2.43, p \u3c 0.05), and presence of disease (ORa = 3.87, p \u3c 0.01), along with high risk-taking behavior (ORa = 2.33, p \u3c 0.05) and poor work organization (ORa = 4.75, p \u3c 0.001). Conclusion: Bootstrap integrated conditional logistic model produced efficient results for the study dataset characterized by small sample size and collinearity. Injury occurrences are multifactorial; addressing these issues through appropriate prevention programs would provide a safer workplace
Relationships of Working Conditions and Individual Characteristics to Occupational Injuries: A Case‐Control Study in Coal Miners
No full textRelationships of Job Hazards, Lack of Knowledge, Alcohol Use, Health Status and Risk Taking Behavior to Work Injury of Coal Miners: A Case‐Control Study in India
No full textWhole-body Vibration Exposure of Drill Operators in Iron Ore Mines and Role of Machine-Related, Individual, and Rock-Related Factors
No full textAbstractBackgroundThis study aimed to assess the whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure among large blast hole drill machine operators with regard to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recommended threshold values and its association with machine- and rock-related factors and workers' individual characteristics.MethodsThe study population included 28 drill machine operators who had worked in four opencast iron ore mines in eastern India. The study protocol comprised the following: measurements of WBV exposure [frequency weighted root mean square (RMS) acceleration (m/s2)], machine-related data (manufacturer of machine, age of machine, seat height, thickness, and rest height) collected from mine management offices, measurements of rock hardness, uniaxial compressive strength and density, and workers' characteristics via face-to-face interviews.ResultsMore than 90% of the operators were exposed to a higher level WBV than the ISO upper limit and only 3.6% between the lower and upper limits, mainly in the vertical axis. Bivariate correlations revealed that potential predictors of total WBV exposure were: machine manufacturer (r = 0.453, p = 0.015), age of drill (r = 0.533, p = 0.003), and hardness of rock (r = 0.561, p = 0.002). The stepwise multiple regression model revealed that the potential predictors are age of operator (regression coefficient β = −0.052, standard error SE = 0.023), manufacturer (β = 1.093, SE = 0.227), rock hardness (β = 0.045, SE = 0.018), uniaxial compressive strength (β = 0.027, SE = 0.009), and density (β = –1.135, SE = 0.235).ConclusionPrevention should include using appropriate machines to handle rock hardness, rock uniaxial compressive strength and density, and seat improvement using ergonomic approaches such as including a suspension system
