Hardly the soft sciences

The social sciences and humanities will be critical in helping us understand what the sciences will become in the future

Common sense has defeated the social sciences and humanities in India. As the rush for college seats begin, parents worry if there are any viable options outside of medicine, engineering, management or studying abroad. What good would a B.A. in history or sociology do other than a roll-of-the-dice chance at the civil services? As a historian, I have often faced blunt questions: what can a job prospect possibly be if you spend three/four years learning the causes of Mughal decline or the Permanent Settlement of 1793? This ably describes why most people see the social sciences, with the exception of economics, as a losing proposition. But has the tide begun to turn?

One of the most significant bursts of funding in the social sciences and the humanities occurred during the Cold War years. The United States, keen as it was then to establish spheres of influence, invested heavily to learn about how societies understood themselves and which ideology appealed to what individual. The money ran into hundreds of millions of dollars with the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York pulling funds from deep pockets. The Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies were other key players who helped sponsor innumerable workshops, conferences and academic seminars. These efforts resulted not only in a vast number of publications, but helped develop many enduring concepts which arguably continue to explain the world we live in. Scores of scholars, research communities and university departments, in being caught up in strategic concerns, ended up harnessing the social sciences and humanities to understand how nations and societies dealt with authority, ideologies, politics and power. Hardly the ‘soft sciences’!

With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, funding for the Area Studies expectedly dried up. On the other hand, academic explorations under the rubrics of nation-making, democracy, globalisation and multiculturalism could hardly wield the previous heft.

In a study published in Research Trends (2013), Gali Halevi and Judit Bar-Ilanit point out that globally the financing for humanities sharply fell between 2009 and 2012. In part, while the 2008 financial crisis could be blamed for the sudden yanking of the proverbial rug, the loss in the lustre of the social sciences had already begun by the mid-1990s following the steady commercialisation of education. Unsurprisingly, student debt and education loans fell harder on those in the social sciences, arts and humanities than they did on those pursuing vocational skills such as engineering. At heart, however, this big turn against the ‘soft sciences’ was what Bill Reading described, in his classic The University in Ruins(1996), as the sustained attempt to transform the university from previously serving as an “ideological arm of the nation-state” to instead now being redesigned as a “consumer oriented corporation”. By morphing the citizen-student into a consumer-student (weighed in by debt), the actual rout of the social sciences was announced.

Reduced funding

It is amidst the aftershocks of this change in the meaning of education that we should make sense of Ella Delany’s startling report in The New York Times (December, 2013) in which she catalogues a growing disquiet against the humanities and social sciences. In 2012, a task force convened by Governor Rick Scott of Florida recommended that students majoring in liberal arts and social science subjects be made to pay higher tuition fees as they were in “nonstrategic disciplines”. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2013 “reprioritised” 103 million Australian dollars from research in the humanities into medical research. In Britain, Robin Jackson, chief executive of the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences, in 2011 announced that direct government funding for humanities had been withdrawn and was to be replaced by tuition fees “backed up by government loans”.

Is this total defeat? Ironically, just as the social sciences and the humanities are being written off in many countries, there have emerged vigorous calls for resituating its importance. Notably, climate change research and global environmental change programmes the world over are stridently advocating for what they term as the urgent need for “integrated analyses”. It is imperative, they argue, that the natural sciences be drawn into productive dialogues with the social sciences in order to explore critical themes such as global sustainability and green development.

One of the most significant international science initiatives in recent times called the Future Earth has, in fact, in their ‘Strategic Research Agenda’ (2014) urged for initiating a new generation in interdisciplinary and integrated research which can grapple with the realities of a warming planet. The initiative, however, is not entirely novel. For decades now, interdisciplinary efforts such as science studies, environmental history and full-fledged post graduate programmes under the rubric of science-technology-environment-medicine (STEM) have successfully broken down the hard divides between the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. These interdisciplinary initiatives have also compellingly revealed that the natural sciences are ideologically driven and are often oriented by political practice. In effect, the social sciences and humanities will be critical to help us understand what the sciences will become in the future. Significantly, given that an entirely new script for economic behaviour is being drafted in the context of climate change, these conversations have acquired pressing strategic consequences for the developing world.

The Indian scenario

The university system in India is, unfortunately, ill-prepared to take up these challenges. In part, it has put all its research and teaching eggs on the vice-chancellor system for administering higher education. The vice-chancellorship, as an organisational logic, is an ailing legacy and remains a bad marriage between the Mughal Jagirdari system and the rigidity of the British colonial bureaucracy. The higher you go up the administrative ladder, there is less transparency, accountability and intellectual oxygen.

There is an urgent need to initiate a generational change in our university leadership, with fresh blood and new ideas brought in with rigorous metrics to judge the performance and contributions at the very top of the administrative chain. If the social sciences and the humanities in India are to be cutting edge by providing knowledge for the future, then the old has to be entirely dismantled.

(Rohan D’Souza is associate professor at the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University.)

Keywords: universities, higher education, social sciences, humanities

How MPs spend their funds: there’s good and bad news

What do our MPs do with the funds they have been given to spend on their constituencies?

Every year, MPs are allotted Rs. 5 crore under the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) Scheme, primarily to take up development projects in their respective constituencies. The fund has been increased over time, starting from Rs. 5 lakh in 1993-94 to Rs. 5 crore at present.

As per the data provided by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), only 5.4% of the total fund has been utilised for the Financial Year 2014-15. What does this mean?

How does the MPLADS work?

There are three major stakeholders in the entire process: the MP, district authority and the Government of India. MPs recommend works to be undertaken under the MPLADS, based on locally felt needs; with preference to certain sectors, including drinking water facility, education, health, sanitation, irrigation, roads etc. Following the recommendation, the district authority is responsible for sanctioning the eligible works, and implementation of the sanctioned ones. As per official guidelines, the district authority shall make the selection of an implementing agency for execution of the recommended works by an MP. The Government of India releases the annual entitlement of Rs. 5 crore in two equal instalments of Rs 2.5 crore each, directly to the district authority.

The data shows that not a single rupee was spent in 278 constituencies (51 per cent) in 2014-15. Of these, 223 MPs did not recommend any amount. Considering that MPs have a recommendatory role in the scheme, it is surprising to see that 41 per cent of them haven’t even recommended any amount for their constituency. In the remaining 55 constituencies, the MP recommended works but no money was spent by the district authority. In all, the average amount of recommendations made was worth Rs. 2.16 crore, while the average expenditure incurred was mere Rs. 57 lakh.

However, it must be noted that the funds for a particular year can be carried forward for utilisation in subsequent years. Some development projects might cost more than the allocated amount of Rs. 5 crore, which might be one reason for low utilisation of MPLADS funds for the first year in some constituencies.

Among states, MPs of Kerala have the best numbers on the recommendation front, with projects worth Rs. 7.3 crore recommended on average. (The amount might exceed Rs. 5 crore as Financial Year 2015-16 has begun.) However, the actual amount spent in these Kerala MPs’ constituencies is just Rs. 47 lakh, which is below the national average.

Overall, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are the best performing States. Both have average recommendations worth Rs. 3.5 crore, and are the only two big States having spent more than Rs. 1 crore per constituency on projectsAmong the major political parties (having more than 10 members in Parliament), MPs of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) outperform others, as visible from the graph below. It is interesting to see that TMC and AIADMK are in majority in their States — West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively. This however, is not true in general. For instance, Biju Janta Dal (BJD) enjoys the same privilege in Odisha. But the average expenditure of the State’s MPs, the majority of whom belong to the BJD, lies way below the national average.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has below average numbers, with recommendations worth only Rs. 1.47 crore and expenditures worth Rs. 41 lakh per MP. Congress MPs fare better — with Rs. 2.86 crore and Rs. 67 lakh on recommendation and expenditure respectively.. On the other hand, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Assam, on average, don’t even cross the Rs. 1 crore-mark for project recommendations, let aside the execution.

Unfinished work of equality

To improve the educational status of Scheduled Castes, a fresh understanding of their achievements and challenges is necessary.

Written by Govardhan Wankhede | Updated: June 9, 2015 6:48 am

The concern of scholars, planners and policymakers has been to achieve the goals set in our Constitution: equality, justice and equal opportunity for all. However, in the period after Independence, it was revealed that education was not necessarily linked to social and economic development and the majority of Indians continued to lag behind in educational attainments. The disadvantaged suffer because of multiple factors: one, the nation’s views and goals in education; two, the implementation policies and processes; three, their traditional handicaps; and four, increasing requirements in the quality of education and skills.

The Constitution has special provisions to bring marginalised communities on par with others. Due to the internal contradictions of these communities and external forces that demand quality and performance, the role of education and the special provisions have proved to be limited. Marginalised communities like the SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities have traditionally been disadvantaged in terms of access, equity, performance and utility of education. Multiple socio-economic, cultural and political factors have led to caste, regional and rural-urban differences within disadvantaged groups. Maharashtra, despite its history of social and political movements for social transformation, continues to perform poorly in education of SCs. It’s important to emphasise that SCs are not a homogeneous group but a heterogeneous one with a hierarchical structure.

It was felt necessary to understand the educational situation among the SCs of Maharashtra, for which a study was undertaken. It’s relevant to identify and analyse the issues pertaining to the level and type of education that they choose, the type of schools and colleges they join, how they perform, what problems they face and how strongly these link up to their family background. It is necessary to establish the facts with an empirical probe. This article attempts to probe deeper, based on primary data and observations directly from the field. The original study was part of an all-India project on the educational status of SCs and STs, covering 19 states, and was funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Almost a fifth of SC households reported continuing with their traditional occupations, which are tightly linked to discrimination and low income. B.R. Ambedkar’s movement helped SCs break away from their caste-based occupations, change their work as well as religion. Almost the same percentage in our sample is employed in low-profile government jobs. These changes go up to two generations and the impact is seen in educational attainments, challenges and aspirations of the heads of households. Almost half of the households in the sample still face financial constraints. Around 80 per cent of heads of SC households had only studied till the secondary level or lower. The higher the level of education, the fewer the number of SC household heads

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Written by Bhaskar Chakravorti | Published on:June 9, 2015 12:15 am

Narendra Modi has a fondness for the word “inclusive”. Rarely has there been a landmark occasion in the prime minister’s first year that the magic word has not made an appearance. Ironically, prior to his election, this was not a man most associated with inclusiveness. Much of the concern that swirled around him had to do with his exclusionary record — ranging from the status of minorities in Gujarat to his autocratic governance style.

Modi was elected on a platform of getting the economy going again and yet, over this past year, his rhetoric has invoked more inclusive growth than fast growth. “My philosophy, the philosophy of my party and the philosophy also of my government is, what I call ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’… the impulse of that particular motto is to take everybody together and move towards inclusive growth,” he said to Time magazine. The major domestic policy offerings in the year gone by, from the budget to the formation of Niti Aayog, the announcements of big initiatives such as the smart cities project or Jan Dhan Yojana, were all lit by the soft glow of inclusion. Even foreign policy has been graced by it. Modi in Japan offered: “We will explore how Japan can associate itself productively with my vision of inclusive development in India,” whereas in Germany, he said: “Our focus is not merely economic growth but an inclusive development.”

Since the frequent repetition of “inclusive” is so integral to Modi’s mantra, it is natural to ask how frequently it is repeated in Modi’s action. If this first year is any indication, India is unlikely to rocket up the inclusiveness index in coming years. Indicators point towards an administration that will prioritise near-term fast growth over the slow and often painful process of inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is not just an outcome measured by a simple GDP growth rate; it is a process that calls for wide participation and equitable sharing in the benefits of growth. There is a tradeoff to be made if there is an urgency to jumpstart a stalling economy. The experience of fast-growing economies is one of exclusionary growth: scarce resources have to be focused in certain sectors, regions and parts of the population with the greatest potential. The Modi record on inclusion can be evaluated along three dimensions.

One, governance inclusion. By some measures, it would appear that the political power structure has, indeed, tended towards greater inclusion: Modi has adopted a more decentralised approach by delegating greater power and tax revenues to the state governments. However, the Centre presides over a competitive federalism model. Modi’s style of governance is more Lee Kuan Yew and less King Arthur. What is missing is a spirit of debate among confident deputies unafraid to challenge the king and project a broader leadership team with multiple poles of expertise and executive function. Arguably, this is the strong leadership that Manmohan Singh never projected, and it has its benefits in a country with many disparate forces. But on the whole this is a model of leadership and governance that has taken several steps away from inclusiveness.

Two, economic inclusion. Modi clearly favours the “hard” levers for moving the economy in the near term, with his priorities on manufacturing, infrastructure development and attracting foreign investment. There are “soft” levers that play a more indirect role and are more fundamental to sustaining growth over the longer term. The prime enablers of inclusion are: access to education, healthcare and financial capital. On at least two of these three, Modi’s record falls short.

Education has not received enough attention and has had its allocation cut by 16 per cent in the last budget. Already, India’s allocation of 3.8 per cent of GDP on education in 2012 was lower than the global average of 4.9 per cent in 2010, according to the World Bank. Other than disconnected initiatives, including an ambitious goal of providing vocational training to 500 million people by 2022 and promises to build additional IITs and IIMs, more systematic and realistic investment in different facets of education has been absent. Similarly, in healthcare, public health has been cut in the national budget and the responsibility has been pushed out to the states. Budget allocation to public healthcare has been reduced by 8 per cent.

Financial inclusion may be the one area with some tangible progress. Credit should be given to the administration for opening a record number of bank accounts in a week. Of course, we should pay close attention to the words of caution from RBI governor Raghuram Rajan: “The target is universality, not just speed and numbers.” Increasing bank accounts in record numbers is a start, but for real impact, much more is needed — such as financial and other forms of education, where we have already noted the challenges.

Three, social inclusion. On social issues, Modi has acquiesced and looked the other way while the Hindutva forces have been on the ascendant. The marginalisation of religious minorities, especially Muslims, has only increased in the past year. Other than occasional tweets with a mild scold or a message or two to the Sangh Parivar that hate speech against minorities will not be tolerated, Modi has done little to discourage or take action against this growing trend. Moreover, a number of initiatives — from bans on cow slaughter to the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita in school curricula — add up to a disturbing pattern of an increasingly intolerant and non-inclusive society.

In his anniversary speech in Mathura, the PM spoke of the poor as “my warriors”, with heavy overtones of inclusion. But, thus far, in practical terms, he has proven to be a reluctant inclusionist. Of course, one might argue that no Indian politician can afford to retreat from the poor and the disadvantaged in his rhetoric. However, they have also learnt that reality cannot lag behind the rhetoric for too long. In coming years, Modi will have to make a choice: declare himself, as many suspect, a trickle-down Reaganite or put his money and policy where his inclusive words have been.

The writer is the senior associate dean of international business and finance at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/reluctant-inclusionist/#sthash.LtjT2iEZ.dpuf

7TH NATIONAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY WORKSHOP

August 20-23, 2015.

Organizer/Venue: Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior.

LAST DATE FOR ONLINE ENROLLMENT: August 16, 2015.

ABOUT: Analyzing data through inferential statistical techniques using software like SPSS, AMOS, Eviews, and MATLABS etc. is essential for effective decision making.  Experience has shown that only a solid training in statistical analysis using software leads to their increased application in research in turn improving the quality of research output.

This workshop is designed to train the participants to work on quality research in Management and IT. It aims at developing the ability to undertake rigorous and relevant research in Management and organizational context and to enhance their performance as reflective practitioners. The programs will guide and equip participants in designing and implementing research projects on their own, and also enable them to carry out a clear brief and actionable research work.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Identify Research Problem, Select Research Design & Frame Research objectives.

1. Writing good review of literature.
2. Selection of statistical tools for inferential analysis.
3. Hands on practice using SPSS, Eviews and AMOS for analyzing data on statistical methods such as: Regression Analysis, ANOVA, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling, Conjoint, Discriminant Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, Multidimensional Analysis, Logit & Probit, in addition to all the statistical tools applicable to Univariate and Bivariate research studies.
4. Parallel Sessions on MATLAB for data Analysis. 
5. Writing Good research paper or PhD Thesis including references styles .
6. A publication to  the credit of each participant.
7. Publication of selected papers in edited book/Prestige Journal of Management and IT, “Sanchayan”

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?: The Program is targeted at the faculty members, project leaders, Business Analysts, Research Scholars and students interested in research. Executives taking care of strategic planning, HRD, SCM, Demand Forecasting, equity research, Portfolio research, Branding and Sales Management will also find the workshop useful.

HOW TO APPLY

1. Transfer Registration amount in the A/C no 0328002100028783 in Punjab National Bank, Mall Road, Morar, Gwalior, IFS Code PUNB 032800 and email the receipt along with filled in registration form.
2. Email, filled in registration form along with DD of the required amount in favor of “Director Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior”. 

Continuing the quality track record of past six National Research Methodology workshops, the 7th National RMW is intended to foster a deep understanding of the basic principles of research and to develop capabilities for writing good research paper, consistent with professional practice and ethical principles.
You are kindly requested to circulate this information to the concerned departments and faculty members of your institute. Interested candidates can confirm their participation in the workshop by writing a mail tonischay.upamannyu@prestigegwl.org.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries about the workshop. For your convenience, we have enclosed herewith the National Research Methodology workshop -2015 Brochure and Registration Form. Please circulate this information among your colleagues for a wider participation. Please see the attached files for workshop details. 
In anticipation of your active participation!

Detailed Brochure

Download Registration Form

CONTACT: Dr. Nischay K. Upamannyu, Assistant Professor (Management)
Coordinator, 7th National Research Methodology Workshop, 2015
Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior.
Email: nischay.upamannyu@gmail.com
Source: http://prestigegwl.org/7th%20National%20Research%20Methodology%20Workshop%20August.htm

Vedanta - Democracy is Freedom

ACHARYA ROOPCHANDER





Democracy has been described as government “by the people, for the people and of the people“. It upholds freedom, equality and coexistence and has existed in this form for more than 2,000 years.Lord Mahavira was born some 2,600 years ago in Vaishali, a republic administered by the Licchavis. Lord Buddha had once told Varshkar, the despotic king Bimbisara's minister, that as long as the democratic set-up of the Licchavis went on smoothly , they would be invincible. Varshkar reportedly created differences among the Licchavis and polluted the democratic set-up that led to their defeat.
Exposure to the Licchavis' direct democracy left a deep impression upon Mahavi ra. Which, in turn, led to his belief in `democratis ing god'. He rejected the idea that god held absolute power.
His god is not a creator, dominator and moderator of the universe, but only a soul freed from the trammels of karma. So, according to Mahavira, god is within the reach of all who make the effort to attain perfection, regardless of our differences.
The first condition of democracy is freedom: not freedom from discipline or absence of a system, but a system not imposed by someone. Freedom, in this sense, means self-discipline. It also meant believing that no one is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.
We might be right from our viewpoint and our opponents from theirs. Hence, we should not be intolerant towards the thoughts of others. Along with the idea of non-violence, these principles make up the life-source of democracy .





the speaking tree Environmental Ethos In Vedic Times
Today , the natural resources of the earth are being mindlessly exploited globally far beyond need, resulting in a poor state of their regeneration and causing irreversible damage to the planet.This year's World Environment Day theme ­ `Seven billion dreams. One planet. Consume with care' ­ therefore, is highly relevant.

Starting from space, a Vedic mantra, `prithivy apah tejah vayuh akashat' depicts sequential primal appearance of the five basic gross substances, called `panch mahabhuta' ­ namely , space, air, fire or energy , water and earth ­ from which all universal matter is created.Water has enjoyed the highest social and religious status in ancient Indic culture.Prayers in all four main Vedas refer to water as nectar, honey , source of life, protector of earth and environment, cleanser of sins, generator of prosperity , and ambrosia.Sages in Yajur Veda pray thus, “O Water, thou art the reservoir of welfare and propriety , sustain us to become strong. We look up to thee to be blessed by thy kind ambrosia on this earth. O water, we approach thee to get rid of our sins.“ Rivers were considered divine and worshipped as goddesses and people were ordained to use their life-sustaining waters most judiciously and with greatest reverence.Today , we have lost sight of the fact that the resources are finite. Of all of earth's water, only 0.007% is accessible for human use.Today , globally more than 1.1 billion people have inadequate availability of water.

In Vedic cosmology, Prithvi or earth symbolises material base as mother and the Dyaus, upper sky or heaven, symbolises the unmanifested immortal source as father, which together and between them, provide paryav aran, the environment.

An Atharva Veda hymn says, “Mata bhoomih putroham prithivyaah,“ reminding us of our responsibility not only towards our motherland but also to Planet Earth. The mantra refers to earth differently as `bhoomi' and The Yajur Veda addresses Prithvi as a guardian, praised for being benevolent to humankind, and is prayed to for continued protection: “O Earth! Fill up your broad heart with the vital healing air, waters and flora. May the benevolent lifegiving air circulate for a bountiful Earth.“ Another prayer says, “Pleasant be you to us, O Earth, without a thorn be our habitation.May your development grant us bliss and sustenance.“prithvi' implying that while my motherland is my mother, i am also a child of Planet Earth.

In hymns of the Rig Veda, seers seek blessings of the sun and wish every part of the earth to be prosperous and mountains, waters, and rivers to be propi tious. The importance of vital healing air, fresh unpolluted waters and healthy flora on earth was recognised and wished for in the hymns of the Atharva Veda.`Nature and its seasons are governed cosmic laws of integration and balance, called `Rit' in the vedas. Keeping an eye on Rit, human activities can be directed to global sustainable development.A hymn of the Yajur Veda says, “O learned people, fully realise your conduct towards different objects of the universe.“ But, in today's world we are misusing scientific and technological breakthroughs to indiscreetly and greedily exploit natural resources, thereby causing imbalances that make it difficult to maintain natural harmony .Ancient Indic philosophy always wished for everyone to be happy and free from ailments, “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niraamayaah“ ­ Let everyone be well and happy ­ and pleaded for an all-inclusive holistic development on the planet for harmony , “Saa no bhoomirvardhayad vardhamaanaa“ as in the `Bhumi Sukta' of Atharva Veda.