Search

This paper is based on the concept of Improv games as a promising mechanism and design principle for enhancing an organization's capacity for learning and adaptability. The study explores how Improv games can be used to create a mindset conducive to change, facilitate ideation and guide discussions on bringing about systemic change. In the case study that forms the basis of the paper, Improv games were found to be particularly useful in helping participants to identify and confront their anxieties with respect to accepting and implementing change. Further, instead of being dismissed or criticized, their concerns could be creatively deployed in a realistic assessment of the action plans they had drawn up for implementing change. The paper demonstrates the technique of the games and how they can be integrated into change management programmes, and summarizes the benefits of the practice.

Effective teaching in schools requires flexibility, energy and commitment. Successful teaching also requires that teachers are able to address learner's needs and understand the variations in learner's styles and approaches. Teachers can accomplish these requirements while creating an optimal teaching-learning environment by utilizing a variety of teaching methods and teaching styles. If teachers use a variety of teaching methods and styles, learners are exposed to both familiar and unfamiliar ways of learning that provide both comfort and tension during the process, ultimately giving learners multiple ways to excel. Numerous teaching strategies such as white board, lecture, cooperative learning, writing assignments, demonstration, field trips, grouping, brainstorming, guest speakers, bulletin boards, debates, panel discussion, crossword puzzles, teaching with cases, team-based learning, team teaching, library research on topics or problems, audio-tutorial lessons, making of posters by students, puppets, use of motion pictures, educational films, videotapes, current events and internet are utilized in the modern classroom for secondary education. Each teaching strategies has their own pros and cons. This paper aims to present the effectiveness of selected teaching strategies: group discussions, real objects, audio-visual aids, computer assisted instructions, role play, work sheets, smart boards, quizzes, mind maps, team projects, individual projects, field trip and internet access in relation to the learning styles of the secondary school students.

Covid-induced lockdowns have increased the importance of technology in education. Though access to technology as well as availability of the internet remain a major concern for a lot of children in the global south, children with intellectual disabilities are disadvantaged even more as most of the e-content is developed keeping in mind the average learner. Unstructured interviews were conducted with children with intellectual disabilities studying in government schools in Haryana as well as their teachers and parents. Thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted to understand the use-patterns of mobile phones by children with intellectual disabilities. Findings suggest that these children are learning to use mobile phones on their own or with some support and are able to navigate the complexities of these smartphones quite well. They use these devices mostly for their entertainment. This paper then reflects on the need and strategies to develop these technologies in ways that they can be used as effective tools for teaching children with intellectual disabilities, especially in the inclusive education system in developing countries. The paper reflects on the need to develop technology and tools using flexible and exploratory designs to enhance the learning processes for children with intellectual disabilities from the lower income strata. This study highlights the importance of being able to use mobile phones by children with intellectual disabilities belonging to low income families. Following this, the article argues for designing of mobile phones suitable for use by children with intellectual disabilities using playfulness and explorations, and Building e-content keeping the elements of playfulness and exploration which can enhance the learnings of this group of students which is often ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes adaptations of five games for use with visually impaired (both partially sighted and blind) young people in India. The games include kabaddi, kho-kho, volleyball, throwball, and table tennis. (DB)

Following decades of relative isolation, China and India have become the world's largest new traders. In this paper, we focus on their Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). While the two economies initially followed similar paths, with a growing number of PTAs signed in the first decade of the 21st Century, since 2011 India has taken a U-turn and stopped completing them. China, on the other hand, has widened and deepened its trade agreements. We present a novel theoretical framework to analyze international economic negotiations by emerging economies and use it to study the puzzling divergence of the trade policies of China and India. By adapting the two-level game framework to emerging economies, we argue that there are key differences in the political economies of countries like China and India (compared to Western industrialized ones), which requires a more specific focus on the domestic side of the two-level game. We show that accounting for non-legislative domestic ratification processes and for iterative games and experiential learning by domestic actors are crucial in understanding the trade strategies of emerging economies. While much of the literature explains large emerging economies by looking at external systemic factors, we instead suggest that their domestic politics trumps international politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze some aspects of cronyism and corruption in India. We develop a three‐stage game‐theoretic model where the ruling political party and a capitalist interact with each other. The ruling party, in return of a donation from the capitalist, sets a policy that favors the latter. Our model leads to some interesting results of which the most striking is that only the political party gains with increase in cronyism and corruption. The society as a whole suffers (total welfare goes down), and even the capitalist is worse off (profit declines). Despite the decrease in profits, the capitalist finds it worthwhile to take part in the game only because it would have been worse off even further if it had not taken part in the game. We come to the broad conclusion that a strong corrupt political party is necessarily detrimental to all sections of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports is an extremely important component for the overall development of our nation. India in the last few years has made steady progress in the field of sports. Keeping in view the Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation. This program costing Rs. 1756 crore will be spent on 2018-20 to 2019-20 period. This game program will be used as a tool for personality development, community development, economic development and national development. Ministry of Finance on 28th October, 2015, had advised this Department to suitably restructure the Centrally Sponsored Scheme into a Central Sector Scheme and divided State Governments throughout India by dividing the states into six zones, i.e., Northern, Central, E astern, North E astern, Southern and Western zones. This paper explores fully the contents of Kheloindia scheme such as details of scheme, its components, infrastructure, administration, financial implications, monitoring and many more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gambling is a popular pastime in India, as in most cultures across the world. Although research from India is limited, there is enough evidence to suggest that it should be of public health importance. In this brief paper, we look at the evolution of gambling in India and also discuss potential ways forward to address this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs on the European Distance Education Network (EDEN) Conference, that was held from 13–16 June, 2017 in Jönköping, Sweden. Topics discussed include online learning; diversity and media education in the schools of Mumbai, India; and history and role of games in cultural tradition and society.

The article focuses on the need for autoethnography in game studies, specifically in the context of studying gaming in countries like India. It highlights three broad trajectories of care that researchers should consider: what should be cared for, what care should be provided, and what should be avoided. The author emphasizes the importance of inclusivity; understanding gaming as a contextual practice; and avoiding biases in research.

Ingroup/outgroup categorisation is a repeatedly found phenomenon. Given the long‐standing caste system, the Indian societal structure provides a unique perspective on such social categorisation. The Indian caste system contains hereditarily inherited identity roles defining profession and status‐based hierarchies. In this preregistered experiment, we investigate the influence of caste‐based identity on cooperation using a (hypothetical) Prisoner's Dilemma. Specifically, Indian participants (N = 685) were paired with a (hypothetical) other in a Prisoner's Dilemma, whose last name reflected either a general caste (i.e., a "high" caste) or a backward ("lower") caste including the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and other backward classes. Because participants indicated belonging to a general or a backward caste themselves, they thus played the (hypothetical) Prisoner's Dilemma with either a member of the same or a different caste group. We did not find that the partner's caste group membership in terms of stemming from an ingroup (same caste) or outgroup (different caste) influenced participants' cooperation. Further, we found participants from the general caste to be more cooperative when paired with (hypothetical) backward caste others (outgroup), compared to backward caste participants when paired with (hypothetical) general caste participants (outgroup); however, this difference disappeared once controlling for other demographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability education should create eco-awareness and produce pro-environmental behaviors. Traditional instructional methods create eco-awareness but do not make people act. Purposefully designed digital games for attitudinal instruction provide cognitive knowledge, engage learners emotionally by showing the consequences of harmful behaviors, and encourage correct behaviors. Most studies involving games in different subjects showed that knowledge acquisition was greater in collaborative learning than individual game play. However, a similar comparison with respect to attitudinal learning involving a socio-scientific topic has not been conducted before. This mixed methods study conducted in a high school in India, examined the attitudinal learning among students who played a game individually (n = 45) and collaboratively (n = 44). Also, differences between students who played the game and a control group (n = 42) was examined. Surveys based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Attitudinal Learning Instrument (ALI), showed that attitudinal learning from games was similar for collaborative and individual players. Also, attitudinal learning from games was higher compared to traditional instructional methods. Interviews explained the learning experiences of game players and how it produced pro-environmental behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global health threat. The South-Asian (SA) countries have witnessed both the initial brunt of the outbreak as well as the ongoing rise of cases. Their unique challenges in relation to mental health during the pandemic are worth exploring. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted for all the original studies on the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on psychological health/well-being in the SA countries of the World Psychiatric Association Zone 16. PubMed, Google Scholar, PSYCHINFO, EMBASE, and SCOPUS were searched till June 2020. Studies conducted in the age group of 18-60 years with a minimum sample size of 10, and statistically significant results were included. Results: Thirteen studies were included in the review. They showed increase prevalence in nonpsychotic depression, anxiety, somatic concerns, alcohol-related disorders, and insomnia in the general population. Psychological symptoms correlated more with physical complaints of fatigue and pain in older adults and were directly related to social media use, misinformation, xenophobia, and social distancing. Frontline workers reported guilt, stigma, anxiety, and poor sleep quality, which were related to the lack of availability of adequate personal protective equipment, increased workload, and discrimination. One study validated the Coronavirus anxiety scale in the Indian population while another explored gaming as a double-edged sword during the lockdown in adolescents. Another study from Bangladesh explored psychosexual health during lockdown. Most studies were cross-sectional online surveys, used screening tools and had limited accessibility. Conclusion: The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact serve as an important period for adequate mental healthcare, promotion, research, and holistic biopsychosocial management of psychiatric disorders, especially in vulnerable groups. Mental healthcare and research strategies during the pandemic and preparedness for postpandemic aftermath are advocated subsequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about the 27th International Conference of Indian Association of Palliative Care, (IAPCON), which was organized in the Auditorium Complex of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, Assam from February 14 to 16, 2020, It mentions the theme 'Entrust, engage and empower!', and aim to symbolize the power of Palliative Care as an inclusive specialty and, build up a force of not only the medical fraternity but also those who are contributing in all forms to patient care.

We examine the impact of religious identity and village-level religious fragmentation on behavior in Tullock contests. We report on a series of two-player Tullock contest experiments conducted on a sample of 516 Hindu and Muslim participants in rural West Bengal, India. Our treatments are the identity of the two players and the degree of religious fragmentation in the village where subjects reside. Our main finding is that the effect of social identity is small and inconsistent across the two religious groups in our study. While we find small but statistically significant results in line with our hypotheses in the Hindu sample, we find no statistically significant effects in the Muslim sample. This is in contrast to evidence from Chakravarty et al. (2016), who report significant differences in cooperation levels in prisoners’ dilemma and stag hunt games, both in terms of village composition and identity. We attribute this to the fact that social identity may have a more powerful effect on cooperation than on conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the effectiveness of The Great WASH Yatra handwashing awareness raising campaign in India on changing visitors' intention to wash hands with soap after using the toilet and the underlying behavioural determinants. Interviews based on the RANAS (Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, Self-regulation) model of behaviour change were conducted with 687 visitors before and after their visit to the campaign. Data showed that a campaign visit had little effect on the intention to wash hands with soap, even when comparing visitors who had actively participated in handwashing games with those who had not. After a campaign visit, knowledge about the benefits of washing hands had increased by almost half a standard deviation. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that when considering all behavioural determinants change scores simultaneously, they were able to explain 57% of the variance in the intention change score. These findings suggest that substantively changing behaviour requires more than improving knowledge and emphasizing the importance of washing hands. Identifying the crucial behavioural determinants for handwashing may be an important first step in planning effective large-scale promotion programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]