Le Teyyam est un rituel de possession hindouiste du Kerala (Inde du Sud) qui nécessite une pratique intransigeante : restrictions, jeûnes, exploits physiques, résistance à la chaleur du feu. Vêtus de costumes spectaculaires, des performeurs de caste intouchable dansent l’épée à la main, au son des tambours frénétiques, et font entendre la parole du dieu qu’ils incarnent; ils auront même le droit de critiquer le système des castes devant la communauté assemblée, le temps d’une inversion rituelle. Alors qu’autrefois il s’agissait d’un devoir de caste associé à une grande précarité, aujourd’hui il s’agit d’un métier que l’on peut choisir d’exercer ou non. Bien qu’on ait déploré un manque de relève à cause des conditions jugées trop difficiles, il y a toutefois de jeunes hommes qui ont décidé de poursuivre cette tradition ancestrale. Au Kerala, de nombreux jeunes aspirent à la classe moyenne et misent sur l’éducation pour espérer un bon emploi, il y a des opportunités, mais pas pour tous, et surtout beaucoup de compétition. C’est dans ce contexte que de jeunes hommes éduqués souhaitent poursuivre une tradition qu’ils admirent et dont ils sont fiers, mais sans avoir à sacrifier leurs chances de réussite sociale. Quelles sont leurs aspirations, quel sens donnent-ils à ce qu’ils souhaitent accomplir? Traditionnellement les relations de patronage dans le Teyyam ont été très dures sous le joug du système des castes, qu’en est-il aujourd’hui? Comment ces performeurs arrivent-il à négocier la réalisation de leurs aspirations dans les coulisses du Teyyam? / Teyyam is a Hindu possession ritual from Kerala (South India), the practice of which is unforgiving: it requires fasting, physical feats, heat resistance. Dressed in a spectacular costume, the performers dance, swords in hand, to the frenzied beat of drums, they are the vessels of the gods’ words. An untouchable embodies the god in front of the assembled community; he will even have the right, during this ritual inversion of roles, to critique the caste system. Whereas this performance used to be a caste obligation associated with poverty, it has, today, become a job that one can choose, or not, to do. Even though some people lament the fact that there is a lack of young men to ensure the continuity of this practice due to the difficult conditions of this ritual, there, nonetheless, remain educated young men ready to pursue this ancestral tradition. In Kerala, a lot of people count on education to have a good job, the young are more and more educated and a good number of them aspire to attain the middle class; there are opportunities, but not for everyone and there is a lot of competition. Educated young men want to pursue a tradition that they admire and that they are proud of, but without having to sacrifice their chances of social mobility. What are their aspirations? What meaning are they giving to what they want to accomplish? Traditionally the patronage relations in Teyyam have been very hard, under the shade of the caste system. What is the situation today? How do the performers manage to negotiate the achievement of their aspirations in the context of Teyyam?

Grid connected inverter requires accurate and appropriate sizing which depends on the temperature, inverter operating efficiency, performance ratio, annual system yield and solar radiation characteristics. The aim of this study was to design and size for optimum sizing factor for grid connected inverter. The main component to be considered in any photovoltaic grid connected system is the inverter since the output depends on the inverter sizing ratio, therefore optimal sizing factor was designed by considering factors that affects inverter sizing such as temperature, irradiance and the location. Large and small systems of 50 kW and 5 kW respectively were considered to determine grid connected inverter sizing factors for different climates in Kenya, Sweden, and India using PVsyst simulation. Two different inverter brands of SMA and ABB with 20 kW and 25 kW rating for large system and 4.6 kW, 4 kW inverters for small system. PVsyst simulation result showed that different locations with different orientation angles, the optimum sizing varies hence affects the annual performance of the system. Photovoltaic system inverters are sized based on the rated power of the installed system and this can be achieved when the inverter size is either almost matching or not. In this case the study presents the optimal sizing factor for grid connected inverter for Mandera in Kenya, Norrköping in Sweden and Kerala in India. The determination was done through the use of designing, assessing and analyzing of the relationship between the sizing factor with performance ratio, operational efficiency and annual hourly energy yield. The unique weather profile in Kerala and in Mandera favors the adoption of solar energy technology in the location. Solar radiation for one year was used as a baseline input and the result reveals that Mandera receives yearly radiation of 2.1 MWh/m² while Kerala and Norrköping receives 2 MWh/m² and 1.1 MWh/m² respectively. Design simulation using PVsyst tool made it possible for the determination of the optimal sizing factor for the grid connected system. Considerations such as the losses and the variations within the specific location was done and a graph showing the relationship between the sizing factor in relation to the operational inverter efficiency as well as energy yield and performance ratio was later on compared to see the behavior of the sizing factor. The study concludes that operational efficiency, performance ratio and energy yield affects the array optimum sizing ratio. For the three locations, inverters (SMA and ABB) shows different variations because optimal sizing ratio depends on the location and irradiation. The results reveal that Mandera has an optimal grid connected inverter sizing of the range from 1.1 to 1.4 while in Kerala it has from 1.2 to 1.4 and Norrköping has the range from 1.1 to 1.3. Optimal sizing of grid connected inverters depends on the energy yield and the location therefore the inverter mismatch voltage and its rating values have to be considered while determining the optimal sizing factor. The 25 kW inverters in all the locations had better efficiency and sizing factor and this proves that sizing the photovoltaic inverter will give better performance and efficiency.

The aim of this essay is to critically consider Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things from a postcolonial feminist perspective, with a special focus on how she models different representations of women, taking as a background the discussions within postcolonial feminism about subalternity and the representations of women from the so-called Third World in theory and literature, as well as the concept of agency from Cultural Studies. This purpose is reached by studying and comparing three main female characters in the novel: Mammachi, Baby Kochamma and Ammu, centering on their different ways of relating to the male hero of the novel, Velutha, an Untouchable in the lingering caste system of India. The essay argues that Roy has contributed with diverse representations of subaltern women in the ‘Third World’ who—despite their oppressed and marginalized status—display agency and are portrayed as responsible for their own actions.

Mobility and Pathways to Autonomy of Women: A study of informal workers in fisheries sector in Kerala, India Mobility defined as the freedom and ability to move has intrinsic and instrumental values in promoting human development. Paid work which involves mobility associated with work can be a ‘capability-enhancing’ experience when such mobility improves opportunities and enhances freedoms. However, the existing studies have neither examined nor measured mobility with its multiple domains for women. My thesis fills this gap in research by exploring the multiple domains of gendered mobility by measuring mobility as a single construct and analysing whether mobility is a ‘capability’ for women workers which improves autonomy and agency. It is inter-disciplinary as it is situated at the confluence of development studies, human geography and sociological disciplines. The following features of the thesis make it unique in the development studies discipline. First, the contextual setting is unique as it is based in Kerala, which is a socially progressive state in India. The thesis unearths the underlying structural constraints in the Kerala model of social development for transformation of women workers under patriarchy. It is a comparative study which examines the household autonomy and agency of two types of informal women workers in the post-harvest fisheries, namely ‘peeling workers’ linked to production chains and ‘fish vendors’ who are self-employed. Second, the capability approach provides the theoretical framework for the analysis of mobility of women as capability and it introduces a new concept of ‘transformational mobility’. By examining mobility using the Rasch Rating Scale Model (RSM) for the first time in development studies, the thesis operationalises capability measurement by introducing the measurement scale of mobility of women workers which empirically delineates the multiple domains of mobility based on the constraints faced by women. Third, the mixed methods research design using survey data and qualitative interviews of women workers provide better insight and contextual understanding of women’s work. An innovative method, namely, the Crisp set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (CsQCA), explores the causal mechanisms that bring about ‘transformational mobility’ in women workers. The thesis empirically proves the significance of social and human capital factors like caste, low education of spouse and marital status along with the underlying patriarchal structures that determine pathways to transformational mobility and decision making of women. Lastly, the qualitative analysis using classic grounded theory contributes to the emergence of substantive theories for women workers which reflect contrasting agentic behaviour of peeling workers and fish vendors in the context of Kerala. The lack of collective agency among peeling workers questions the claims of Kerala model of development in improving the agency of women. The findings confirm that work mobility associated with informal low paid work is not necessarily a capability for women in fisheries.

Kamala Das is one of the best-known contemporary Indian women writers, albeit largely for the controversy that her candid, confessional writing has sparked in the relatively traditional context of Indian academia. Since the publication of her first collection of poetry, Summer in Calcutta (1965), Das has been considered an important voice of her generation. Her provocative poems are known for their unflinchingly honest explorations of the self and female sexuality, urban life, and women’s roles in traditional Indian society. Critics have expressed a range of opinions on her work: some laud her boldness, compelling sincerity and striking originality, while others dismiss her work as sensationalist, limited in scope and unsophisticated. In this dissertation, issues of selfhood represented in the poetry of Kamala Das will be analysed with regard to various aspects of her identity, such as those of a housewife, a lover, an Indian, a female writer, and a confessional poet. Selected theories on identity formation posited by Erik Erikson and Norman Holland will be explored, as will relevant hypotheses on female identity by Nancy Chodorow and Judith Gardiner. I propose that selected aspects of these theories shed light on the themes, tones and subject matter of Das’s verse. Almost all of her poems are personal and are fuelled by an intense need for emotional fulfilment. I suggest that the poet’s search for love is central to her identity and I aim to show how this (largely unsuccessful) quest, as reflected in Das’ poems, stems from various expectations by and on her. The recurring theme of expectations and the resulting tones of despair (the ‘hopes and fears’) in her work will be traced and analysed. This research is valuable in that there has been little exploration into identity and expectations in Das’ work and there is almost no research on her emanating from Africa. Through close textual analysis I also aim to highlight how useful insights into identity formation and female writing can enable a more in-depth understanding of Das’s poetry. Both female identity and women’s writing are increasingly significant fields in academia today, and there has been a rise in autobiographical writing in recent years; thus this research will contribute to debates about these issues in contemporary poetry. A portfolio of my own creative writing will accompany the essay. Like Kamala Das, I am also a Malayalee woman (from the province of Kerala in India) and I identify with some of her concerns with regard to the roles of women. Although my writing is not confessional or as personal as Das’s, our shared experience of the socio-cultural expectations placed upon us (due to our gender and ethnic background) links this mini-dissertation to my poetry portfolio. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / English / unrestricted

No description available.

The present study examines the relationship between acculturation, parental control, and psychological adjustment among adult first and second-generation Asian Indian women who have immigrated, or whose parents have immigrated to the United States, from the Indian state of Kerala. Data from 73 participants indicate second-generation immigrants report poorer psychological adjustment than do their counterparts. Additionally, regression analyses reveal discomfort towards Kerala culture significantly predicts depressive symptoms, while high maternal control predicts self-esteem. Qualitative data were collected to provide richer understanding of immigrants' adaptation to the U.S. Implications of this research may impact mental health practitioners' ability to improve quality of life with Asian Indian women from Kerala.

Localism places a special value on the local, and is increasingly prominent as a political doctrine. The literature suggests localism operates in three ways: bottom-up, top down and mutualistic. To assess its impact, localism needs to be seen within the broader context of multi-level governance. Here localism is examined in relation to three major themes: place, public value (PV), and institutional design. Regarding place, a key distinction is drawn between old and new localism. Old localism is about established local government, while new localism highlights the increasing room for manoeuvre that localities have in contemporary politics. This enables them to influence wider power structures, for example through trans-local organizing. With regard to public value, localist thinking makes a key contribution to core PV domains such as sustainability, wellbeing and democracy, as well as to others like territorial cohesion and intergovernmental mutuality. As for institutional design, the study is particularly concerned with ‘sub-continental’ political systems. A set of principles for the overall design of such systems is proposed, together with a framework of desirable policy outcomes at the local level. This can be used to evaluate how effective political systems are at creating public value in local settings. The thesis presents a comparative study of localism in two significant, sub-continental clusters: India/Kerala/Kollam and the EU/UK/England/Cornwall. Both can be seen as contrasting ‘exemplars’ of localism in action. In India, localism was a major factor in the nationwide local self-government reforms of 1993 and their subsequent enactment in the state of Kerala. In the EU, localism has been pursued through an economic federalism based on regions and sub-regions. This is at odds with the top-down tradition in British politics. The tension between the two approaches is being played out currently in the peripheral sub-region of Cornwall/Isles of Scilly. Cornwall’s dilemma has been sharpened by Britain’s recent decision to leave the EU. The thesis considers the wider implications of the case studies, and presents some proposals for policymakers and legislators to consider, together with suggestions for further research.

This thesis investigates achievements in human development outcomes on health, education, and poverty indicators across Indian states, in order to discern what factors might influence a state’s better orientation toward social policies. After conducting data analysis, the study explains differences in outcomes, as achieved by Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, by building an argument of subnational solidarity and its impact on determining the state’s policy agendas.

No abstract available / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Administration)