Geography

Open source may be viewed by many as a revolutionary phenomenon that is capable of providing the software industry with an alternative and competitive way of doing business. Research done so far has tackled the history and business aspects of the open source phenomena, and only few have researched its technical aspects. The results of the research provide an insight on how different categories of people view open source, and demonstrate that lack of awareness about open source concepts and its competencies may be a major reason behind the poor adoption of open source solutions. The results of the comparative analysis also demonstrate that Map Server is technically equivalent to its commercial counter parts. A new open source sharing platform has emerged from the joint initiatives of the educationist, researchers and software developers. Present paper throws light on the contemporary development of this open source technology in field of geographic information system (GIS). An effort has been made to review the main components of open source technology at desktop and web based platforms, while the significance of open source technologies has been also discussed.

Land use and land cover change have been among the most important perceptible changes taking place around us. Although perceptible, the magnitude, variety and the spatial variability of the changes taking place has made the quantification and assessment of land use and land cover changes a challenge to geographers. Furthermore, since most of the land use and land cover changes are directly influenced by human activities. The Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System has proved to be very important in assessing and analyzing land use and land cover changes. Satellitebased Remote Sensing, by virtue of its ability to provide synoptic information of land use and land cover at a particular time and location, has revolutionized the study of land use and land cover change. The temporal information on land use and land cover helps identify the areas of change in a region. The use of Geoinformatics has enabled us to assign spatial connotations to land use land cover changes, namely, population pressure, climate, terrain, etc. which drive these changes. This has helped geographers to quantify these tools and to predict various scenarios. This article gives an overview of the current trends in land use and land cover changes of Renuka forest division in Sirmour district.

India had a highly developed urban culture approximately 2500 years ago. This country witnessed many phases of urban development and decline. Due to its geographical and socio-cultural diversity, remarkable spatial variations in the level of urbanization can be noticed in India. Hill states are generally characterized by low level of urbanization. In this study, a trend of urbanization from 1971 to 2001 has been examined in context of Himachal Pradesh. Some components of urbanization e.g. size and growth of urban population, structural pattern of urbanization, distribution of towns, level of urbanization etc. have been taken for the analysis. Observations reveal that growth of urban population is very low in the state and it has always been a least urbanize d state of India since 1971. There is preponderance of small towns and emergence of large number of towns are the results of administrative exigencies .

Administrative geography of Himachal Pradesh has been a saga of several territorial surgeries and shuffling. This hill state has a colonial past and since its formation on April 15 th , 1948 it has undergone a number of administrative readjustments and alterations. This process has been of merger of new areas and realignment of internal boundaries. This resulted into gradual increase in the geographical area of the state along with changing territorial expressions. The entire course of administrative realignment was not an arbitrary or spontaneous process but it was interplay of various cultural, politico-historical and geographical factors. In the present study, administrative history of Himachal Pradesh since 1872 to 2001 has been examined from a geographical perspective using administrative maps of different time periods prepared by Census of India. This study is primarily focused on changing nature of administrative boundaries in Himachal Pradesh.

In the Indian Himalayas on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau, Ladakh, or 'Little Tibet', is one of the highest and driest inhabited places on earth. The enormous mass of the Himalayas creates a rain shadow, denying entry to the moisture-laden clouds of the Indian monsoon. Ladakh is thus, a high altitude desert. The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains. The regions on the north flank of the Himalayas-Dras, the Suru valley and Zanskar-experience heavy snowfall and remain virtually cut off from the rest of the country for several months in the year. Summers are short, although long enough to grow crops. Ladakh displays a cold-desert landscape sculpted by Quaternary glaciations and cryogenic weathering, with superimposed effects of fluvial and mass movement processes. The upper Indus River, along with the Shyok is the backbone of Ladakh. The different landforms produced by Indus River and associated livelihood of people of the valley has been studied.

Forests are important source of subsistence, employment, revenue earnings, and raw materials to a number of industries and also play vital role in ecological balance, environmental stability, biodiversity conservation, food security and sustainable development of a region. Forests are the world's air conditioners and the earth's blanket; without them world would be a bleak and inhospitable place. Forests are renewable resource and nature's gift to mankind. The forest ecosystem consisting of a variety of flora and fauna representing remarkable biodiversity is essential for environmental stability and food security. They provide numerous goods and services and maintain life support systems essential for life on earth. The forest resource is under tremendous pressure. Intensified shifting cultivation, indiscriminate removal of timber, fuel wood, fodders and other forest produce, forest fire and encroachment has led to forest degradation and deforestation. The loss and degradation of forest results in soil erosion, loss of biological, damage to wild life habitats and degradation of watershed areas and deterioration of the quality of life. The present study assesses the extent and trends of forest cover in

Administrative geography of Himachal Pradesh has been a saga of several territorial surgeries and shuffling. This hill state has a colonial past and since its formation on April 15th, 1948 it has undergone a number of administrative readjustments and alterations. This process has been of merger of new areas and realignment of internal boundaries. This resulted into gradual increase in the geographical area of the state along with changing territorial expressions. The entire course of administrative realignment was not an arbitrary or spontaneous process but it was interplay of various cultural, politico-historical and geographical factors. In the present study, administrative history of Himachal Pradesh since 1872 to 2001 has been examined from a geographical perspective using administrative maps of different time periods prepared by Census of India. This study is primarily focused on changing nature of administrative boundaries in Himachal Pradesh.

The development of India is not possible without the women contribution towards the nation because they constitute half of the population of India. Female literacy an important social attribute, contributes significantly towards socio-cultural and economic progress of any society. This is no less true in the case of tribal society in Himachal Pradesh. In fact various dimensions of social and cultural change in the tribal society of the state can be well understood in the light of prevailing female literacy and education. In Himachal Pradesh the female literacy rate among the schedule tribes has witnessed a considerable increase during the period 2001-2011 as compare to the national and state average. However, there exists marked variation in this respect across the state. With this perspective an attempt is made in this paper to analyze the literacy patterns among the tribal women in Himachal Pradesh based on secondary data, shall be derived from census publication. The study has ex...

We need medicinal herbs in order to live a happy and healthy existence. Nearly 300 species of Ajuga exist. Himalayan medicinal plant Ajuga bracteosa Wall. Ex. Benth is also known as A. bracteosa. Neo-clerodane diterpenoids, flavonol glycosides, iridoid glycosides, ergosterol-5,8-endoperoxide, and phytoecdysones are the sources of its therapeutic potential. This page tries to collect the body of knowledge already available on A. bracteosa. The goal of this review study was to increase knowledge of the plant's medicinal potential. In addition to current information on botanical secondary metabolite synthesis in vitro for medicines, this study also includes updated information on the generation of secondary metabolites from medicinal plants. Due to its commercialization and potential for use in medicine, this species is seriously threatened. To conserve this endangered species, conservation and management measures should be put in place. The present study concentrated on its phytochemical properties, conventional and academic applications, as well as contemporary biotechnological developments for its preservation.