Space and Culture, India
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Municipal Financing and Infrastructure: A Critical Analysis of the Cities in West Bengal
Get PDFCities, acting as engines of economic growth and generators of public finance for development, will usher in an urban revolution in the developing world. Such an urban revolution is sure to bring in opportunities to millions through the increasing level of urbanisation. This rising trend of urbanisation coupled with the increasing functional responsibilities of the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) has been creating serious problems for the provision and financing of urban infrastructure. The resource crunch at each level of government in general, and the local level in particular, has instigated the need for analysing the causes behind such adverse state of municipal finance. Against this background, this paper attempts to evaluate the state of municipal finance in West Bengal by performing a comparative analysis of relevant indices. Acknowledging the potential of municipal finances in improving the delivery of basic services, the present study uses secondary data to demonstrate that the higher availability of essential urban services is associated with higher levels of revenue generation. This study presents a spatial and town class-based pattern analysis of the finances of ULBs of West Bengal in terms of their financial base, its adequacy, and their revenue and expenditure performance. The main thrust of this study is to examine the patterns of finances in ULBs in West Bengal and to present a comparative picture thereof along with per capita analysis of revenue and expenditure components based on size categories of the ULBs
Assessing Psychological Effects of Cyberbullying on the Adolescents of a Cosmopolitan City
Get PDFThe popularity of computer-mediated communication and cyber technology has created many new vices in society that obstruct the development of adolescents. One such vice is cyberbullying, which is an insidious and covert form of bullying. The present paper opts to scrutinise cyberbullying\u27s psychological effects on the victim teenagers of minority communities of a cosmopolitan city. Confirmatory factor analysis, for testing the Psychological Effect of Cyberbullying Scale (PECS) comprising 24 direct item pool, was employed to unfold Mild Psychological Effect Scale (MPES) and Intense Psychological Effect Scale (IPES). Cross validating the initial factor structure was conducted with the help of developing standardised coefficient for the two factor model for PECS. Cronbach\u27s alpha reliability coefficient values are above 0.09 for the items of both the Mild Psychological Effect Scale (MPES) and Intense Psychological Effect Scale (IPES). Based on purposive sampling, the study found that all the items taken for conducting the survey are highly co-related to the psychological impact of the victim teens of the minority community of the cosmopolitan city. So the PECS developed for measuring the effect has significance. Study results also indicate that the PECS can serve as a valuable tool for measuring the mental impact of cyberbullying among teenagers
Assembly Elections of India, 2021: Revisiting Assam
Get PDFIn India, Assembly Elections were held in Assam, West Bengal, Kerela, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the first half of 2021. Driving this study is an attempt to analyse the election results of the state of Assam where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, Mitrajot or National Democratic Alliance (NDA), successfully defeated the Indian National Congress (INC), and its allies, Mahajot (Grand Alliance). Drawing primarily upon secondary data and applying GIS techniques, the study makes a critical analogy of how Mitrajot managed to accomplish victory.
 
Decision Making Power of Homemakers in a Rural Muslim Community of West Bengal: An Empirical Study
Get PDFDecision-making power is a vital key for assessing the empowerment of a person. Empowerment increases self-efficacy by which one can control one’s mode of life for survival in a better way. It is an established fact that women are the most disempowered section in our society and the rural Muslim women are relatively more oppressed than others as there is the predominance of social-cultural and economic inequality among this minority community. As a result, these women have very limited opportunities to participate in the decision-making process related to their family matters and societal affairs linked with their own lives. Considering this scenario, the present study attempts to examine and analyse the decision-making power of homemakers in rural Muslim communities at micro level, taking Santoshpur village of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, as a case study. The methodology designed for the present study integrates both quantitative and qualitative methods based on field surveys. For this, fifty respondents have been selected using stratified purposive random sampling technique, and data have been acquired through face-to-face interviews through a semi-structured questionnaire. Then, the Cumulative Empowerment Index (CEI) is constructed based on selected eight key indicators to measure respondents\u27 decision-making ability and liberty. Multiple Correlations are also computed, indicating that education and economic dependencies are the most critical determinants influencing women\u27s empowerment and decision-making processes. The study also reveals that the existing rigid cultural system is mainly responsible for the suppression of women’s identity as well as their thoughts. But there remains hope for the next-generation girl children as different schemes are being taken up by the Government of West Bengal to promote and popularise women’s education at different levels
Students Enrollment in Social Work Courses in Indian Higher Educational Institutions: An Analysis
Get PDFThis study aims to analyse students’ enrollment in social work courses in Indian higher educational institutions. The higher education system in India is one of the world\u27s largest systems of its kind. There are 526 social work educational institutions and 181 Universities (20 per cent) imparting social work education and training at different levels. The data from the reports of All India Survey on Higher Education for the period of 2010-11 to 2018-19 was analysed. More than half (59.12 per cent) of the institutions are teaching undergraduate courses in social work (BSW), and more than 95 per cent are teaching postgraduate courses (MSW). Male students outnumbered female students in both courses. The share of students enrolled through distance mode of education in BSW and MSW programmes is 22 per cent and 34.09 per cent, respectively. Student enrollment at the M. Phil level has witnessed a sudden decline, but there has been a consistent increase in the Ph.D. programme. India has added around 0.36 million BSWs/MSWs in the past eight years, averaging forty-five thousand professional social workers per annum. The changes in the socio-political environment, human relationships and social space, technology, and globalisation processes and global agenda will decide the future of social work in India
Technology-Enabled Learning and Post-Pandemic Academic Scene in India: Some Reflections
Get PDFThe onslaught of the Covid pandemic has changed the landscape of human interactions and life drastically; after the apparent changes in the health sector, the field of education has been radically changed. This study makes an effort to deliberate upon some aspects of the National Education Policy, 2020(NEP) and Right to Education (RTE) in relation to the post-pandemic changes that have been seen in the present Indian educational scene especially in the context of the technology-enabled learning
Impact of Flood on the Socio-Economic Conditions in the Southern Part of Kamrup District, Assam
Get PDFFlood causes extreme loss of infrastructure and human life; besides it also propagates the condition of poverty and unceasing marginalisation of the affected region from development. This study elucidates how flood contributes to the socio-economic conditions of the rural people living in the Southern part of the Kamrup district of Assam. It focusses on flood hazard zoning and flood vulnerability analyses that are delineated based on the data collected from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Near Real-Time (NRT) Global Flood Mapping Product Portal. Flood hazard zoning of the study area is done using Multi-Criteria evaluation method based on rainfall distribution, slope, drainage density, population density, soil type, elevation, flow accumulation, roads, and embankment utilising Cartosat DEM and IRS P6 LISS III data. The zones are identified as actively flooded, chronically flooded, and occasionally flooded zones, which affects 39.4 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 26.1 per cent population respectively covering 1189.2 sq. km, that is, 56.5 per cent area of the study region. The flood vulnerability assessment of the study area is done at village and ward level adapting geospatial assessment in a GIS environment. The findings of the research are generated through observations, key informant interviews with the rural population surveying 1420 number of households. It reveals that 200 villages are affected by floods every year that constitutes 76.6 per cent households and 78.4 per cent of the population of the study area
Mixed Perspectives and Thematic Analysis in Design Education
Get PDFThis research explores the design of products based on users’ emotional requirements and how students can be stimulated to generate novel ideas in design education. In order to achieve these aims, multiple methods were taught to students during an online course. In the first step, the students utilised interviews, questionnaires, and mixed perspectives to design hill censers according to the users’ emotional requirements. In the second step, the researcher conducted a qualitative thematic analysis to study the students’ collected survey reports. The analytic results were then shared with students to help them quickly obtain better novel design ideas. And then, an emotional design appraisal model was built in the third step. The two main findings are as follows: first, creation in light of the stakeholder’s perspective enabled the students to come up with better design ideas quickly. Second, the ‘design method’ and ‘emotional experience’ themes obtained by the thematic analysis were found to be vital for the designers/students. Notably, the ‘design method’ theme can help students generate novel design ideas, and the students can learn the users’ needs from the ‘emotional experience’ theme
Effect of COVID-19 on Students Studying in the Secondary and Higher Secondary Level
Get PDFThe novel Corona virus has been declared a pandemic due to its high transmissibility rate, influencing human life to its heights. It has affected the psychological and mental health of all people, including the functioning of various sectors. This study is based on a micro-level survey that discusses the pandemic\u27s effect on 600 students pursuing education in secondary and higher secondary levels in Kolkata. The school students’ effect was analysed based on four parameters— school, home, a shift in the medium of education from offline to online, and the effect on the students’ future plans, aims, and ambition. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire, which was comprised of structured and semi-structured questions circulated online among the respondents. The respondents were asked to initially rank the indicators and the variables they considered the most critical cause affecting their studies. The respondents were then asked to rate the indicators on a five-point Likert scale to judge the degree of impact of the variables on the respondents