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The COVID-19 pandemic created one of the biggest disruptions in human life. We were all confined within the walls of our homes or offices with day-to-day life worldwide seriously affected. In this context, access to and efficient use of technology determined the course of daily life for vast sections of the world's population. However, there was (and still is) a severe pre-existing global divide between the Global North and Global South vis-à-vis digital access. This paper attempts to understand this digital divide and how it has widened during the pandemic in the Global North and Global South with reference to India and the United States (US). This is initiated by analyzing certain factors within each country, namely positional and personal categorical inequalities. Through the cases of the US and India, the authors conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the global digital divide between the two worlds, affecting core social sectors like education and health. The larger implication of this is a broadening inequality between the Global North and Global South in leading development indicators like the Human Development Index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolving geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific region, especially through the lens of an India–US–China trilateral/tripolar framework. At a time when ‘strategic unease’ has become a defining characteristic of the region and ‘security alignments and strategic hedging’ a prevalent diplomatic tendency, this paper captures an evolving trend of convergence in the strategic visions of the three key Indo-Pacific players – India, China and the US, and rising bilateral strategic/defence cooperation between them. Using a constructivist approach, this paper explores the feasibility of a trilateral cooperative framework among the three countries in near future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the grid of sentiment that structures medical travel to India. In contrast to studies that render emotion as ancillary, the paper argues that affect is fundamental to medical travel's ability to ease the linked somatic, emotional, financial, and political injuries of being ill 'back home'. The ethnographic approach follows the scenes of medical travel within the Indian corporate hospital room, based on observations and interviews among foreign patients, caregivers, and hospital staff in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore. Foreign patients conveyed diverse sentiments about their journey to India ranging from betrayal to gratitude, and their expressions of risk, healthcare costs, and cultural difference help sustain India's popularity as a medical travel destination. However, although the affective dimensions of medical travel promise a remedy for foreign patients, they also reveal the fault lines of market medicine in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on international migration from India in the past has focused on the formation and development of 'Indian diasporas'; that is, Indians who have moved to various parts of the world and maintain socio-economic, cultural and political lives in India as well as other countries. However, little attention has been paid toward 'temporary migrants' who have migrated to different countries with a temporary visa and in the course of time extended their visas to become 'permanent residents'. Temporary migration from India has become a common trend over the last two decades, especially since the acceleration of globalisation and the developments in the fields of information and communication technologies. Although it is argued that this type of migration took place in the past - for instance, Indians migrated to British, French, Dutch and Portuguese colonies during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries as indentured labourers for a period of three to five years and later extended their stays - what is new about the current trend is the new state policies of different host countries and the socio-economic and cultural background of the immigrants. This paper is an exploratory study of this contemporary phenomena of movement from 'temporary migrant' to 'permanent resident', a phenomena which has not been given much attention by academicians and policy makers in India. The present paper outlines this trend with an illustration of Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants and impacts of the adoption of five mutually exclusive practices System of Rice Intensification (SRI) on yields and household incomes using a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model. Farm household survey data is collected from selected districts of three States of India. Results suggest that the decision to adopt SRI is a function of experience in terms of age, farm assets, irrigation facility and information about SRI. The analysis showed that small and marginal farmers are more likely to adopt SRI as compared to large farmers. The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) came out to be significant and positive only in the case of few practices in some States. The welfare outcome results showed that the adoption increased the yield and income of three out of four practices-plant plus water, plant plus soil and plant plus water plus soil management. Briefly, the results show that the adoption of SRI especially full adoption of SRI has greater impact on the yield and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-hundred and eighty-five social work students enrolled in 11 colleges in India were surveyed. Overall, the students demonstrated a moderate degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. However, they were generally unconcerned about the contagion. Three-fourths admitted to their lack of competence to deal with HIV+ patients. Regression analyses identified the positive effect of AIDS knowledge in combination with variables ‘actual contact with AIDS patients’ and ‘sense of competence’ on attitude toward PHWA. The paper discusses a curriculum strategy aimed at gender sensitive content and recommends behavior change as the best approach to reverse the tide of the contagion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies regional (spatial) inequality in the five most populous countries in the world: China, India, the United States of America, Indonesia and Brazil in the period 1980-2000. They are all federations or quasi-federations composed of entities with substantial economic autonomy. Two types of regional inequalities are considered: Concept 1 inequality, which is inequality between mean incomes (GDPs per capita) of states/provinces, and Concept 2 inequality, which is inequality between population-weighted regional mean incomes. The first inequality speaks to the issue of regional convergence, the second, to the issue of overall inequality as perceived by citizens within a nation. All three Asian countries, show rising inequality in terms of both concepts in the decade of the 1990s. Divergence in income outcomes is particularly noticeable for the most populous states/provinces in India and China. The United States, where regional inequality is the least, shows further convergence. Brazil, with the highest level of regional inequality, displays no trend. A regression analysis fails to establish robust association between the usual macro variables and the two types of regional inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservative Protestants in the United States have historically distanced themselves from gay men, lesbians, and transgender persons living with HIV based largely on fears of moral contamination which are propagated by disgust. We argue how disgust can implicitly reify social divides that engender condemnation and subjugation. However, we will propose that it is achievable to safeguard the traditional tenets of sexuality and gender among conservative Protestants and actively oppose misapplications of those tenets to exclude persons living with HIV. We will support our thesis by describing the work of a medical clinic founded on conservative Protestant ideology that serves hijras and kotis living with HIV in India. We will introduce how applications of recategorizing contact, cognitive consistency, and cultural scaffolding are formative in maintaining one's ideological integrity without enacting exclusion based on fear and disgust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the cultural value orientations (VOs) of employees (managerial and non-managerial) working in three categories of organizations (professional, technical and local services) in India, Poland, Russia and the USA. The analysis is conducted at both the national and organizational levels. The paper hypothesizes cultural differences at the country level and cultural similarities among employees working for professional and technical oriented organizations and divergence in the VOs of employees working for local services organizations. It also hypothesizes differences in the VOs of managerial and non-managerial employees in the four countries. The investigation has been conducted with the help of a questionnaire survey of 1,852 respondents. The outcomes of the analysis show that there are both cross-country cultural differences and similarities among the VOs of employees of the four nations. Further, significant cultural convergence emerges in the VOs of employees working for both professional and technical organizations, however, no significant cultural similarities or differences are observed for employees of service-based organizations in the four countries. There are some similarities emerging between managerial employees in the research countries. The research contributes to the fields of cross-cultural management, international management and international human resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees in an organization have the right to fair treatment in all matters of employment. While principles of democracy require equality among the citizens, there is also a need to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) and to undo the effects of past discrimination in employment. This paper provides a three-nation comparison and analyzes the EEO provisions in United States, Nigeria, and India. It describes the main bases of discrimination and the efforts made by the three countries in redressing them. It explores the unresolved EEO issues in the three countries. The United States has a fairly comprehensive set of legislation to address the problems of discrimination. However, it lacks a national consensus on how to address the issue of past discrimination. Nigerian and Indian provisions for EEO address a relatively limited set of causes of discrimination only among their public sector of employment. These two countries are yet to develop a comprehensive set of legislation and enforcement mechanism to ensure EEO for all its citizens. Implications for other countries are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Assessing how democracy varies within countries is paramount to the subnational turn in comparative politics. Despite recent contributions, we still lack a comparable measure of democracy for provinces inside countries. To overcome this limitation, I present the Index of Subnational Electoral Democracy (ISED), a measure that tracks the electoral dimension of democracy across the provinces of nine Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, and India for a period of roughly 40 years, making it the largest dataset on subnational regime outcomes to date. I then use the ISED to assess the democratic trajectories of Argentinian, Brazilian, Mexican, and Indian states, revealing that: 1) Indian provinces have been, on average, more democratic than their Latin American counterparts. 2) The relative position of provincial regimes within these countries has been remarkably stable over time. 3) Most subnational units in the Americas have had "low intensity" regimes. 4) Subnational regime hybridity has been the norm rather than the exception, and that 5) for the Latin American cases under consideration, democracy and development are positively connected at the local level. I conclude by outlining the ISED's research applications and reflecting on the implications of these five conclusions for future research on subnational democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the world, educational leaders implemented crisis management plans to mitigate its impact on their students, faculty, staff, and their families. We studied five cases in the education sector in the world's largest democracies: the United States of America and India. Through document analysis and semi-structured interviews, we investigated the responses of educational leadership during each stage of the crisis. In the cases we studied, leaders in USA adopted a consultative decision-making approach more often than their Indian counterparts. Moreover, group-based approach was evident only among leaders in USA. Leaders in both countries were creative and diligent in communicating, both to gather information as well as for dissemination. Leaders had to think out of the box to meet the needs of students and faculty, as well as the communities in their immediate areas. Resource identification and distribution, overcoming the digital divide between rural and urban areas, and the acquisition and appropriate allocation of safety equipment are just a few of the challenges addressed by the academic leaders. This study makes an important contribution to crisis leadership by looking at competencies needed to manage a crisis, and the influence of national culture in decision-making behaviours during a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify the factors affecting the selection of trade shows in India and the role of spot sales in decision-making. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a primary approach. It has been done with the help of data collected from exhibitors' responses to a standard questionnaire (appendix) through offline mode. Finally, the collected data was used for analysis with the help of SPSS 21. Multivariate data analysis techniques such as factor analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling were used in the study. Findings: The findings of the study revealed that perceived show value was the most important factor of selecting a trade show followed by measurable cost, timing and lastly show attractions. Spot sales were found to make a significant impact on the participating decision-making process. Some of the subjective factors such as facilities within the venue and connectivity to the venue made an impact on the exhibitors' selection of trade shows. Practical implications: Organising a trade show requires a lot of money and effort and thus it becomes important that such events be successful. Thus, the study could be used by trade show organizers to attract exhibitors for participating in their show. Originality/value: Although research studies have been conducted on the motives for participating in a trade show in the U.S. and Europe, very few were found relating to the identification of factors affecting the decision to participate. This number becomes still smaller when one considers the case of the growing Indian economy. Looking into these aspects, this study can be considered new and thus its originality remains high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barnum & Bailey’sOriental Indiain 1896 was the pinnacle of the focus on ethnographic shows in the American circus. The late nineteenth century had witnessed a growing trend in Europe and America for displays of the exotic aspects of foreign cultures as popular entertainment. Advertising for such shows generally took the form of posters composed of collages of inconsistent imagery describing the circus that were culled and adapted from mass print media of the period.Oriental India, however, was unusual in the American trajectory of performance and advertising. The stated theme of the show was the ‘home life’ of the performers, and its poster partially emphasized this aspect through diligent reproduction of photographs of daily life taken by colonial photographers in Ceylon. The reliance on imagery already imbued with contemporary attitudes suggests the poster’s attempted authenticity. The inclusion of some circus imagery, combined with unrelated religious, cultural and ceremonial components, resulted in a mass-produced image that distributed inaccurate portrayals of the source cultures. Documenting the imagery and photographs at their origins across the decades provides additional understanding regarding the participation of the American circus in global image flows in the late nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current round of multilateral trade liberalization, emerging powers such as Brazil and India created the G-20 coalition and refused to accept further tariff rate reductions for industrial products before the United States and the European Union made reciprocal concessions in agriculture. This article examines how and why Brazil and India have taken a more offensive and proactive position at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Following Putnam's two-level games approach, I focus on domestic factors and specifically on interest groups to explain actors' policy preferences in WTO negotiations. From a theoretical perspective, the case studies Brazil and India lend credit to the literature discussing the impact of powerful, sector-specific interest groups on governments' trade policy preferences. From an empirical perspective, the findings show how these two countries translated these demands into government positions and influenced WTO outcomes as agenda-setters and coalition builders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Children's market has been growing steadily not only in the United States but also globally. Advertisers have been targeting this segment heavily in recent years. Given the impact of this segment having increased rapidly in recent years, it is imperative for the advertisers to understand and develop effective advertising messages to reach this segment successfully. One of the essential components of advertisement content includes decisions regarding the gender portrayal of the characters. This study examines the depiction of self-presentation behaviors of the characters in commercials shown during the times and on the channels that children watch in India and the United States. The findings indicate interesting similarities and differences between the two countries. Managerial implications and future research directions are offered based on the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, I go beyond the conventional realist arguments of anarchy, national interest, and nuclear security to offer alternative discourses of the same as applied in the context of US–India nuclear relations after 9/11. To this extent, I draw from feminist International Relations, that security is a gendered phenomenon, to explore how the post-9/11 climate of globalization has served as the context within which are articulated masculinist forms of nuclear discourses between India and the United States. Furthermore, considering issues of international hierarchy and power relations between India and United States, I also draw from Edward Said's Orientalism to explore how assumptions of Orientalism are also sustained in these masculinist nuclear discourses. My contribution in this article lies in offering an alternative feminist and post-colonial perspective to comprehend that nuclear security discourses are not only about objective realist/neoliberal issues of insecurity and strategic interdependence but also contain subjective implications that sustain masculinist and orientalist forms of identity-making in international politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the salience of ethnicity for second-generation Indian-American professionals who ‘return’ from the US to their parental homeland, India. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 48 second-generation Indian-Americans in India, it examines when and how they adopt ethnic identities in the workplace. My findings suggest that, bolstered by their transnational experiences and backgrounds, returnees construct ethnic identities and utilise ethnic options that reflect the cultural and economic environments of their adopted homeland. At the same time, and often contemporaneously, work relationships, experiences and personal interactions with those they encounter in the parental homeland factor into their transnational identity constructions. Also proposed is a preliminary framework within which to explore the conditions that facilitate the construction and assertion of returnees’ ethnic identities in the workplace in India. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using cross-country time series data for the period 1989-2001 we analyze the Canadian and United States' outward FDI and export performances, particularly to China and India. Casual examination of data may suggest that Canada is underperforming in its exports and FDI to China, but results from our econometric model do not support that conclusion. We found that Canada's FDI in India is lower than that predicted by the model. Interestingly, while the evidence that investors from the United States tend to invest more in the growing economies is quite strong, it is weak in the case of Canada. Although in-depth research is necessary to understand these differences, it is plausible that there are mismatches between the areas where investment opportunities are available in the fastest-growing parts of the world such as China and India, and the areas in which Canadians have comparative advantage. For example, financial services and mining constitute a big share in Canadian FDI abroad but these sectors are yet to be opened up in China and India. The U.S. FDI base is more diversified and better able to take advantage of the increased opportunities in fast-growing countries such as China and India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By deemphasizing the role of nuclear weapons in US security policy, the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) could lead India to slow or halt the growth of its nuclear weapons capabilities and to adopt a less assertive nuclear doctrine; however, the NPR is unlikely to have this effect on India's nuclear program. This is the case for two reasons. First, Indian leaders do not seek to emulate US nuclear behavior; they formulate policy based primarily on their assessment of the security threats facing India. Second, Indians do not think that the NPR augurs major changes in US nuclear policy. Thus, it will not alter the international strategic environment sufficiently to enable India to relax its nuclear posture. In fact, Indian strategists believe that the new US policy fails even to match India's current degree of nuclear restraint. Therefore, according to Indian experts, the NPR will have little impact on India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of TRIPS-plus standards and its implications of access to essential medicines are discussed in this article in the Indian context. As a leading country in the manufacture and supply of generic drugs, the case of India is crucial when considered from the perspective of the TRIPS-plus regime and its negative consequences. Given the absence of a free trade agreement between the USA and India, a hypothetical approach is adopted in this article to analyse the potential implications of such an agreement in the future. The argument extended in this article relates to the existing norms of TRIPS-plus standards in US trade negotiations and an analysis is provided about the application of a TRIPS-plus model in the Indian context. It is argued that both for public health and trade policy reasons, India should not engage in any TRIPS-plus trade agreement with the USA as it would harm its interests on domestic and foreign fronts. India has recently adopted a new patent policy and a reasonable time should be given to relevant institutions to build an operational framework and capacity before further changes are made. This task will not be less than challenging as there is very little evidence about any positive change in the position of the USA and it would continue imposing TRIPS-plus standards through a variety of trade instruments. It is further argued in this article that the best mitigating strategy for developing countries like India lies in the combination of multilateralism and networking along the lines of a rights-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian elites spent much of Barack Obama's first year trying to discern whether he would continue the “strategic partnership” cultivated between New Delhi and Washington over the previous decade. In the absence of early affirmation and concerned that the United States was developing a pro-Pakistan outlook on regional security issues (particularly Kashmir), India focused intensely on the new president's evolving “Af-Pak” policy as a proxy for the state of U.S.-India relations. This impulse made for continued uncertainty, given the unsettled U.S. regional strategy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Washington in November 2009 put a new seal on U.S.-India friendship, and New Delhi's worst fears about U.S. intentions have been laid to rest. The strategic partnership remains intact, albeit amid less euphoria than during the Bush administration. It likely will continue to mature owing to broadly convergent strategic interests, but U.S. and Indian interests are least convergent with respect to Pakistan's involvement in Afghan affairs, and this will continue to be a source of tension in U.S.-India relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional powers such as China, India, Russia, and to a lesser degree Brazil and South Africa, now occupy a significant role on the world stage. The United States, while still enjoying superpower status, has taken note. At the same time, the transnational nature of the challenges facing the world will require multilateral and bilateral co-operation perhaps unprecedented in modern history. How will the United States respond to these new requisites within the context of this changed world? While it is too early to assess the Obama administration's foreign policy substantively, it looks to be adopting an approach emphasising the building of consensus and multilateralism in its international engagement. Moreover, there is reason to expect that it will actively seek a more constructive set of relationships with regional powers. United States domestic political constraints may yet hamper Obama in this new approach, as might the type of response the new administration receives from old and new powers to its overtures. Whether the changes are more in tone than substance remains to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP), a bilateral initiative to expand cooperation in the areas of civilian space activities, civilian nuclear programs, and high-technology trade and to expand discussions on missile defense. Today, India and the United States view the NSSP initiative as a tool to transfer high-technology items to India without compromising U.S. nonproliferation goals. The success of this proposal depends on U.S. efforts to modify its nonproliferation regulations and India's efforts to implement stringent regulations to control the flow of sensitive technologies within its borders. This report examines the Indo-U.S. NSSP initiative and associated agreements, discusses the set of reciprocal steps agreed upon by India and the United States, reviews the extent of technology transfer permissible under existing U.S. nonproliferation regulations, and presents some preliminary conclusions on the NSSP agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation of communication practices among U.S. (n = 90) and Indian (n = 71) engineers and scientists employed in the aerospace industry revealed statistically significant differences between the two cultures. The differences may be attributed to Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance; Hofstede and Bond's (1988) Confucian dynamism; and Hall's (1976) cultural context. Implications for practice address strategies to accommodate foreign cultures and to develop complementary approaches using the strengths of both cultures. Areas for future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present review examines whether the weight of the evidence indicates that adoption is, indeed, a benefit to the child, Several comparison groups have been used. In a number of studies, in United Kingdom, U.S.A. and India amongst others, a comparison has been made of the outcome of the child in his/her adoptive family to what it would have been had that child remained in her/his biological family, or in an institutional setting. Analyzing all the results, adopted children seem to function better than institutional children or children restored to their biological family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1980s the US government sought to encourage India to liberalize its trade regime in services and foreign investment. US officials sought to achieve their objective by naming India to the 1988 Trade Act's 'Super 301' list of target countries for mandatory market-opening negotiations under threat of retaliation while at the same time also pursuing Indian trade liberalization multilaterally under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Uruguay Round negotiations. The two policies were uncoordinated and incompatible, and ultimately the Super 301 cases against India were terminated when US officials realized that they risked damaging prospects of success under the Uruguay Round talks. As a case study the US-India case exposes weaknesses in the ability of state actor-based theories of hegemonic stability as well as domestic politics and institutions-based explanations alone to yield a full account of interest formation and policy formulation. An integrative theoretical approach taking account of the role of epistemic communities is required to provide the fullest explanation both of individual decision making and institutional and structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]