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ThesisItem Restricted Adherence to Residential Building Bye-laws in Ludhiana City(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Batra, Sakshi; Gill, Jatinderjit KaurThe present study entitled “Adherence to Residential Building Bye-laws in Ludhiana City” was undertaken to check the knowledge of heads of family regarding existing residential building bye-laws, their adherence to residential building bye-laws and reason for their non-adherence to existing residential building bye-laws in Ludhiana city. A sample of 120 respondents was selected randomly from areas under Improvement Trust Ludhiana and Municipal Corporation Ludhiana. An interview schedule was prepared to collect data from the respondents. The list of existing residential building bye-laws was obtained from Improvement Trust Ludhiana and Municipal Corporation Ludhiana. The findings of the study revealed that there was positive correlation of education of head of the family and year of construction of house with the adherence to residential building bye-laws in sample-I i.e. localities under Improvement Trust Ludhiana. Whereas, in sample-II i.e. localities under Municipal Corporation Ludhiana the education of head family, family income and year of construction was positively correlated with the adherence to residential building bye-laws. The level of adherence to residential building bye-laws was high in sample-I because majority (90.00%) houses were planned by architect and in sample-II the level of adherence was upto medium level because around half (48.33%) of the houses were constructed before purchase.ThesisItem Open Access Online shopping trend among women of Ludhiana city(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Sharma, Diksha; Surinderjit KaurThe present study was undertaken with the objectives to assess the online shopping behaviour of selected respondents and to gain insight into the factors contributing to online shopping preferred products for online purchase and to study the problems related with online shopping. The study was conducted in Ludhiana city of Punjab. Five localities viz; Punjab Agricultural University Campus, Sarabha Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar and Model town were selected purposively. From each of the selected locality, 35 households having internet connection and experience of online shopping were selected through snow ball sampling technique. Thus 175 women constituted the sample for the study. The findings of the study revealed that around 90.00 per cent of the respondents used internet daily for communication/chatting and for online shopping as per their requirement. Majority of the respondents i.e 60.00 per cent did online shopping for self and 81.71 per cent respondents made payments for online shopping through cash on delivery mode. The findings further revealed that the most influencing factor for online shopping was convenience, followed by discount/offers, wider choice, easy delivery of products and easy return policy. The respondents mainly purchased small items of their personal use but they were still hesitant to shop online for major household items. The results regarding problems of online shoppers revealed that out of 175 respondents 50 respondents faced problem while online shopping. their main problems was difficulty in inspecting the quality of products. But still they were satisfied with online shopping experience and showed their willingness to shop online in future.ThesisItem Open Access Ergonomic study of lighting conditions in rural and urban homes of Ludhiana district(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Bhalla, Shinam; Narinderjit KaurThe present study entitled “Ergonomic study of lighting conditions in rural and urban homes of Ludhiana district” was undertaken to study the existing general and task lighting conditions in rural and urban homes of Ludhiana district. The study was conducted to assess the impact of inadequate lighting conditions on human health and to prepare instructional booklet suggesting guidelines for adequate lighting conditions based on ergonomic recommendations. The first part of the study comprised of household survey in rural and urban homes. For rural sample, one block was randomly selected and further from the selected block two villages was randomly selected. A sample of thirty home makers was also randomly selected from each selected village thus making rural sample of 60 homemakers. Whereas for the selection of the urban respondents, one zone out of four of Ludhiana city was randomly selected, out of further two localities were randomly selected, and from each selected locality 30 respondents were randomly selected thus making urban sample 60. So, the total sample size comprised 120 i.e. 60 from both rural and urban area. A total of 22 female home makers from the sample of field survey having the permissible limits of physiological parameters were selected for field experiment. Results of the study revealed that from both urban and rural area maximum of the respondents preferred to work in natural light. In urban and rural area people were aware of all light sources except halogen bulbs. Most of the respondents used CFLs for their daily activities and economically ranked these first. Various visual discomforts like declined vision, eye strain, glare in eyes, were observed due to inadequate light. Likewise, some psycho-emotional problems (frustration, irritation, anger) were also faced due to poor lighting. The subjective scales used also highlighted that respondents felt visual discomforts due to insufficient lighting and improper placement of light fixtures resulting in awkward positioning of neck, back and arms. Thus causing pain in neck, lower back, upper back and shoulders. Therefore, lighting of the house should be ergonomically designed which can help to maintain the good working posture and ultimately reduce the musculoskeletal and visual problems. Further, objective scales applied on selected objects also showed that the posture of bending, cervical flexion, bent wrist and unsupported feet were under high risk and for these; corrective measures were required. These corrective measures could be achieved by adequate lighting, right positioning of light fixtures and type of light source.ThesisItem Open Access Effect of indoor plants on household environment in Ludhiana city(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Akriti; Bal, Sharanbir KaurThe present study entitled “Effect of indoor plants on household environment in Ludhiana city” was undertaken to know the existing practices regarding the indoor plants adopted by homemakers in the houses of Ludhiana city, to measure the effect of indoor plants on household environment and to develop and test the efficacy of instructional booklet for the knowledge empowerment regarding control of pollution with indoor plants. Study was carried out in two randomly selected zones (Zone-B and Zone-D) of Ludhiana city. From each selected zone, three localities (Zone-B = Harcharan nagar, Bhagat singh colony, Ziwan nagar and from Zone-D = Hakikat nagar, Dugri phase 1, Krishna nagar) were further selected randomly. From each selected locality 20 respondents living in 300 to 500 square yards houses and indoor plants were purposively selected thus making total sample of 120 respondents. Results of the study revealed that majority of the homemakers were aware about indoor plants but had low knowledge regarding different cultural practices of indoor plants. Air-quality monitor, hygrometer and thermometer were used for objective assessment and modified scale Odour Awareness Scale (OAS) was used. In all the rooms where indoor plants were placed showed improvement in air quality both in the case of Carbon-dioxide where majority of the houses lie in limit 501-999 ppm and in case of Carbon-monoxide where majority of the houses lie in limit 0-3.5ppm. All the areas showed that both the gases were well within the permissible limit (permissible limit 1000 ppm for carbon-dioxide whereas permissible limit 9ppm for carbon-monoxide). Also showed improvement in humidity level where majority of the houses had humidity limit above 60% and temperature limit above 24oC where permissible limit is 60%. OAS revealed that people had maximum awareness for the pleasant odours (MS=3.59). Therefore, it is concluded that significant knowledge empowerment was observed in respondents after providing instructional booklet to them.ThesisItem Restricted CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF HOME ACCIDENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN HOUSEHOLDS OF LUDHIANA DISTRICT(PAU Ludhiana, 2013) Deepika Sharma; Pushpinder, SandhuPresent study was undertaken to explore home accident incidents, their causes and consequences; and to develop guidelines on home safety for rural and urban households. Sample of 140 households was randomly selected from both areas of Ludhiana District. Interview schedule was used to gather data. Modified Impact of Event Scale was used to assess impact of accidents. Modified Safety Assessment Scale was used to judge home safety. Results revealed that the impact of most recently encountered accidents on victims was not meaningful on urban victims (IES Score 3.51); but rural victims had more impact (IES Score 5.76). Safety assessment scoring revealed minimum safety regarding fire and burns (Rural=8.34; Urban=8.15). Safety features like smoke bell, fire extinguisher and sand buckets were not seen in any of the sampled houses. Most lacking safety features were: stairs without rail, dark areas, narrow passages, gas cylinder near burner, greasy floors, low parapet, split levels and no safety caps on sockets. Sharp tools and cooking were perceived to be most hazardous. Kitchen, washroom and stairs were identified as accident prone areas by all respondents. There were 92 accident victims from rural and 60 from urban (sampled) households; most of them in 20-40 year age group and females. Maximum number of victims had injury due to cut or crush. Six fractures, one permanent disability and one death was also reported. More rural respondents neglected home safety; had noticeable impact of accident events; and were conspicuous by their higher numbers as victims compared to urban sampled population.ThesisItem Open Access PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR FOR SELECTED HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: A STUDY OF RURAL AND URBAN HOMEMAKERS(PAU Ludhiana, 2011) Inderpreet Kaur; Savita, BatishThe present study was conducted in rural and urban area of Ludhiana district with objectives; to know the purchase behaviour of rural and urban home makers for selected household items, to examine the factors influencing purchase behavior, to study the problems experienced by respondents while making purchases and to suggest guidelines for the empowerment of respondents. Sixty respondents each from rural and urban area were taken as sample of the study. Household items viz. processed food items and kitchen equipment were selected. Data were collected through personal interview. Results revealed that respondents from both the area were not following wise purchase practices viz. making of budget, deciding about what, when and from where to buy, remaining alert during weighing, checking of government seal on weights, checking for quality assurance marks, getting and checking cash memo etc. Checking of government seal on weights was least considered purchase practice as nearly 95.00 per cent of the respondents from both the area did not check it. More than 80.00 per cent of the rural respondents never get and check the cash memo whereas 76.67 per cent of the urban respondents sometimes followed this practice. Respondents were facing various problems like short weight, adulteration, misbranding, overpricing, duplicity, poor quality, false packaging, out-dated products and substandard material, duplicate parts, false guarantee, poor after sales service, no exchange facility regarding kitchen equipment. Nearly 80.00 per cent of the rural respondents and 60.00 per cent of the urban respondents were not able to recognize the original quality assurance marks from the deceptive ones and were also unaware about the consumer protection rights. More than 95.00 per cent of the respondents never sought justice for their grievances by approaching consumer court. In spite of facing so many problems a small percentage i.e. 03.33 per cent of the respondents in rural area and nearly 10.00 per cent of the respondents in urban area were those who took actions against the business malpractices.ThesisItem Open Access ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF WORK STATION FOR FEMALES ENGAGED IN COOKING ACTIVITIES(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2010) Bhatt, HemaStudy was undertaken to do ergonomic assessment of kitchen workstation for females engaged in cooking activities, with objectives; to study the problems faced by women in existing workstation, to assess the physiological parameters of female workers engaged in selected cooking activities and to evaluate the design of selected work station in-terms of ergonomic standards. Study was conducted in two phases (survey and field experiment). In first phase eighty homemakers were taken from Ludhiana. Information was gathered regarding the existing physical features and environmental conditions of the kitchen along with respondent‟s anthropometric measurements. In phase-II, sixteen respondents having similar physical and physiological parameters were selected. For experimentation five activities; cutting, grating, kneading, rolling and dish-washing were selected. Results revealed that in urban areas all respondents had closed, standing kitchen with either „L‟ or „U‟ shaped counters. Kitchen area ranged between 6.7 to 8.4 sq. m. Storage facility was found neglected in many of kitchens as it was beyond comfortable reach of homemakers. The environmental conditions were also found above the recommended limits affecting working efficiency. Results also revealed that energy expenditure ranged from 7.0 to10 kj\min, TCCW was between 200.81 to 364.30 beats, PCW was 12.82 to 26.26 beats\min; maximum for grating and minimum for rolling. The percent increase in heart rate was maximum for grating 38.56 and minimum for rolling 16.20. Reduction in grip and pinch strength of right hand was found more as compared to the left hand. The percent deviation in thoracic and in lumbar region was maximum during kneading and minimum during rolling.ThesisItem Open Access MUSCULOSKELETAL AND VISUAL PROBLEMS FACED BY FEMALE VIDEO DISPLAY TERMINAL (VDT) USERS(PAU, 2014) Khushdeep Kaur; harpinder kaurThe present study was conducted on “Musculoskeletal and Visual problems faced by female Video Display Terminal (VDT) users”, with objectives; to evaluate the work station design of video display terminal users on the basis of ergonomic parameters; to assess the work related musculoskeletal and visual problems faced by female VDT users and to formulate a guide as a preventive intervention in reducing the musculoskeletal and visual problems of VDT users. Study was conducted in two phases i.e. field survey and field experiment. Field survey was conducted on 120 female employees working on Video Display Terminals (VDT) in different banks of Ludhiana District. A pre-structured interview schedule was used to ergonomically evaluate the work station design of female VDT users. The musculoskeletal problems of respondents were assessed by using subjective scales i.e. Postural Discomfort Scale (Corlett and Bishop 1976) and Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (SNMQ). A total of 20 female employees from the sample of field survey having the permissible limits of physiological parameters were selected for the field experiment to assess the work related musculoskeletal problems by using two objective assessment scales i.e. Rapid Upper Limb Assessment Method (RULA) and Quick Exposure Checklist (QEC).Results revealed that respondents felt musculoskeletal and visual problems like pain in neck, lower back, legs and eyes strain due to inadequate dimensions of workstation, improper placement of computer screen, poor lighting and glare. RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) and QEC (Quick Exposure Checklist) showed that postures like forward bending, cervical flexion, bent wrist and unsupported feet were putting them under high risk and for these postures corrective measures are required as soon as possible. A guide was formulated as an ergonomic intervention to reduce the work-related musculoskeletal and visual problems of VDT usersThesisItem Open Access Work environment and physical problems of women workers in hosiery industry(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2014) Shilla, Kanchan; Sandhu, PushpinderWork environment and physical problems of women workers in hosiery industry of Ludhiana were studied using survey method on 120 and conducting experiments on 40 such women in 12 hosiery units. Cardiovascular responses, energy costs, physiological cost of work were assessed using scientific instruments and physical discomfort and exertion; using Rated Perceived Exertion Scale and Body Map. Results indicated that mostly respondents earned Rs. 1000-5000/pm, were employed part time, or on contract and mainly did finishing garment. Most women were employed through middleman, stayed in hosiery units for 8 hours and paid on ‘per piece’ basis. Major physical problems faced were eye strain, headache, back ache, cuts and numbness of fingers, cervical spondylitis, frozen shoulders, repetitive strain injuries, inhalation of wool fibres, allergies. Average working hours/day was 7.53, working days/ month 29.10, average area allotted for work 241 sq. ft. They worked in less light (374.02 lx), harsh temperature (16.11°C), 55.80% humidity and high noise (65.29 dB). There was an increase of 12.99% in heart rate of subjects after doing thread cutting, button stitching and hemming for 30 minutes. In diastolic pressure 2.43%, in systolic pressure 3.22%, and in energy expenditure 46.60% increase was recorded. Increase in total cardiac cost of work was 318.92 beats and physiological cost of work 10.63 beats/minute. Mean score of Rated Perceived Exertion was 2.1. So selected activities were rated as ‘medium exertion’. Maximum subjects experienced pain in lower arm and in shoulders, half of them in back and neck, and few complained of sore eyes.