Space and Culture, India
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From the Economic Union to the Harmonisation of Higher Education in the BRICS Countries: The Experience of RUDN University
Get PDFSince 2009 when Brazil, Russia, India, and China (South Africa since 2011) joined in the international organisation aimed at the economic development of the countries, and gain financial stability, the relations between the countries too boosted via political and cultural cooperation. The new economic, political and social environment has a high demand for competent specialists ready to work in various national agendas and interrelated frameworks of the BRICS. In this context, it is argued that professional training in the countries under discussion should be correlated as it provides grounds for quality assurance in education that contributes to the nations’ sustainable development, safety, and human rights provision. This situation determines the topicality of the issue. The objective of this research is to study the higher educational environment in the BRICS countries and to compare some aspects of professional training. In doing so, the study aims to present the experience of RUDN University as one of the BRICS university network members. The hypothesis states that the harmonisation of higher education systems within regional organisations can contribute to the enhancement of both international standards and individual learning paths, thus fostering youth rights for education in line with quality standards and individual preferences. To accomplish the objectives of the study, it uses the following methods - the review of the current research, formal document and online resources on higher education in the BRICS countries; the survey of the undergraduates, graduates, and postgraduates on their motivation to academic mobility, and collaboration in the frameworks of BRICS higher education. The data has been analysed employing the methods of statistical processing, qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings of the current research include the outcomes and findings on the harmonisation of higher education in the frameworks of BRICS higher education. The study will contribute to further development of BRICS countries education and the harmonisation of higher education.
 
Right to be a Surrogate: Biological, Constitutional and Economic Perspectives
Get PDFFor the survival of all forms of life, procreation is essential. However, natural procreation is not always scientifically possible. As such, the practice of surrogacy and the use of Assisted Reproductive Techniques have become more widely recognised and accepted in societies all over the world. However, various complex and controversial issues are bounded in such practices. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 introduced by Government of India makes an attempt to eradicate some of those issues associated with surrogacy.
Nevertheless, the legislation seems to be in derogation to the Constitution of India and universal human rights. This study is designed to substantiate in detail the right to be a surrogate in light of the constitutional mandate along with an evaluation of the eligibility criteria to be a surrogate and its consequences with regard to the existing legal framework. Besides, the economic perspective of exploitation of surrogates via banning of commercial surrogacy has been briefly discussed. The discussion under this study is expected to put forward an essential perspective to the right to be a surrogate in relation to a woman’s right to life and personal liberty. Further, prohibiting commercial surrogacy may push practicing surrogates towards other economically unrewarding, poorly regulated and potentially hazardous forms of employment or even make them subject to human trafficking. Therefore, recognition of the right to be a surrogate vis-à-vis the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, would help in avoiding blatant miscarriage of universal justice while upholding the supremacy of the Constitution of India
Inequality in the Dynamics of Development: Post-Globalisation Changes and 21st Century Challenges
Get PDFFollowing Kuznets’ pioneering works, the growth-inequality nexus was stylised as an inverted U-shaped relation. As per that paradigm, economic inequality initially increases when a nation embarks upon a modern economic development process, but later on, declines as the development process cross a certain threshold. The paradigm roughly bears out the experience of the industrialised countries of Europe and North America from the beginning of the nineteenth century up to the mid-1970s. The inevitability of the pattern came under question when data from a broader range of countries became available by the 1970s. Then the post-globalisation experience of countries around the world virtually negated the falling part of Kuznets inverted U. Most countries which profited from globalisation in the form of upward shifts of their growth trajectories also experienced a rise rather than a decline in economic inequality. The present paper is a survey of the large and interesting literature on the changing nature of inequality before and after globalisation. The survey finds that inequality across countries has actually declined as a result of globalisation whereas inequalities within countries have almost invariably increased. Apart from usual factors such as bequest and skewed distributions of wealth, the new factors that have accentuated post-globalisation inequality are widening wage disparities, inequalities of opportunities, the onslaught of automation and rent-seeking activities of a section of the rich. The survey also notes how inequality has been moderated in some counties through effective taxes and transfer programmes. After summarising the arguments why growing economic inequality cannot be left unattended, the survey concludes with an outline of the policy choices which are being currently discussed in the academic and administrative circles
Indigenous or Blended Model for South Asian Social Work?
Get PDFAn argument about indigenous social work education often surfaces in South Asian schools of social work. In this study, central concerns around the indigenous argument, together with a review of the pervasive influence of the western model of social work in Asia is undertaken.
The three author- research team, utilised a methodology that featured a desk review and an analysis of communications with select South Asian scholars and academics that were respondents for the study. Additionally, the authors present their personal reflections, that prudently address their positionality and reflexivity.
The primary finding in this research paper is that the legacy of Western-influenced social work education is thriving within the region, despite criticism from different quarters about its effectiveness. The secondary finding is the admittance by respondent academics in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal that relevant to their societal context, limited adaptations have been introduced and are working in their respective countries. The current research provided an opportunity to research participants to view and summarily reject claims by certain bogies that western influence in social work is solely responsible for lack of cultural appropriation within the curriculum in South Asia. The study suggests that there is a lot that can take place by way of adaptation without sacrificing the cultural elements while rearranging the social work curriculum within the region. The authors strongly advocate a blended approach as a suitable course of moderation in the re-construction attempts of social work futures in South Asia.  
Politics of Cultural Commons: A Case Study of Sacred Groves in Central Kerala
Get PDFSacred groves or sacred natural sites (SNS) are defined areas of land and bodies of water with considerable socio-cultural and ecological value. This study attempts to analyse SNS using the framework of commons or common-pool resources and understand the implications regarding the access to and ecological sustainability of these sacred spaces. A set of ten groves from an inventory of sacred groves reported by the Institute of Foresters Kerala were chosen using purposive sampling to cover various types of custodianship and communities in the district of Thrissur. This district houses the most famous sacred grove in Kerala and is known for consecrating sacred groves and expunging spirits. A field survey employing an observation schedule and semi-structured interviews were undertaken focusing on the biophysical, socio-cultural, and institutional aspects of the SNS. Understanding the relationship between grove ecosystems and stakeholder communities was the objective of the study. The management of SNS in the study sites does not show much evidence of collective action. There is a tendency of SNS to become \u27club goods\u27 over a period of time. Regardless of types of custodianship, SNS exhibit properties of common-pool resources from an ecological point of view. Even when customarily managed along caste lines, access was not physically restricted. Recent constructions of concrete boundaries around SNS, conversion of groves to temples, and increasing intensity and frequency of rituals have changed the socio-cultural and ecological character of these spaces. The study shows that the perspective of the commons is inadequate to capture the underlying power dynamics of institutions of SNS. Understanding the transformation of SNS from being \u27open\u27 and inclusive to closed and elitist temple spaces need a different language of political ecology
Assessment of Spatial Pattern And Distribution Of Major Crops in Assam, India
Get PDFVarious indicators such as production, yield, mechanisation of farms, workforce engaged in farming are generally used for the evaluation of the status of the agricultural sector in a region. Of these, the cropping pattern is one such indicator that signifies how developed the farming system of a region is. To assess the cropping pattern, a number of statistical indices are available—cropping intensity, crop combination, crop concentration, and crop diversification. This research seeks to evaluate the cropping pattern in Assam, India and examines the status of its agricultural sector. It was found that the cropping intensity increased at a gradual rate of 3% per decade. A total of nine statistical indices were used to estimate crop diversification. These indices were compared amongst themselves to determine the most optimal method for the study area. It was found that the ogive and entropy methods were best suited to Assam in an evaluation of its crop diversification. Further, these crop diversification values were ranked and thereafter, a composite score (Kendall’s method) was derived. The composite score indicated that much of western and northern Assam had a high degree of crop diversification
Engaging with ‘Caste’: Curriculum, Pedagogy and Reception
Get PDFCaste has been a persisting form of stratification that continues to evade equality and social justice in Indian society. Among the routes to tackle the menace of caste has been the education system. In this regard, the National Curriculum Framework 2005 came with a resolute to engage the students with different issues, including that of caste with a critical and empathic eye. This paper locates the challenges to this curriculum by focusing on the pedagogy and reception of the curriculum. In doing so, it argues that the challenges emanate from the social identities and lived realities of the students and the teachers
The Language of Power in the Present-Day Digital Media Discourse and Its Effect on Young People’s Consciousness
Get PDFThis study focuses on the notion of power as a way of conceptualisation, representation and functioning in the Russian and English-speaking media discourse and its role in the life of the younger generation of the third millennium. Power and its language have always remained an actual research question of interdisciplinary scientific analysis. However, studying young people’s linguistic and paralinguistic perception of power in the era of digitalisation becomes extremely important due to an empowering role young adults have started playing in modern society employing new media and their discursive communication there. The study regards the theoretical background of the phenomenon of power, based on A. Gramsci’s hegemonic approach. The authors of the research suggest that the media discourse is a hegemonic form of power that maintains its position through the elaboration of a particular worldview, which makes a significant impact on young individuals, the so-called net-generation. The study relies on free-associative and graphic experiments to analyse and perceive “power” concept and its influence on young individuals’ consciousness. Results indicate that both Russian and English-speaking media discourse represents “power” through the prism of anthroponyms as well as toponyms. Besides, the findings of the free-associative experiment, conducted among young adults, demonstrated the dominance of the lexical units belonging to the same grammatical class of words as the stimulus word “power”. Furthermore, a graphic experiment revealed young people’s emotional evaluations of power in media discourse communication. As such, the results suggest that “power” is a natural, complex and multifaceted linguacultural and social phenomenon realised through a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic means, and it produces a dualistic effect on young people’s consciousness through their interaction in the media discourse space
Education in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Development Vector, Prospects and Challenges for Russia
Get PDFModern civilisation has entered the era of the fourth industrial revolution, characterised by digital, Internet and cyber-expansion, virtualisation, mobile technologies, robotisation, global changes in energy, nano- and biotechnologies. It entails significant changes in all spheres of human activity. There is a mass need for entirely new professions. Scientific and technological progress gives the society not only broad prospects but also brings new challenges and threats. There is a tight (not always fair) competition between the leading countries of the world and transnational corporations for domination in entering the sixth technological order, to lead in digital technologies and artificial intelligence. At this stage, educational systems should provide revolutionary changes based on the latest scientific achievements. One more dangerous threat is that the achievements of modern science and high technologies are not always used for the benefit of humanity, that is, large-scale cyber-attacks, hybrid wars, public consciousness manipulation. Form this point, the formation of a single global educational space, taking into account the humanistic needs of the society, seems really important. The fourth industrial revolution leads to personality changes and not always in a positive direction. This is especially true of the generation “Y” or “network generation”, consuming “intellectual fast food” and easily falling under the influence of others and becoming a victim of manipulation. It also includes the problem of virtual reality, which influences the person so profoundly that he/she falls out of the real world. Obviously, education must also undergo a systemic transformation, based on the characteristics of the modern information society and the globalising world that has entered the postmodern and mass media era. The issues mentioned above are deeply and critically analysed and discussed in this study both from the global and BRICS (precisely Russia) countries perspective. The authors eventually suggest some ways to solve them