LOYOLA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

The world is becoming increasingly complex, competitive, data-driven, and knowledge-intensive. Loyola’s mission is to make its students globally competent for which they have to be deeply knowledgeable and willing to be lifelong learners. We felt that it was high time we went beyond the existing Research Clinic and brought teachers, research scholars and students of all departments on a synergistic platform that promoted multidisciplinary and offered opportunities for growing together by enriching one another. That is why we evolved Loyola Research Collective (LRC).

 The overall goal of the LRC is to foster scientific temper, research culture and aptitude among students and faculty members by promoting the practice of learning and growing together.

The specific objectives:

•  Strengthening research as a process to promote engaged learning
•  Enhancing the understanding of research methodology
•  Encouraging interdisciplinary perspectives among the students and the faculty
•  Using research as a platform to engage students on socially relevant topics
•  Fostering critical thinking and dialogue among students
•  Facilitating better use of technological tools for quality research

Some of the Major Studies/Projects (last 7 years)

International Projects

UGC funded projects

1. Dr. Anitha. S : ‘Life Style Risk Factors among IT/ITeS Professionals:
   A Case of Technopark Trivandrum’EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In the twenty first century India is globally booming with its IT industrial sector. The contributions being made by the IT industry towards the country’s GDP has led to a steady growth of the Indian economy. India’s IT industry is regarded as a hub of innovators providing world class technology solutions across the globe. Various international organizations have set up their offices here in India like Google, Accenture etc. It has helped in changing Indian economy from an agricultural based economy to a knowledge driven economy. This technical breakthrough has brought in more employment opportunities for Generation Y, but at the same time, the current scenario has made them vulnerable to life style diseases. In 2008, five out of the top ten causes for mortality worldwide, other than injuries, were non-communicable diseases; this will go up to seven out of ten by the year 2030. So it is high time for every country to have a check on the biological clock of its productive inhabitants through effective preventive strategies to reduce further incidences of high morbidity and mortality. Higher income levels and globalization have induced a nutritional shift resulting in the rise of unhealthy food and decreased intake of fruits and vegetables. These socioeconomic determinants have fuelled the growth of risk factors – both modifiable and non-modifiable. The present project studied the prevalence of life style diseases among software professionals, food habits and occupational patterns among the professionals. The study also tried to analyse the various healthy life style behaviours adopted by software professionals. The results show that there is prevalence of life style diseases among the software professionals. The important reason contributing to this situation is the occupation pattern and food habits of the respondents. The study also analysed the healthy life style behaviours adopted by software professionals. It was found that hardly they indulge in healthy life style behaviours due to lack of time. One important finding is that most of the organizations have wellness programmes in the organization to take care of the wellbeing of the employees.
2. Dr. Lekshmi V Nair : Living beyond 90- A study of Elderly Women in Kerala:
    Longevity of the population in our country improved over a period of time and it is worthwhile studying the 90+ people of Kerala to understand the reason for their long living and the problems they face due to the long life. The primary objective of the study was to explore the social correlates of elderly women life in Kerala society. In all, 50 centenarians were picked from three districts for data collection.
   Major Findings:
   Socio-demographic analysis
   The socio-demographic analysis showed that nine out of ten were widows and had lost their husbands since an average of nine to 12 years. 90% of them were living with their children. The case studies showed that there is no correlation between income and longevity. The poor and the rich are having long life.
   Health and Disease History – Personal & Familial
   Health and disease history showed that more than three fourth of them had no serious ailments that hospitalized them in the past. 60% of them are seen helping in kitchen and doing their duties by themselves. More than three fourth of them rarely took medicine from doctors. They took home remedies as far as possible and rarely went for allopathic medicines.
   Nutrition, Food and Other Habits
   Food habits showed that 20% of them are vegetarians. 82% of them said that they eat only when they felt hungry. Fasting once a week helped to restrict their diet. Nutritious drinks, milk and buttermilk formed part of about three fourth of the respondents’ diet after the age of 70. They attributed the long life to the good food they had throughout their life.
   Stress, Strain, Coping Mechanisms and Spirituality
   About 2/3 of them said that they underwent minute stress and strain in their lives. Loss of close kin has been the cause of greatest depression. 98% of them are strongly religious and said that they enjoyed the good will of god. The case studies showed that there is a positive correlation between longevity and less strain and tension.
   Social support and family interaction
   98% of them reported good family relations throughout their past years. 94% of them said that they enjoyed the good will of most of their kith and kin. The case studies illustrated that most of the women who had a longer life had a good support system.
   Cognition, Comprehension, Memory
   Most of them had a very poor memory. Even though they could recall clearly most of the things that took place early in the life, they added that they are forgetting names etc of late. Due to loss of denture, there were some difficulty in understanding what they said but they were able to communicate what they felt.

Other Projects

1. Dr. John Joseph Puthenkalam S.J. and Fr. Sabu P. Thomas S.J.: Human Development Approach to Health and Longevity.  A joint study by Sophia University, Japan and Loyola College, Thiruvananthapuram published by Loyola Publications in 2010.
2. Dr. John Joseph Puthenkalam S.J. and Dr. M.K. George S.J.: Participatory Development for Water: Sustainable Human Development Strategy for Environmental Protection. A joint study by Sophia University, Japan and Loyola College, Thiruvananthapuram published by Loyola Publications in 2009.
3. Dr M.K. George and Dr Helena Judith: Women, Well-being, Work, Waste, and Sanitation, European Commission, Delft, Netherlands (2002-06)
4. Dr R. Sooryamoorthy and Dr Antony Palackal: Scientific Communication among Scientists. Collaborative Research Project with Louisiana State University, USA. (2000 – ongoing)
5. Dr R. Sooryamoorthy: “Empowering Women: A Study of Self-Help Groups of WIN Society, Alapuzha and Ernakulam. Funded by Sophia College, Tokyo. (2001). (LES)
6. Comprehensive HRD Plan for the Decentralised Plan for Children’s Programme – Nepal, His Majesty’s Government (HMG) of Nepal and UNICEF, (Sept. 2000)

Fisheries

1. Loyola Research Team: Preparation of Human Development Report for Fisher folk in Kerala – Analysis of Primary Data, State Planning Board, Government of Kerala, (2009)
2. Fr. Charles L. Social Exclusion and Latin Catholic Fishworkers in Kerala, UGC (Minor), 2008.
3. Loyola Research Team: The Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project (TEAP) – Socio-Economic Survey of Self-Help Groups in Coastal Areas of 2006, Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala, (2006)

Education

1. Dr. MK George SJ: Residual Illiteracy in a Costal village, Poovar. Funded by Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, 2000.

Child Welfare

1. Loyola Research Team: ‘An Empirical Study on the Magnitude of The Child in Need of Care and Protection as Defined Under J. J. (CPC) Act 2000 and to Find out the Needs and to Evaluate to What Extent the Existing Facilities Under J. J. Homes Satisfy them in Kerala’, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India, New Delhi, 2008
2. Counselling in Higher Secondary Schools of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Sponsored by Winston Netto Foundation, UK, June 2004

Gender issues and Women

• Dr. Lekshmi V. Nair and Dr. Sonny Jose: Women in New Profession – A Study of Women in Tourism Industry in Kerala, ICSSR (Major), 2008-2009
• Loyola Research Team: ‘A Rapid Situation Analysis And Qualitative Profile of Care And Protection Programmes in Institutional Settings for Women in Distress’, Ministry ofWomen and Child Development & UNODC, 2008
• Dr. Lekshmi V. Nair: Living Beyond 90: A Study of Elderly Women in Kerala, UGC (Minor), 2008
• A comparative Study of Self Help Groups organized and promoted by Non-Governmental Organizations and Kudumbasree in Kerala towards Empowerment of Poor Women. Sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Dept of Women and Child. (2004)
• Dr Helena Judith: Psychosocial Problems and Quality of Life of Women who have undergone Hysterectomy, Funded by the Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, (2003)
• Dr Saji P. Jacob: Gender Relations and Sexuality. Funded by the Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, (2001)

Environmental Impact Studies

1.  Dr. MK George SJ: A Study on the Impact of Jalanidhi Programme on Community Mobilisation in Rural Kerala, UGC (Major), 2008 – 09.
2. Kerala State Transport Project (Rehabilitation & Resettlement – 60 Km Punaloor, Placherry State Highway), Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), Govt. of Kerala (world Bank assistance)
3. Socio-Economic Study of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam Corporations Under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (2004)
4. Evaluation of a Housing Project undertaken by Sanketam an NGO of Changanacherry. 2004
5. Evaluation of Tribal Development Project, Wayanad. 2003
6. Evaluation of Community Health Programme, Health Department, Government of Kerala. 2003
7. Dr. Jose Murickan, Dr. MK George, Dr. Jose Boban, Mr. KA Emmanuel and Dr. Prakash Pillai: Development Induced Displacement in Kerala (2000) in association with the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.

Evaluation and Monitoring

1. Marakkalle! Campaign! Rapid Assessment Study for. Kerala Condom Promotion Project (KCPP), an initiative of Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust to strengthen the state intervention for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Kerala implemented by the Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) with the support from Department for International Development (DFID), 2007
2. Impact Assessment of Programmes and Activities of Sahayi Centre for Collective Learning and Action, Trivandrum (2006)
3. Loyola Research Team: Beneficiary Oriented Study of The Scheme of Family Counselling Centres Run By The Central Social Welfare Board, Central Social Welfare Board (2006)
4. Dr Jose Boban and Dr. M. K. George. Supplementary Feeding in ICDS – Present system of Food Purchase, Distribution and Satisfaction of Beneficiaries. Sponsored by the Dept. of Social Welfare, Govt. of Kerala. 2005-06.
5. Loyola Research Team: A study on the Experience of Sector Investment Plan (SIP) from the Implementation of District Action Plan – 1 (DAP-1) in Kollam District (2005)
6. Evaluation Study – St. Joseph’s Mission Hospital, Anchal, Kollam (300-bedded hospital in Kollam District) (2004)
7. Evaluation of – HELP 2000 project (Housing and Employment and Life Promotion 2000) (100 new houses), Sreyas Vanitha Samajam (SVS) Kottayam for the Manos Unidas, Madrid, Spain. (April 2004)
8. Evaluation of an action Research Project “Arogya Swayam Sahaya Sangham (ASWASAM)- Trivandrum city, Kerala (2003)
9. Evaluation of Tribal Unity for Development Initiatives (TUDI) an Institute of Tribllore Echome, Wayanad, Kerala, Society of Jesus of Kerala Province (Sep 2002)
10. Preparing a Project Proposal for five years and compiling the annual report for the year, 2001-2002, Jyothi Jeevapoorna Trust, Jyothi Centre, Padanthalumoodu, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
    Evaluation of Ma Sa Vim Project, AVARD, Chalakudy (July 2001)

Other Studies of State & Regional Level

1. Loyola Research Team: Socio-Economic Profile of the Farming Community in Palakkad District. Study conducted for the Kerala State Planning Board, 2010.
2. Dr. KA Joseph: Society and Disabled: Analysing the Social Model of Disability with Reference to Kerala Society, UGC (Minor), 2008
3. A Research Study entitled ‘A Study among College Students Regarding the Existing Core Human Values’ under the UGC scheme on under the UGC scheme on Human Rights and Values in Education in collaboration with Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum, (2007)
4. A Documentation on the ‘Public Health Promotion’ Project Implemented in Temporary Settlement Camps of 18 Tsunami Affected Villages at Colachel in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, by CARD in Association with OXFAM, UK. (2005)
5. Social Health: A study of High Risk Groups in selected Urban Groups in Kerala, 2000

Studies/ Projects on Local Self Government

1. Loyola Research Team: NREGA – Preparation of District Perspective Plan for Trivandrum District, Rural Welfare Commission, Government of Kerala, 2008
2. Socio-economic profile of Ajanur Grama Panchayat, as part of Grama Jyothy Holistic Development Project with the support from SDC-Cap DecK, March 2007
3. Watershed development Project (Sreekariyam Grama Panchayat) Sponsored by Swiss Agency for Development & Co-operation (SDC) CapDeck. (2006-07)
4. Panchayat Empowerment Project (PEP) – Sreekariyam Panchayat. Sponsored by Swiss Agency for Development & Co-operation (SDC) CapDeck. (2004-06)