Category: Volume VIII No I

Reviewed by
Dr. Sapna Dogra
Email: sapnardm@gmail.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

Panorama is an enthralling collection of short stories that primarily revolves around relationships in a modern-day metropolis. In fifteen stories Shilpi displays plethora of familiar urban character: domestic help, college professor, working mother, passengers travelling in a train, to name a few, and situates them in interesting positions that involves dilemmas, loss, regret, repentance, acceptance and grief. This
is Shilpi’s maiden venture into creative writing.

According to Edgar Allan Poe, one of the Hallmarks of a good story is its coherence to hold the readers interest from beginning to end. This is applicable to the present book as well. There was not a moment of tediousness and each narrative unravelled with a grace and interest. Shilpi’s efforts to breathe life into her characters are indeed commendable. All her stories are closely related to life and human
experience.

Sibananda Sana1, Chandan Adhikary2 & K.N. Chattopadhyay3
1Department of Chemistry, Government Training College, Hooghly-712103, West Bengal, India
2Department of Chemistry, Institute of Education (P.G.) For Women, Chandernagore, Hooghly-712138, West Bengal, India
3Department of Education, The University of Burdwan, Golapbag, Burdwan-713104, West Bengal, India. Email: knc_bu@yahoo.co.in

Volume VIII, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
The ‘triplet’ design of the chemical concepts comprising macro, sub-micro and symbolic dimensions are the backbone of chemistry. The disciplinary evolution of chemistry as an independent discipline from chemical myths and magic to today’s chemistry had brought a radical changes in all aspects pertaining to theories, practices and applications. The newly evolved chemical concepts and technological growth in education greatly influenced the instructional strategies in a paradigm way from ancient traditional ‘chalk and talk’ instructional method to the current multimedia mediated teaching learning processes. In this article we are to analyze how these radical changes in the instructional strategies of the chemical concepts help to comprehend abstract chemical thoughts meaningfully.

Keywords: Chemical concepts, Triplet design, Macro, Sub-micro and Symbolic dimensions, Transformation of instructional strategies.

Saurabh Thakur
PhD Scholar, Diplomacy and Disarmament Division, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email: thsd89@gmail.com

Volume VIII, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
The manner in which the states define their responsibilities to act on climate change and interpret the other state’s accountability has been the fundamental conflict within climate change negotiations. The concept of justice is the moral basis of all political action and the principles of equity are the cornerstone, in the quest for justice, which has guided the international and national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. It derives from a concept of social justice which can be applied to individuals, communities, nations, and even across generations. The pertinent question this paper examines are- Who should be held responsible for climate change? And who should pay the cost for it? The Climate Justice approach strengthens the institutional demand for equity and democratic decision making, which has eroded over the decades and at the same time it offers a sharp polemical response to the dominant discourses of development.

Keywords: climate change, climate justice, negotiations, equity, North-South divide

Samuel Adu-Gyamfi & Emmanuella Elikplim Awuku
Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. Email: mcgyamfi@yahoo.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF 

Abstract
The current state of sanitation in Ghana is not a sudden development. The issue of poor sanitation stems from the poor management of waste in communities principally because of the attitude of the people towards it. The issue of religion comes to light in considering the factors that play a role in dealing with sanitation because of the confidence people have in religion. It is necessary to explore this possibility in dealing with the issue of poor sanitation in the society. This study therefore seeks to uncover the relationship between sanitation and religion in Ghana from the second half of the twentieth century to contemporary times.

Keywords: Religion, Secularism, Sanitation, Ghana, Kumasi

Dr. Niladri Pradhan
Department of Education, Malda Women’s College, Malda-732101, West Bengal. Email: pradhanniladri.mwc@gmail.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF 

Abstract
India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world, and in terms of number of students enrolled, it is the second highest after China. In its size and diversity, India has the third largest higher education system in the world, next only to China and the United States. Before Independence, access to higher education was very limited and elitist, with enrolment of less than 0.2 million students in 500 colleges and 20 universities. Today, Indian higher education is comprised of 819 universities, 40,026 colleges, 91 institute of national importance and 11, 669 stand-alone institutes with enrolment of about 35.7 million students including 19 million boys & 16.07 million girls (AISHE, 2016-17). The structure, nature, features of degree and non-degree granting higher education institutes in India have been discussed in the first part of this paper. On the other hand the author has also highlighted the present scenario of Indian higher education in terms of multi-layered regulatory councils, plan and policy making bodies. Moreover the author has identified some of the strategic strides and pragmatic steps to overcome the above mentioned problems in higher education and make policy recommendations for implementations.

Keywords: Higher Education, management, governance

Namita Kumari1& Fr. Thomas Perumalil S.J.2
1 Mother’s International Teacher’s Training Academy, Phulwarisharif, Patna.
Email: namita.educ@gmail.com
2 Principal, Xavier College of Education, Digha, Patna

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF  

Abstract
Curriculum is the guide map based on which any formal education program is conducted. It can be considered as the totality of the knowledge and skills that the students are expected to learn in class as well as outside class as part of formal education. The curriculum implemented in primary classes is prescribed by Examination Boards such as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in India. The implementation of the curriculum varies between schools because of local factors. For curriculum to be effective several conditions have to be satisfied. So it is meaningful to talk about the effectiveness of curriculum. Teacher motivation is an important parameter related to implementation of the curriculum because it is teachers that ultimately implement the curriculum. It is expected that the teacher’s own sincerity towards work, seriousness and work motivation will have a role to play both in forming an opinion regarding the curriculum, and in shaping its implementation. Student Achievement is a measure of the amount of academic content that the student learns in a determined amount of time. It is one of the parameters by which the quality and performance of a school is judged. In the present paper, academic
performance has been used as a measure of student achievement. For this the summative assessment grades of the students have been used. For assessing Teacher Motivation and Effectiveness of curriculum five point Numerical rating scales were constructed, and tested for validity and reliability. For testing validity, a part-whole correlation was carried out and the final rating scale was prepared on its basis. Reliability testing was done using split half method. The annual summative assessment scores were used as a measure of student achievement. Data
was collected from three Government schools and four Private schools. The study showed a positive correlation of effectiveness of curriculum with both teacher motivation and student achievement. It was also observed that students whose parents had had higher education scored better in their examination. Poor family economy was detrimental to student performance. Although the difference between teacher motivation in Government and private schools was not significant, the students from private schools performed better in the examinations.

Keywords: Elementary education, Effectiveness of curriculum, Teacher Motivation, Student Achievement.

Rocco A. Astore
New School for Social Research in New York, NY. Email: astor421@newschool.edu

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
This piece will first investigate Spinoza’s speculations concerning God or Nature. Next, explicating his ideas regarding the human mind and body will assist the reader in understanding his views on the human condition, and the influences that distort people’s abilities to love God fully. Finally, I will argue that love of God, is also a love of one’s self, and therefore, people may claim that God’s love is not mandatory for their happiness.

Keywords: Spinoza, meaning of happiness, ontology, God

Sudipta Kayal
Assistant Professor in Economics, Savitri Girls College, 13, Mukta Ram Babu St. Kol-07. Email : kayalsudipta01@gmail.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
Insurance is primarily a risk management mechanism. Risk of loss-income property or even human life-is transferred, in part or in full, to the insurer. That apart, insurance business helps in capital accumulation to use in nation building activities. Insurance sector not only plays a leading role within financial system in a country but also has an important socio-economic function. Insurance facilitates economic development. The objective of Nation is to build an efficient and stable insurance sector in India that will support both the needs of the real economy and the socio economic objectives of country. This paper is an attempt to analyse the performance of public and private life insurance companies in India.

Keywords: Life Insurance Companies, Insurance Premium, Insurance Policies, Insurance Offices, Economic
Development.

Dhee Sankar
PhD Junior Research Fellow, Presidency University, Department of English. Email: dheesankar@gmail.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
Milan Kundera had defined the novel as a genre as “the great prose form in which the author thoroughly explores, by means of experimental selves (characters), some great themes of existence,” thus taking an apparently solipsistic view of authorship, in which characters are “experimental selves” of the author. The present paper deliberates upon how this can be reconciled with Kundera’s departure from classical realism in his The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and argues that the novel’s insistence on the ineffable phenomenological otherness and
contingency inherent in human experience amounts to an ethical as well as aesthetic stance against totalizing discourses, politically the foremost among them being Russia’s Stalinist communism, Kundera’s native country Czechoslovakia had suffered for decades under whose imperialist yolk. By coalescing the heterological and heterodox Bakhtinian function of critique through comic subversion with this diaphanous quality of ineffability, Kundera attains a feat unparalleled in the history of the novel. His achievement perhaps provides a direction towards what Habermas would call a “reflective understanding” of human as well as non-human (animal) experience.

Keywords: Kundera, novel, ethics, aesthetics, heterology, kitsch, Habermas, justice.

Virender Pal
Assistant Professor of English, University College, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra. Email: p2vicky@gmail.com

Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

Abstract
Doctor Faustus is probably the best known play of Christopher Marlowe. The play has been used in the classrooms around the world to discuss the main features of Renaissance and Doctor Faustus as a representative of Renaissance era. He has been shown as a man who sells his soul to Devil for gaining knowledge. Other interpretations of the play have been coloured by biography of Christopher Marlowe who was believed to be an atheist in his life time. The author’s biography has overpowered the interpretations so much that Doctor Faustus
has been treated as representation of the author himself. This has removed the focus from Doctor Faustus the character and the play. The current paper is an attempt to read Doctor Faustus objectively.

Keywords: Faustus, evil, atheist, Catholic, biography