PERSONALITY AND SOCIO-FAMILIAL CORRELATES OF CONSERVATISM IN INDIAN YOUTH

Wilson (1973) proposed a theory that internal and external factors which lead to ‘generalized susceptibility to experiencing threat or anxiety in the face of uncertainty’ are responsible for the growth of conservatism. The present study explored the relationship of some such factors with conservatism in Indian university students (120 males, 72 females) aged 21–25 yrs. It was discovered that conservatism is characterized by low self-esteem, insecurity, anxiety and intolerance of ambiguity. It is related with lower SES and joint family system but unrelated with family size and birth-order. Conservatives are more likely to be of the older generation, of the fair sex and to have conservative parents. The findings, on the whole, lend support to Wilson's (1973) theory.     

Twinning stress prediction in bcc metals and alloys

The development of a twin stress relationship for bcc metals and alloys in agreement with experiments has been both scientifically challenging and technologically vital. A modified approach to Peierls–Nabarro model is formulated that predicts the twinning stress in excellent agreement with experiments. We utilize the first principles energy calculations to extract the energy landscape associated with twinning and obtain the disregistry function to account for the interaction of multiple dislocations comprising the twin. The metals and alloys considered include Fe, V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Fe–3at.%V, Fe–35at.%Ni and Fe–3at.%Si. The variation of twinning stress within metals is substantial (90–800 MPa) and depends primarily on the twin boundary migration energy, the shear moduli, the interplanar spacing and the geometrical positions of the fractional dislocations constituting the twin.     

How Civil Society Organisations Changed the Regulation of Clinical Trials in India

ABSTRACT

In 2005 India changed its pharmaceutical and innovation policy that facilitated a dramatic increase in international clinical trials involving study sites in India. This policy shift was surrounded by controversies; civil society organisations (CSOs) criticised the Indian government for promoting the commercialisation of pharmaceutical research and development. Health social movements in India fought for social justice through collective action, and engaged in normative reasoning of the benefits, burdens and equality of research. They lobbied to protect trial participants from structural violence that occurred especially in the first 5–6 years of the new policy. CSOs played a major role in the introduction of new regulations in 2013, which accelerated a decline in the number of global trials carried out in India. This activism applied interpretations of global social justice as key ideas in mobilisation, eventually helping to institutionalise stricter ethical regulation on a national level. Like government and industry, activists believed in randomised controlled trials and comparison as key methods for scientific knowledge production. However, they had significant concerns about the global hierarchies of commercial pharmaceutical research, and their impact on the rights of participants and on benefits for India overall. Pointing to ethical malpractices and lobbying for stricter ethical regulations, they aimed to ensure justice for research participants, and developed effective strategies to increase controls over the business side of clinical research.