Their finding aligns with previously held beliefs about the role of cultural context in language processing.

Focus

The study focuses on how cultural cues affect the translation process between first and second languages across different age groups, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

Publishing

The findings have been published in the prestigious journal Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics published by Mouton De Gruyter and co-authored by Prof. Bidisha Som and her research scholar, Dr. Opangienla Kechu, from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati, along with Prof. Luis Benites and Prof. Rocío Maehara from Universidad del Pacífico, Lima, Perú.

This research has significant implications for fields like education, healthcare, and customer service, where multilingual communication is common, said Prof Som.

‘By understanding how cultural familiarity or mismatch influences comprehension, educators can design more effective bilingual programs tailored to students’ backgrounds.’

Similarly, healthcare professionals and translators can leverage these findings to enhance communication in diverse settings, said Prof Sam.

Task

In the study, participants completed a task where they identified whether word pairs from the Rongmei and Meitei languages were correct translations, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

Before seeing the second word, they were shown cartoon images of individuals dressed in traditional Rongmei or Meitei attire, or neutral outfits such as jeans and t-shirts.

The study utilized E-Prime 3.0 software to measure the speed and accuracy of participants’ responses, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

Aim

The aim was to investigate whether cultural cues influenced performance in a translation word recognition task and whether factors like age, living conditions, or translation direction affected the results, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

Interestingly, the study found the effect of culture cues despite the cultural and geographical proximity of the two communities studied.

The study also found that age played a very important role with faster response time among younger participants suggesting that culture cues may become less salient in populations where bilingualism and biculturalism are a routine part of life.

The researchers suggest that in societies where switching between languages and cultures is commonplace, these differences may become less pronounced during language tasks.

Key findings

Discussing the key findings, Prof. Bidisha Som remarked this study is crucial because it adds to the current assumption that cultural context always plays a significant role in bilingual language processing.

In communities where bilingualism and biculturalism are the norm, cultural cues appear to matter less in language comprehension; however that too is dependent on other subtle cues in the environment, said Prof Sam.

In multicultural societies, this research can aid in reducing communication misunderstandings, ultimately enhancing social integration and cognitive development for bilingual individuals.

They cover all the major engineering, science, healthcare, management, and humanities disciplines, offering BTech, BDes, BSc(Hons), MA, MDes, MTech, MSc, MS(R), MBA and PhD programmes.

The institute offers a residential campus to 455 faculty members and more than 8,600 students at present.

IIT Guwahati has retained the 7th position among the best engineering institutions of the country, 9th position in ‘Overall’ and 10^th position in ‘Research’ Categories in the ‘India Rankings 2024’ declared by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of the Union Ministry of Education.

Also Read – Top 21 IITs in India in 2024: NIRF 2024 Ranking

Designed to monitor the freshness of seafood in real-time by responding to pH changes, the film offers a practical solution for improving food safety and reducing waste.

This film detects the release of volatile amines, compounds typically associated with spoilage, and indicates food quality through visible color changes, say sources from NIT Rourkela.

These natural components make the film biodegradable, safe, and responsive, aligning with sustainability goals and offering a non-invasive way to assess seafood freshness.

Findings

The findings of this research have been published in the journal Food Packaging and Shelf Life in a paper co-authored by Prof. Preetam Sarkar (as the lead corresponding author), along with his research scholars, Mr. Rahul Thakur, Miss Harshi Singhi, Mr. Vedsagar Rajesh Suryavanshi, and Dr. Ravichandran Santhosh.

Other co-authors in this work include Dr. Khalid Gul from NIT Rourkela, Dr. Swarup Roy from Lovely Professional University, Dr. Srinivas Janaswamy from South Dakota State University, Brookings, USA and Dr. Kirtiraj K. Gaikwad from IIT Roorkee.

Fishing

India is the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, contributing approximately 8% of global fish production, say NIT Rourkela researchers.

It also holds the distinction of being the top five producer of shrimp globally, with frozen shrimp being the top export commodity.

Given the scale and importance of seafood production, innovations that ensure freshness and reduce spoilage are of immense value, say NIT Rourkela researchers.

In this context, intelligent packaging systems, which preserve food while monitoring its quality, are rapidly gaining global interest.

Unlike conventional packaging that serves merely as a protective barrier, the intelligent packaging film developed by NIT Rourkela team offers visual cues about the product’s condition, making it a promising solution for enhancing food safety and reducing waste.

The beetroot peel extract was prepared separately, and then combined with the starch, gum tragacanth, and a small amount of glycerol to cast the films.

These were dried and tested for their pH-sensitivity and effectiveness in monitoring seafood freshness, said Prof Preetam of NIT Rourkela.

Pigments

Beetroot peels contain betalains, a group of pigments known for their bright colours and pH sensitivity, say NIT Rourkela researchers.

These pigments also offer antioxidant and antimicrobial benefits, making them suitable for food-related applications.

Incorporating these natural compounds into the starch-based film creates a biodegradable, safe, and responsive packaging material.

When the seafood begins to spoil and pH levels rise, the film changes colour, providing a clear visual indicator of freshness.

Starch

The choice of Kodo millet starch and gum tragacanth contributes to the film’s biodegradable and eco-friendly profile.

Kodo millet is an underutilised grain with excellent film-forming properties, while gum tragacanth enhances the mechanical strength and flexibility of the material.

The researchers believe that using such agricultural by-products not only supports sustainability but also adds value to food processing waste, such as beetroot peels.

At the laboratory scale, the cost of producing the film was estimated approximately Rs. 900 per kilogram.

When scaled up for industrial production, the cost is projected to range between Rs. 400 and Rs. 600 per kilogram, making it a potentially viable option for commercial use.

Also Read – NIT Rourkela develops great AI powered model