315 research outputs found
Prachi Deshpande
No full textPrachi Deshpande is Associate Professor of History at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC). She has an MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a PhD from Tufts University, Medford. Her research interests are in the social and cultural history of historiography, language, and regional identities, especially over the transition from the early modern into the colonial eras in the Indian subcontinent. She is the author of Creative Pasts: Historical Memory and Id..
Embedding Approximately Low-Dimensional l_2^2 Metrics into l_1
No full textGoemans showed that any n points x_1,..., x_n in d-dimensions satisfying l_2^2 triangle inequalities can be embedded into l_{1}, with worst-case distortion at most sqrt{d}. We consider an extension of this theorem to the case when the points are approximately low-dimensional as opposed to exactly low-dimensional, and prove the following analogous theorem, albeit with average distortion guarantees: There exists an l_{2}^{2}-to-l_{1} embedding with average distortion at most the stable rank, sr(M), of the matrix M consisting of columns {x_i-x_j}_{i<j}. Average distortion embedding suffices for applications such as the SPARSEST CUT problem. Our embedding gives an approximation algorithm for the SPARSEST CUT problem on low threshold-rank graphs, where earlier work was inspired by Lasserre SDP hierarchy, and improves on a previous result of the first and third author [Deshpande and Venkat, in Proc. 17th APPROX, 2014]. Our ideas give a new perspective on l_{2}^{2} metric, an alternate proof of Goemans' theorem, and a simpler proof for average distortion sqrt{d}
Caste, \u27quotas\u27 and discrimination in India: insights from interdisciplinary quantitative research. An interview with Ashwini Deshpande.
No full textAshwini Deshpande is Professor of Economics at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India. Her Ph.D. and early publications have been on the international debt crisis of the 1980s. Subsequently, she has been working on the economics of discrimination and affirmative action issues, with a focus on caste and gender in India. She has published extensively in leading scholarly journals. She is the author of "Grammar of Caste: economic discrimination in contemporary India", OUP, hardcover 2011 and paperback 2017, forthcoming; and "Affirmative Action in India", OUP, Oxford India Short Introductions series, 2013. She received the EXIM Bank award for outstanding dissertation (now called the IERA Award) in 1994, and the 2007 VKRV Rao Award for Indian economists under 45.
In this interview she talks about her work on caste-based ‘quotas’ or ‘reservation’ (terms for affirmative action in India) and their impact. Her work helps demolish several of the myths around quotas and assumes tremendous significance in a polity where reservation policy faces severe opposition from the elite even as it drives electoral politics in many regions of the country. In view of recent developments on university campuses in India, such quantitative work at the interface of sociology, economics and social psychology, becomes important evidence supporting affirmative action and exposing myths of “merit”-based selection processes and “market rationality”.
Further details of Ashwini Deshpande’s current and previous work can be found on her department webpage: http://econdse.org/ashwini/
Myth, Tradition and Indian Beliefs in Shashi Deshpande\u27s "The Dark Holds No Terrors"
No full textShashi Deshpande is one of India\u27s most well-known novelists today. Women\u27s writing in India has a shorter history than male writing, but we are seeing a rise in the number of women authors whose fiction is being recognized internationally. They have won a slew of national and international awards and grants, and it now appears that women\u27s writing will rise to prominence shortly as they catch up to their male counterparts. While many other women authors, such as Kamla Markandaya, Nayantara Sehgal, Ruth Prawar Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Santha Rama Rao, Attia Hussain, Padmini Sen Gupta, Nargis Dala, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Gita Mehta, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, enrich Indian English Literature, Deshpande occupies a special place She is one of the few authors working today who incorporates literary allusions, myth, and mythology into her work, effortlessly blending it with earlier results.
Deshpande has used Indian myths, legends, and people in many novels as metaphors for events, incidents, happenings, and characters. In many of her books, she incorporates Western folktales. Shashi Deshpande\u27s writings, especially her novel "The Dark Holds No Terrors" (1980), paint a startlingly vivid picture of Indian womanhood\u27s inner world. For too long, it has been made to stay quiet. Deshpande\u27s use of myth and folklore in her novels exemplifies the decolonization of the Indian literary imagination. These devices are handy to the author for illuminating the inner world of women\u27s minds since many of her novels contain female protagonists. 
A Transcultural Study of the Fiction of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Shashi Deshpande in Light of the Rasadhvani
No full textThe thesis sets out to prove the efficacy of the rasadhvani, a traditional Indian aesthetic, to
enable a transcultural reading of six literary texts by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Shashi
Deshpande. The mainstream of post-colonial critical practice has already identified the need
for adequate theoretical models within the field of post-colonial literary studies. But these
same models become problematic with transcultural writers like Jhabvala and Deshpande
because they move beyond the boundaries of traditional post-colonial approaches. Post
colonial theory, in other words, mainly studies literary works which are based in a rich
diversity of cultural settings outside Britain but are written by authors who share the English
language as a means of literary expression. Post-colonial theoretical approaches, therefore,
define themselves in terms of the ethnic origin of the author under critical examination.
My claim is that the rasadhvani theory facilitates a transcultural reading which moves beyond
the categorical limitations of culture and even of gender that we often unwittingly set up
whenever we regard literature as the unproblematic expression of the ethnicity or gender of
the author. In practice, the theory involves a particular kind of close study with the aim of
discovering and identifying the presiding emotion (rasa) of a literary work. The concept of
rasa refers to a heightened level of emotional response to a play in performance, a poem, a
novel or even a painting or sculpture through the process of dhvani (suggestion).
When it is applied to writing it considers the text in terms of two levels; the level of statement
based on words alone (vacya) and the level of suggested meaning (vyaṅgya), where both
words and meaning convey a further sense. In six close readings of fictional works by
Jhabvala and Deshpande, I set out to resituate the critical discussion of these two writers using
Indian literary concepts. In other words, the rasadhvani transforms basic human feelings
aroused by incommunicable personal traumas into transcultural emotions which reach out to
readers from any particular culture
Guidance to Authors Submitting to the Social Marketing Quarterly (Editorial)
No full textEvery month, we at the Social Marketing Quarterly receive submissions from researchers and practitioners who submit work that does not address or is not relevant to the core issues of social marketing; this results in desk rejections or negative peer reviews. We ask potential authors to refer to the following questions and answers, which explain what we look for in manuscripts, and what you as an author can do to ensure that your submission has the highest chance of publication.No Full Tex
Social Marketing’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT): A Commentary
No full textBackground: Over the past half century, social marketing has come into its own, both as a discipline and a practice, for creating positive social outcomes. However, as the operating environment con-tinues to evolve, the role of social marketing in the change landscape requires consideration. Focus of the article: In this article, the author presents a commentary on the present and future role of social marketing research and practice through the lens of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Topics discussed in the analysis include the boundary definition of social marketing, modalities of practice, sources of funding, the complexity of target issues, and professional standing and competition. Importance to the social marketing field: Critical analysis of social marketing research and practice can assist to maintain and grow its relevance and adoption among key stakeholders. Recommendations for Research or Practice: Several recommendations are made for addressing the issues identified in the SWOT analysis. These include conscious effort to market social marketing; clarify the concept of audience orientation when designing social marketing solutions; address specific research questions that produce academic and managerial insights; utilize corporate partnerships creatively; offer social marketing course to retain accreditation of professions such as marketing, public health, environmental studies, or public administration; and, encourage documen-tation of initiatives. Limitations: The discussion presented here is based purely on opinions and experience of the author.No Full Tex
Synthetic life on a chip
No full textIn this article, we argue that on-chip microfluidic systems provide an attractive technology when it comes to designing synthetic cells. We emphasize the importance of the surrounding environment for both living systems in nature and for developing artificial self-sustaining entities. On-chip microfluidic devices provide a high degree of control over the production of cell-like synthetic entities as well as over the local microenvironment that these soft-matter-based synthetic cells experience. Rapid progress in microfluidic fabrication technology has led to a variety of production and manipulation tools that establish on-chip environments as a versatile platform and arguably the best route forward for realizing synthetic life.Accepted Author ManuscriptBN/Cees Dekker La
Meotipa andamanensis Tikader 1977, new combination
No full textMeotipa andamanensis (Tikader, 1977) new combination Argyrodes andamanensis Tikader, 1977: 170, f.7A–B (Df) Holotype (not eXamined): Female, ZSI, Chiriatapu, South Andaman, India. Original description and illustration of Argyrodes andamanensis mentioned black FS on legs and abdomen, shape of abdomen and colour pattern of white and brown patches (Tikader 1977). These characters as well as the illustrations provided by the author match closely with the type species M. picturata and thus leaves no doubt that A. andamanensis should be transferred to the genus Meotipa following the current diagnosis by Deeleman- Reinhold (2009). Therefore we propose the new combination here as Meotipa andamanensis (Tikader, 1977) n. comb. Distribution. Known from Chiriatapu, South Andaman, India.Published as part of Kulkarni, Siddharth, Vartak, Atul, Deshpande, Vishwas & Halali, Dheeraj, 2017, The spiny theridiid genus Meotipa Simon, 1895 in India, with description of a strange new species with translucent abdomen and a phylogenetic analysis about the genus placement (Araneae, Theridiidae), pp. 504-520 in Zootaxa 4291 (3) on pages 515-516, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4291.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/82765
Constraints on new physics from K ->pi nu(nu)over-bar
No full textWe study constraints on new physics from the recent measurement of Br(K+-->pi(+)nu(&nu;) over bar) by the E787 and E949 Collaborations. In our analysis, we consider two models of new physics: (a) extra down-type singlet quark model and (b) R-parity violating minimal supersymmetric standard model. We find that K+-->pi(+)nu(&nu;) over bar along with other processes such as K-L-->mu(+)mu(-),epsilon(')/epsilon provide useful bounds on the parameter U-sd, characterizing the off-diagonal Z-d-(s) over bar coupling of model (a). The bounds on Re(U-sd) from (K-L-->mu(+)mu(-))(SD) and Im(U-sd) from epsilon(')/epsilon are so tight that the branching ratio of K+-->pi(+)nu(&nu;) over bar can exceed the standard model value by at most a factor of 2. For model (b), we also obtain stringent bounds on certain combinations of the product of two lambda(ijk)(') couplings originating from L number-violating operator L(i)Q(j)D(k)(c) using K+-->pi(+)nu(&nu;) over bar and K-L-->mu(+)mu(-) processes. Even with the stringent constraints on U-sd [in model (a)] and on products of two R couplings [model (b)], we find that the branching ratio B(K-L-->pi(0)nu(&nu;) over bar) can be substantially different in both of the above models from those predicted in the standard model.Astronomy & AstrophysicsPhysics, Particles & FieldsSCI(E)16ARTICLE9null7
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