A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY TO ASSESS THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE JOB STRESS AMONG THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT NURSES AT ERODE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

ABSTRACT When the working system is in demand of more efficiency, individual resource stress is felt. Perception of stress occurs when there is a mismatch between the expectations and accomplishment. Because of workload and working environment seen in hospitals, health professionals frequently suffer from stress. In India prevalence of occupational stress amongst nurses has been estimated to be 87.4%. The present study was planned for assessing factors affecting occupational stress among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses. So the Nurse manager and Chief of the hospital should take initiatives to overcome this problem and help them reduce the job stress by providing commensurate workload according to their abilities and lend proper recognition to their efforts and skills, and motivate them to contribute their thoughts to take decisions in their work, assign them responsibilities to do their work and help them improve their relations with their co-workers. Key Words: Job Stress, Intensive care unit, Workload.

Exploring the university research scholars’ information literacy competency: a focus on the knowledge and skills

Purpose This study aims to determine the level of knowledge in searching, evaluating, information management competency and to find differences among research scholars’ in terms of their information literacy (IL) competency with regards to gender and academic designation. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was conducted to collect the data from the research scholars’ pursuing their doctoral degrees in Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil Nadu, India. Findings The results of this study revealed that the majority have used simple search and were not using the Online Public Access Catalogue. They were not able to assess the information retrieved and the assistance from the library staff to locate the resources was found to be minimal. This study also highlighted some of the problems faced by the research scholars and provided some suggestions based on the findings. This study highlights the need to adopt a new IL framework and conduct user literacy training programmes for effective use of the resources. Practical implications This study also has practical implications in terms of assessing the IL competency among the research scholars and significant variations which identified through demographics and assessment of IL competency will enable policymakers to develop a framework for brand new literacy instructions. The results may help to frame long-term strategies to motivate and train the research scholars in the effective use of technologies for improving their academic performance. Originality/value This study used a questionnaire as tool to collect the data. The outcome of the results will help the librarians and authorities to discuss research scholars’ IL competency and take appropriate decisions to improve their IL skills.

Construction of a Framework for Selecting an Effective Learning Procedure in the School-Level Sector of Online Teaching Informatics

Currently, there is no way soon to stop the coronavirus epidemic that has spread over the globe. People are alarmed by its quick and widespread expansion. COVID-19's transmission chain was then broken by everyone. There was a gradual decrease in social and physical closeness. Distancing yourself from others is a way to prevent the transmission of disease. The purpose of this research is to investigate how online learning can be implemented in Tamil Nadu, India, during the COVID-19 epidemic. This research works focuses to find efficient learning procedure in eLearning protocols. The findings indicated that Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and Zoom Clouds Meeting were consecutively the most commonly utilized programs to help in remote learning. Despite this, most instructors continue to use the learning paradigm while teaching in virtual environments. Online learning and remote education are the most common methods of learning. The instructor claims that the learning model used is beneficial to their work in creating a virtual classroom since it adheres to the model's structured grammar. The experimental test has been conducted with 125 students who anonymously filled out a questionnaire and voted for more visual based eLearning. The findings show that students in distance education believed that there were more tasks than in face-to-face education. At the same time, students indicated that they spent more time studying at home than in school.

Extent of diurnal cycle of rainfall and its intra seasonal variation over coastal Tamil Nadu during north east monsoon season

The diurnal variation of north east monsoon rainfall of coastal Tamil Nadu represented by four coastal stations Chennai Nungambakkam (Nbk), Chennai Meenambakkam (Mbk), Nagapattinam (Npt) and Pamban (Pbn) was studied in detail based on hourly rainfall data of rainy days only, for the period 1 Oct-31 Dec for the 47/48 year period 1969-2016/2017. Mean Octet rainfall and its anomaly were computed for the 8 octets 00-03,…., 21-24 hrs of the day and the anomaly was tested for statistical significance. Various analysis for the individual months of Oct, Nov, Dec and the entire period Oct-Dec were separately conducted. The basic technique of evolutionary histogram analysis supplemented by harmonic analysis of octet mean rainfall anomaly was used to detect the diurnal cycle signal. Two indices named as diurnal variation of rainfall index and coefficient of mean absolute octet rainfall anomaly representing the intensity of diurnal variation in dimensionless numbers were defined, computed and interpreted. The analysis based on the above techniques revealed that the diurnal signal which shows an early morning maximum and late afternoon minimum of octet rainfall is well defined in Oct, decreases in Nov and further decreases in Dec for all the 4 stations. Though the diurnal variation manifests a well defined pattern in Dec the signal is not statistically significant in most cases. For Nbk and Mbk there is a weak secondary peak of octet rainfall anomaly occurring in the forenoon and afternoon respectively in Oct and Dec suggesting the presence of semi-diurnal variation of rainfall. Stationwise, the diurnal signal is most well defined for each month/season in Pbn followed by Npt, Nbk and then Mbk. The physical causes behind the diurnal signal and its decrease as the north east monsoon season advances from Oct to Dec have been deliberated. The well known feature of nocturnal maximum of oceanic convection influencing a coastal station with maritime climate and the higher saturation at the lower levels of the upper atmosphere in the early morning hours have been advanced as some of the causes. For the much more complex feature of decrease of diurnal signal with the advancement of the season, the decrease of minimum surface temperature over coastal Tamil Nadu from Oct to Dec causing an early morning conceptual land breeze has been shown as one of the plausible causes based on analysis of temperature and wind. Scope for further work based on data from automatic weather stations, weather satellites and Doppler Weather Radars has been discussed.

Determination of sex of the dry skull using Interstyloid distance and its Medicolegal implications in Tamil Nadu population

Determination of sex using Skeletal remains is a challenging topic with so many tools being used for the sex determination of Skull in this study. The interstyloid process distance were studied in 64 Skulls and were tabulated and analysed. There is a significant difference between the distance in Female skull and Male skull, the former being lesser compared to the later. Further study in this regard may help using Interstyloid process distance as a important tool in identification of the Sex of the Skull.

Monthly rainfall hind-cast using machine learning algorithms for Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Due to current world climate change, the accuracy of predicting rainfall is critical. This paper presents an approach using four different machine learning algorithms, viz., Decision Tree Regression (DTR), Gradient Boosting (GB), Ada Boost (AB) and Random Forest Regression (RFR) techniques to improve the rainfall forecast performance. When historical events are entered into the model and get validated to realise how well the output suits the known results referred as Hind-cast. Historical monthly weather parameters over a period of 42 years (1976 to 2017) were collected from Agro Climate Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The global climate driver’s viz., Southern Oscillation Index and Indian Ocean Dipole indices were retrieved from Bureau of Meteorology, Australia. K- means algorithm was employed for centroid identification (which select the rows with unique distinguished features) at 90 per cent of the original data for the period of 42 years by eliminating the redundancy nature of the datawhich were used as training set. The result indicated the supremacy and notable strength of RFR over the other algorithms in terms of performance with 89.2 per cent. The Co-efficient of Determination (R2) for the predicted and observed values was found to be 0.8 for the monthly rainfall from 2015 to 2017.

A new species of Clypeocaenis Soldán 1978 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Tamil Nadu, India

Clypeocaenis malzacheri sp. nov. is described from the Kottakudi River in southern India, based on larvae and eggs. Clypeocaenis malzacheri sp. nov. appears to be closely related to C. bisetosa Soldán. The new species is distinguished from this species and other congeners based on the structure of the frons; the structure, setation, and maculation of legs; the shape and orientation of the abdominal tergum II projection; and by the shape and denticulation of abdominal sternum IX. Updated couplets for an identification key to Clypeocaenis larvae in the Indomalayan region are provided. The total number of Clypeocaenis species is thereby increased to twelve in the world and seven in India.

Dignity and the Provision of Care and Support in ‘Old Age Homes’ in Tamil Nadu, India: A Qualitative Study

Background: In 2016, Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to develop a set of Minimum Standards for old age homes. The Minimum Standards stipulate that that residents’ dignity and privacy should be respected. However, the concept of dignity is undefined in the Minimum Standards. To date, there has been very little research within aged care facilities exploring the dignity of residents. This study draws on the concepts of (i) status dignity and (ii) central human functional capabilities, to explore whether long term care facilities uphold the dignity of residents. Objectives: The study was designed to obtain insights into human rights issues and experiences of residents, and the article addresses the research question, “to what extent do old age homes in Tamil Nadu support the central human functional capabilities of life, bodily health, bodily integrity and play, and secure dignity for older residents?”Method: A cross-sectional qualitative exploratory study design was utilised. Between January and May 2018 face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured topic guide with 30 older residents and 11 staff from ten care homes located three southern districts in Tamil Nadu, India. Framework analysis of data was structured around four central human functional capabilities. Results. There was considerable variation in the extent to which the four central human functional capabilities life, bodily integrity, bodily health and play were met,. There was evidence that Articles 3, 13, 25 and 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were contravened in both registered and unregistered facilities. Juxtaposing violations of human rights with good practice demonstrated that old age homes have the potential to protect the dignity of residents.Conclusion: The Government of India needs to strengthen care home policies to protect older residents. A new legislative framework is required to ensure that all old age homes are accountable to the State. Minimum Standards should include expectations for quality of care and dignity in care that meet the basic needs of residents and provide health care, personal support, and opportunities for leisure, and socializing. Standards should include staff-to-resident ratios and staff training requirements.