The effectiveness of the arrangements governing an educational system depends on the motivations of key actors. This paper analyses the state of education in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the role that teachers have played in the political process. It describes how teachers have become embedded in the political system and the way teacher associations and unions have actively pursued demands through various strikes and other forms of action. Although teachers have been successful in improving pay, job security and service benefits, less progress has been made on broader improvements in the schooling system such as the promotion of education in general or improving equity and efficiency in the system.

The school governance environment is an important determinant of schooling quality and thus of development. This paper explores how school governance is influenced by teacher unions and teacher politicians by presenting evidence on the political penetration of teachers, the activities of teacher unions and the stances of teachers' organisations on various decentralisation and accountability reform proposals over time. It asks how student achievement varies with teachers' union membership and political connections. Finding that students taught by unionised or politically connected teachers have significantly lower scores, it asks whether and to what extent this negative relationship works via such teachers applying lower effort.

Physiological Effect of Vibrations on Tractor Drivers under Variable Ploughing Conditions: Mohammad MUZAMMIL, et al. Department o f M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g , E r g o n o m i c s Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering & Technology,Aligarh Muslim University, India-The vibration conditions to which tractor operators are subjected are complex and varied with multi axis translation and rotational vibration inputs to different parts of the body. Working under such conditions may lead to human fatigue and other driving related hazards. The present research was carried out to study the operators under varying conditions of vibration while driving a tractor with and without farm equipment on different fields. Test runs were conducted in wet and dry fields to determine the levels of vibration generated at different engine speeds. On the basis of this study three levels of vibration namely 2.5, 3.5 and 5.0 m/s 2 were selected. Five subjects, all males, with no experience in the field of tractor driving participated in the study. The data were analyzed on the basis of three factor repeated measure kind of experimental design. The results showed that the main effects of farm equipment and the vibration level were statistically significant but the effect of field type was found to be statistically nonsignificant. The results of the study call upon the ergonomists to design and develop a tractor where the driver may be relieved of vibration induced stresses. Front loading of farm equipment is recommended for improved visibility and better working posture. (e-mail: mmuzammil18@yahoo.co.in) associated with agriculture or related trades. Farm workers functioning as the drivers of agricultural tractors are exposed to whole body vibrations, which may be extremely severe depending upon such factors as the attached farm equipment, speed of travel, condition of the field, etc. These vibrations are extremely complex and varied, with multi-axis translational and rotational vibration inputs to different parts of the body. Working under such an environment results in human fatigue, which contributes to driving related accidents and other health hazards. The vibrations produced by tractors and other off road vehicles and earth moving machinery were found to have a detrimental effect on the driver's performance (Rosegger and Rosegger; Grandjean; Goglia et al.) [1][2][3] . Decrements in occupational performance were also observed by Wertheim 4) while evaluating the effect of the moving environment on operators. Several studies conducted by Milosevic 5) on drivers of heavy vehicles revealed significant changes in body temperature, diastolic blood pressure and an increase in accommodation visual reaction time after prolonged driving. Longer exposure duration while performing ploughing and harrowing operations may also cause severe discomfort, pain and injury (Mehta et al.) 6) . Increased risks for low back pain (LBP) disorders were reported by Bovenzi 7) among tractor drivers due to continuous exposure to whole bo...

BACKGROUND: With the increasing rate of ambulatory disabilities and rise in the elderly population, advance methods to deliver the rehabilitation and assistive services to patients have become important. Lower limb robotic therapeutic and assistive aids have been found to improve the rehabilitation outcome. OBJECTIVE: The article aims to present the updated understanding in the field of lower limb rehabilitation robotics and identify future research avenues. METHODS: Groups of keywords relating to assistive technology, rehabilitation robotics, and lower limb were combined and searched in EMBASE, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar database. RESULTS: Based on the literature collected from the databases we provide an overview of the understanding of robotics in rehabilitation and state of the art devices for lower limb rehabilitation. Technological advancements in rehabilitation robotic architecture (sensing, actuation and control) and biomechanical considerations in design have been discussed. Finally, a discussion on the major advances, research directions, and challenges is presented. CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of robotics has shown a promising approach to rehabilitation and reducing the burden on caregivers, extensive and innovative research is still required in both cognitive and physical human-robot interaction to achieve treatment efficacy and efficiency.

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