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IJSS - Volume 7 - Issue 2

[<<< GO BACK ][ VOLUME 7 - ISSUE 2 ]

Title: Contents
Abstract :

Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2018

Title: Role of Sattra and Namghar in the Vaishnava Tradition of Srimanta Sankaradeva
Abstract :

Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449 AD-1569 AD) was an important personality in the archives of Indian History. He was not only a religious preceptor, but also a social reformer, who had Sanskritized the diverse ethnic groups of north east India and assimilated them with the national mainstream. He is considered as the father of modern Assamese society and is also considered by his followers as an incarnation of God because of his multi-faceted contribution to the mankind. Sankaradeva preached a doctrine of universal brotherhood and humanism for improving the condition of Assamese society and created a harmonious socio-cultural-religious environment for the diverse ethnic communities in the Brahmaputra valley. Srimanta Sankaradeva made his magical impact on the religion, social, literary and cultural life of the Assamese people. It was because of Sankaradeva’s philosophy of equality and universal brotherhood revealed through his Neo-Vaishnavism many indigenous people took religious shelter under the new faith, the hallmark of which is the evolution of two distinctively unique institutions, namely the sattra and namghar in Assam, both of which began to serve not only as the instrument of spreading faith but also intimately associating with the social as well as the cultural fabric of the Assamese society. In this paper, a humble attempt has been made to discuss at length about the uniqueness of the Neo-Vaishnava movement initiated by Srimanta Sankaradeva and the long lasting changes that it brought about in the Assamese society. The paper further attempts to highlight how sattra and namghar have contributed immensely in the process of assimilation and socialization of the assamese culture and identity.

Title: Virtual Groups: An Effective Tool for Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination
Abstract :

A virtual world is a computer-based online community environment that is designed and shared by individuals so that they can interact in a custom-built, simulated world (Bartle, 2003). A group of people who share similar interests and exchange information and ideas via computer networks are called virtual group or online community (Rheingold, 1993). Mousavidin and Goel (2009) developed a conceptual model of virtual group life cycle. In this model, the life of a virtual community is influenced by four elements namely socially shaped aspects, individually demonstrated characteristics, technologically facilitated features and the external influence. Virtual group formats can be broadly classified into virtual groups through social media networks and virtual groups through other media like email, video conferencing, voice conferencing, bulletin board system, drop box, text chat and virtual groups. Most popular virtual groups are virtual groups of social media networks such as facebook, youtube and whatsapp groups. Alexander et al. (2003) reported that moral obligations, conducive environment and community interest were motivational factors for contributing knowledge to virtual communities and doubtful nature about accuracy and relevancy of information, fear of criticism and information hoarding were demotivating factors. Virtual groups allow people to bond without being in close proximity either spatially or temporally. It improves interpersonal relationships and facilitates crowd funding. People may use fake identities which often lead to inconsistency and discontinuance of communication. Moreover, authenticity of information in virtual groups also cannot be assured. Hence an appropriate policy to limit the freedoms of users has been the need of the hour.

Title: Understanding the Functions and Classification of Market Centres in Rural India: A Case Study
Abstract :

The market centres perform the functions as service centers, helps in increasing the socio- economic and political contacts in the surrounding area. The functions of markets are largely depends upon the threshold population, transacted commodities, administrative character and the transportation links between the market and its hinterland. On the basis of varying functions and numerous characteristics of market centres, they can be further classified into different types, so as to understand the peculiar nature of the market centres in any spatial unit. This paper aims to analyse the function and classification of market centres of the study area on the basis of several variables which are closely related to the spatial development of market centres, such as, number of shops, estimated participants, transacted commodities, market function, and trade area.

Title: Documentation and Digitalization for Access to Traditional Medicine Knowledge in Southern Odisha
Abstract :

Knowledge of traditional medicine is an integral part of the indigenous knowledge of local communities. One of the basic features of traditional knowledge is that it is unwritten and exists in the minds of the local people. It is transmitted orally from one generation to another. Documenting Indigenous Medicinal Knowledge (IMK) may help to preserve tacit indigenous medicinal knowledge. The present study is conducted in the Semiliguda block of Koraput District. It tries to explore the importance of documentation and digitalization of tacit indigenous medicinal knowledge and also analyses the inadequacy of the existing frameworks in protecting and enhancing access to traditional medicine knowledge. The study highlights how the collected plants were preserved in herbarium for identification and were identified with the help of local experts by following Haien’s Flora. Herbarium of specimens were prepared and deposited in COATS, Koraput. Thus it ensures access to traditional knowledge and information.

Title: When Gender Intersects with Class: Taking ‘Masculinities’ into Picture
Abstract :

It is common to talk about girls and women when one talks about policies for ‘gender equality’. But then what about men and boys? Are all of them oppressors and at a superior and privileged position in society? The answer is ‘NO!’. Just as girls and women are ‘stereotyped’ and conditioned in a ‘patriarchal’ society into being submissive, dependent, polite, emotional etc., boys and men are stereotyped as brave, independent, rational/logical, aggressive etc. This kind of conditioning put an additional pressure on them to survive in a society practicing the notions of ‘hegemonic masculinities’ to continuously ‘justify’ their gender. The observations made in an all boys’ school, reveal that education of boys belonging to low socio-economic backgrounds gives very low expectations and ‘hope’ to them and many deviate to crimes as well as substance abuse. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to include masculinities in the study of gender.