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Based upon research in the state of Bihar, India, this article argues that informal access to medicines in Northern India is a core element of the government of healthcare. Informal providers such as unlicensed village doctors and unlicensed drug sellers play a major role in access to medicines in Bihar, in the particular context of the dismantling of public procurement services. Building on recent works in the socio-anthropology of pharmaceuticals, the article shows the importance of taking into account the political economy of drugs in India, in order to understand local problems of access more fully. If informal providers occupy such an important position in the government of healthcare in India, this is partly due to the shaping of healthcare as access to drugs on health markets. Elaborating the argument from interviews with health professionals and patients, the article first shows the situation of public healthcare and public procurement in Bihar; then it presents the role of informal medicine providers; lastly, it shows how patients deal with the fact that they live in a ‘pharmaceutical world’ where access to health equates with access to medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial surrogacy industry in India administers in a way where the women working as surrogate mothers live in surrogate houses. It is a space deliberately designed and run by either the fertility clinics or a third-party agency, where the surrogate mothers are required to stay for the entire gestation period. The surrogacy industry in India utilizes the vulnerability of couples who do not or cannot have children, in order to prepare valuable and docile bodies which can serve as a platform for accumulation of wealth. This paper draws from an ethnographic inquiry of the surrogate housing facilities functioning in two cities in India: Anand and Bengaluru. The paper will argue that the surrogacy industry in India produces geographies of carceral domesticity by deploying disciplining apparatuses governing the day-to-day mundane activities of the reproductive laborers. The medical experts often resort to the narrative that these women cannot be trusted with the safety of the babies they carry, hence, justifying their confinement in the surrogate house. Further, the possibility that the surrogate mothers may develop emotional attachments to the babies they carry, which in turn, will endanger the surrogacy arrangements, also runs through such narratives of regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between earnings management and financial distress and considers whether this relationship varies based on the severity of financial distress and signs of discretionary accruals (a proxy for earnings management). For this purpose, multiple regression analysis has been employed on a sample of 192 financially distressed Indian firms during the period 2011–2018, counting to 1,272 firm-year observations. Discretionary accruals are estimated by the Modified Jones model and Raman and Shahrur (2008) model, while Altman's Z -score and distance-to-default model are used to detect the degree of financial distress. The findings disclose that the low distressed firms are indulged in higher earnings management than high distressed firms. Also, the low distressed firms are engaged more in income-decreasing earnings management. However, the results are not consistent across both earnings management and distress measures. The findings have significant implications for investors and creditors. They need to be aware of this fact while evaluating creditworthiness of a firm since firms with even a low degree of financial distress can indulge in earnings management to camouflage their true financial condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure-making in interwar India was a dynamic, multilayered process involving roads and vehicles in urban and rural sites. One of their strongest playgrounds was Bombay Presidency and the Central Provinces in central and western India. Focusing on this region in the interwar period, this paper analyzes the varied relationship between peasant households and town-centred modernizing agents in the making of road transport infrastructures. The central argument of this paper is about the persistence of bullock carts over motor cars in the region. This persistence was grounded in the specific regional environment, the effects of the 1930s economic depression, and the priorities of social classes. Pinpointing these connections, the paper highlights that "modernization" of infrastructure was not a simple, linear process of progressivist change, nor did it mean the survival of apparently "old" technologies in the modern era. Instead, the paper pays attention to conflicting social complexities, implications, and meanings of the connection between infrastructure and modernity that modernization assumptions often overlook. Here, the paper shows how technological change occurred as a result of real, material class interests pulling infrastructural technology in different directions. This was where and why arguments of road-motor lobbyists and cart advocates eventually clashed, and Gandhian social workers resisted motor transport in defense of peasant interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effects of WhatsApp as a mode of dissemination of political posters. It found that platform affordances that control the crafting and dissemination of political messages open up the possibility of vague political messaging by conforming to the social media's visual culture and limit the spread of these messages, restricting the ability to organically gather support for a political cause. Despite the growing appeal of social media in political campaigns, social media messages when used by individuals and small, independent social media groups, who are not a part of a larger, organized political party or movement, have little influence on electoral decisions of voters about a political cause that faces weak public support. This was discussed in the context of electoral results of the Leftist political party in India in 2019 national elections. The paper then contributes to our understanding of the extent of the influence of social media platforms on political media messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to the under-researched domain of standard setting for bottled water quality in India. The paper opens-up the 'black box' of regulation-making by analysing the mandatory bottled water quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The regulation-making exercise is dominated by bureaucrats and technocrats representing government departments, publicly funded institutions and representatives of big industries. In the standard-setting committees, representation of NGOs, small firms, technology suppliers, independent experts, consumers and citizens are either missing or limited. The kind of experts enrolled by the technical committee and the practice and principles employed by BIS for decision-making have a strong bearing on the regulatory standards. The standard setting for bottled water was the outcome of a complex process that was significantly shaped by the views and values of the dominant regulatory actors, especially what was perceived as valid and superior 'regulatory knowledge'. Discrete actors, such as bureaucrats, technocrats, big firms and NGOs, supported the wider adoption of international standards, but they had different rationales for advocating the adoption. However, the uncritical adoption of international standards has resulted in a disregard for incorporating environmental, epidemiological, dietary and diverse socio-economic factors into setting standards. Inclusion of socio-economic and other contextual factors could increase the validity and effectiveness of regulatory standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the drivers and impacts of degradation of agricultural land in a village in a South Indian coastal delta. Drawing on insights from political economy and political ecology scholarship, it argues that there is a dialectical relation between land degradation and social inequalities, i.e. the biophysical degeneration of land is not only caused by human and environmental factors but it also generates social contradictions which further intensify both land degradation and social inequalities. The paper demonstrates, firstly, that coastal land degradation has been generated in the form of soil salinity through a confluence of the inherent environmental vulnerabilities of the region, forces of commoditization (especially those associated with shrimp aquaculture), existing social hierarchies and state policy. Secondly, it shows that social groups differentiated by caste, class and gender have experienced these changes differently. A small, relatively well-off section of the locally dominant caste landowners has benefitted from shifting from paddy to shrimp aquaculture, which is leading to a further increase in salinisation. Others have to bear the brunt of decreasing productivity of land for crop cultivation, leading them to abandon or reduce cultivation and increase dependence on non-agricultural sources of income, especially through male outmigration. Women's burden of work has increased while their capacity to earn wage-income has declined. Without any concerted state effort to either restore the land or to alleviate the widespread agrarian distress, land degradation has developed into a continuously evolving downward spiral, but one where there will still be some winners and many losers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research has been conducted to study the ethnopharmacology research output in the past 10 years (2011–2020) after using Web of Science (WoS) database. The present study has used WoS database to collect the ethnopharmacology research output for the specific period. The retrieved data were analyzed using specific parameters. This study investigates the impact of the most productive institutes, countries, authors, subjects, sources, and keywords. For visualizing purposes, VOSviewer has been used. We retrieved 7,159 papers from WoS, consisting of 84.24% journal articles and 14.23% review articles. The data analysis indicates that consistent growth with increasing multiauthorship is a general trend of research. The Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) India collaborates with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Central Institute of Medicinal Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) in terms of domestic collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, mental health rehabilitation centers run income generation programs (IGP) for therapeutic engagement, skills training, and income generation of clients. The centers have evolved IGP models relevant to their settings. There is a paucity of published literature on practices employed by the centers. Methods: This paper compiles data gathered from visits to 13 centers between November 2018 and April 2019. Information was collected through observation and interviews with staff involved in IGP, using a semi-structured pro forma designed for study. Results: Most centers were based in south India (n = 11) and urban areas (n = 12). Each center ran two to seven IGP. Each center involved 20–50 clients in IGP. Clients involved in IGP were aged 20–60 years. The centers ran a range of IGP, including the manufacturing of household consumables, paper products, textile products, handicraft products, food products, and jute products; animal husbandry and horticulture initiatives; and running cafeterias and petty shops. IGP were mostly selected based on market demand and sales value of products (n = 11); ease of doing (n = 5); interests, abilities, exposure, and experience of clients (n = 5); and availability of resources (n = 3). Products were priced primarily to cover input and labor costs (n = 8), and many centers sold products below the market rates (n = 5). Running stalls during public events was a common strategy for the sale of products (n = 9). Personal contacts and "word of mouth" publicity were used for advertisement (n = 6). Four centers involved family members in IGP. Conclusion: The nature of IGP varied in terms of setting, available resources, and profile of clients availing the services. Marketing and sales were a challenge. A supportive framework of policies and schemes is essential to promote IGP at mental health rehabilitation centers. This report may be helpful for professionals and centers planning to set up an IGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports and Crime are an integral part of the social reality of India. The recent case of Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar has again reinvigorated the public sentiments regarding the relationship between crime and the state of 'minor' sports in the country. This paper analyses the issue through an intersectional paradigm informed by the neo-Marxist analysis of sports and Classical Marxist Criminology. The paper argues that sports and crime are integrally related to each other in the rural hinterlands of India. This relationship is expressed in the processes in which sportspersons attempt to adapt to varying circumstances. Under neoliberal capitalism, where the dominant ideology proposes to normalise the idea of succeeding at all costs, sportspersons associated with 'minor' sports in India often resort to criminality because of their lack of social capital coupled with the faults associated with the process of management of these sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth suicide is a significant public health problem in Low-and middle-income countries (LMIC), including India. It is a distinct phenomenon with various bio-psycho-social determinants. Despite this, comprehensive literature on this topic is lacking from India. Thus, the current paper aimed to review the available literature on youth-suicide from India and other LMIC, discusses the contentious issues, including potential solutions for the possible roadblocks, and provides recommendations for the national suicide-prevention policy and strategy (NSPPS) in the Indian context. We found that the magnitude of youth suicide in India is substantial with the distinct bio-psycho-social determinants. Although, youth-specific suicide prevention and therapeutic intervention do exist; its feasibility and effectivity in the Indian context are yet to be established. The is an urgent need for the NSPPS; experiences from other LMIC should be incorporated while framing such policies. More research is required from India in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly work that seeks to theorize about fragmentation of media audiences has largely been restricted to the experiences of advanced democracies in the west. This has resulted in a preponderance of research endeavors that have sought to understand this phenomenon through ideas that are pertinent, perhaps solely to those contexts, and not as applicable outside, particularly in the Global South. This has potentially limited our imagination into various other ways in which audience fragmentation can manifest in these often-overlooked countries. In this paper, I use the case of online India as an example to offer a theoretical framework – that of news reading publics – for understanding audience fragmentation as a more global socio-political phenomenon that allows for rigorous comparative research, without being restrictive in scope. I draw from existing theories in communication and related disciplines and show how such a framework can be situated within existing social science theory. I argue that this framework should make us think of audience fragmentation in western contexts to be special cases of a more general model. I also show how network analysis can be used as a context-agnostic tool for identifying news reading publics and demonstrate the utility of such a method in complementing this theoretical framework. Finally, I discuss potential future research directions that this framework generates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phones/devices are an important part of our daily lives for sighted people and those with visual impairment (VI) in India. This study explores how Indian university students use and perceive mobile apps and identify the challenges in their usage. A paper-based survey was administered for 124 college students who were legally blind. The survey had items relating to sociodemographic information, use of mobile devices and apps, and the use of apps specifically designed for persons with VI. Results show that, on average, the participants with VI have been using a mobile device for more than 5 years. Many participants used Android devices and free apps. In addition, they found that the mobile apps were user-friendly and accessible. Results also found that Facebook and WhatsApp are more frequently used. Participants had a high level of self-efficacy and positive attitudes toward special apps for VI. Android devices are popular in India because of lower cost compared to iOS devices. Results are discussed, and implications for practice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental health issues are common among college students, and structured services have been proven to enhance outcomes. Despite increased enrolment for higher education in India, college mental health services remain sparse. JEEVANI is the first structured state-wide college mental health service in India. This paper describes its framework and provides an overview of its functioning during the initial five months. Methods: In 2019–2020, the Directorate of Collegiate Education, Government of Kerala, implemented the program in 66 colleges catering to approximately 60,000 students. Qualified counsellors were trained to identify issues and provide interventions and early referrals, using a stepped-care approach. They conducted awareness programs to promote mental health and reduce stigma. Results: The services were accessed by 2,315 students during the assessment period (October 2019 to February 2020). The beneficiaries were predominantly females (54.1%). Over a third (38.8%) belonged to the lower socio-economic strata, and 2.5% had significant vulnerabilities. Although no syndromal diagnoses were made, anxiety and depression were the most common presentations. The counsellors provided 3,758 individual sessions and facilitated support for students who reported academic difficulties or interpersonal issues. Severe mental illness was detected in 54 students, and referrals for specialist mental health input were initiated in 68. Conclusion: Describing the framework, sharing the technical material, and providing an overview of its functioning from a resource-constrained setting in India may encourage higher education institutions in low- and middle-income countries to consider similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute malnutrition is linked to child mortality and morbidity. Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programs can be instrumental in large-scale detection and treatment of undernutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 weight-for-height/length tables are diagnostic tools available to screen for acute malnutrition. Frontline workers (FWs) in a CMAM program in Dharavi, Mumbai, were using CommCare, a mobile application, for monitoring and case management of children in combination with the paper-based WHO simplified tables. A strategy was undertaken to digitize the WHO tables into the CommCare application.Objective: To measure differences in diagnostic accuracy in community-based screening for acute malnutrition, by FWs, using a mobile-based solution.Methods: Twenty-seven FWs initially used the paper-based tables and then switched to an updated mobile application that included a nutritional grade calculator. Human error rates specifically associated with grade classification were calculated by comparison of the grade assigned by the FW to the grade each child should have received based on the same WHO tables. Cohen kappa coefficient, sensitivity and specificity rates were also calculated and compared for paper-based grade assignments and calculator grade assignments.Results: Comparing FWs (N = 14) who completed at least 40 screenings without and 40 with the calculator, the error rates were 5.5% and 0.7%, respectively (p < .0001). Interrater reliability (κ) increased to an almost perfect level (>.90), from .79 to .97, after switching to the mobile calculator. Sensitivity and specificity also improved significantly.Conclusion: The mobile calculator significantly reduces an important component of human error in using the WHO tables to assess acute malnutrition at the community level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is an attempt to explore aspects of online teaching and its related impact from the perspective of stakeholders in education. The paper outlines faculty experience and effectiveness in the online teaching environment, perspective requisition of students, and the support and resource building called for from academic leaders. We use observations, viewpoints, practical steps taken or needed by higher education institutions and universities in India. The primary and secondary data are content analysed and are further informed by literature. We state that academic leadership, collaborative peer learning, know-how of digital technology and online learning tools, training of faculty, dean review, readiness of students and discourse are important to create an ecosystem for effective online teaching. The article highlights the need of long-term perspective from academic leaders and the significance of blended teaching for faculty, in response to readiness in uncertain times. This paper reflects on the need for educational institutes to respond to the pandemic by building resources and factors and taking actions that result in an effective learning environment. They need to ensure training of all stakeholders and availability of technology and related resources, along with building a community for peer learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global clinical trials depend on a range of standards in order for research results to be comparable. As standardization is more than a mere technical exercise, tensions can arise when things are not uniform. This paper uses empirical data from interviews with principal investigators as well as Clinical Research Organization and pharmaceutical industry representatives working in India's clinical trial industry to critically examine the ways Indian researchers navigate quests for standardization. It turns the analytical lens to the often obfuscated work of standardization aiming to transcend the biological and cultural specificity of research participants and research sites. Drawing on the concept of local biologies, it illustrates that the universal body presumed by clinical trial methodology is, in fact, a specifically Euro-American one: Indian participants not only need to be made globally comparable but also aligned with the drugs' future consumers. Focusing on the tensions between biomedicine's postulation of bodily universality and trial participants' local biologies, this paper advances recent interventions problematizing the structural violence undergirding global clinical trials. It also contributes to the literature on local biologies in its discussion of how these are negotiated in Indian for-profit clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian women are fast moving from conventional jobs to night-shift jobs in transnational call centers. Women working at night is a relatively new phenomenon and stands apart from the usual Indian lifestyle. Night work and the dual burden of work and family have adverse implications on women employees' physical and psychological health. The paper highlights the occupational health hazards of women employees of international call centers through a systematic review of 38 articles published between 2000 and 2018. Data and evidence from studies on women employees of international call centers in India reveal that odd working hours against the biological clock make women employees suffer from several health problems. Women were more prone to health problems as compared to their counterparts. The responsibility of balancing work and family leads to high levels of stress. Despite the attractive salary package, most women employees suffer health hazards and psychological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between the diffusion of drip irrigation technology, state subsidy programs to encourage its adoption by farmers, and gendered labor dynamics. Drip irrigation is promoted globally as a water conserving agricultural innovation that enhances water-use and productive efficiency by increasing yields with less water, while freeing up "saved" water for other uses. India leads the world in its rate of expansion and in total area. Relying on analyses of government drip irrigation policies and ethnographic field research conducted between 2015 and 2020 in the Indian state of Rajasthan, I find the successful diffusion of drip irrigation is dependent upon state subsidies, farmer adoption decisions and the availability of female labor. I engage conceptual work on water conservation technologies, and from feminist political ecology and infrastructure studies to argue: (1) the diffusion of drip irrigation is better understood as a gendered process of infrastructuring; which (2) is an ongoing process of the assembly of state subsidies, the aggregation of decentralized individual farmer adoption decisions, and the availability of on-demand, underpaid female labor; where (3) female laborers provide a "feminine labor subsidy" that produces productive efficiency gains and lends drip irrigation infrastructure its durability. Conceptualizing drip irrigation as a gendered process of infrastructuring, renders visible its emergent and gendered material politics. The conclusion discusses prospects for reassembling drip irrigation infrastructure in more materially just ways and its implications for the political ecology of water infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid crises of trust in government, the legitimacy of public organizations has never been more important. In this context, access to performance information ensures democratic control and thus legitimacy. However, performance evaluation is hindered by transaction costs in accessing and cognitive biases in interpreting performance. We examine two antecedents of citizen evaluations of performance: sector and bureaucratic reputation. Utilizing two experiments on a representative sample of Indian citizens, we situate our paper amid the increasing privatization of public services, and reputation management strategies used to influence performance evaluations. We discuss our findings and their implications for public management theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the determinants of remittances received by Indian households after considering the number of migrants as endogenous in the remittance decision. For this purpose, the paper uses the two rounds of India Human Development Survey conducted in the year 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. To account for the endogeneity of the number of migrants, the paper estimates the Two-Stage Residual Inclusion model. Here, initially the number of migrants are modelled using the negative binomial regression and then the residuals from this regression along with the original explanatory variables are included in the second-stage regression for the remittances. The results show that the number of migrants is endogenous and positively affects the total remittances received by the urban households. However, for rural households, there is no relation between the number of migrants and remittances. The findings also indicate the presence of altruism behind remittances for both rural and urban households. Along with this, some evidence of inheritance and insurance motives is also observed for rural and urban households, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to investigate the effect of levels of income and ownership of assets on domestic migration. The inverted U theory points out that at low levels of incomes and wealth, households may not be able to afford the cost of migration, and hence, are left behind, leading to geographical poverty traps. This idea is tested using a household level migration choice model that attempts to explain outward migration by levels of income/wealth and other factors, including local amenities and social background. The inverted U theory breaks down at very low levels of income – there is a relatively higher probability of outward migration by households belongs to absolutely the lowest deciles of income. However, wealth, or lack thereof, does not have a similar effect on migration in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the work-lives of middle class Muslim professionals in India's new service economy. While these workers have successfully negotiated labour market entry into the ‘core’ growth sectors of India's globalising economy, they are simultaneously subject to different forms of social, cultural and political marginalisation. Strikingly, they also remain at the margins of both economic geography and development geography scholarship. The paper extends a growing development geography/economic geography ‘intellectual trading zone’ and enhances understandings of the complex relationships between labour agency, marginality and social inclusion. The paper draws on new survey data to document patterns of labour agency amongst Muslim professionals in New Delhi. This is augmented by interviews with Muslim professionals to show how different forms of marginality are experienced in their everyday work-lives and the strategies and agencies articulated towards (re)working those marginalities. The paper concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of these findings in relation to socially inclusive growth, the middle-class transformation of India's Muslims and wider understandings of marginality and worker agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographies of inclusion have largely been ignored in Management & Organization Studies (MOS), which tend to be encased within global white Western power over knowledge production. In this paper, I contribute to how non-Western contexts can serve as a counterpoint, yet avoid sharp dichotomies, concerning hegemonic Western discourse in geographies of inclusion. Through ethnography, I seek to provide some answers to the question: How does inclusion happen and how can it be theorised in non-Western contexts. Two central ideas of the paper are: 1. MOS can and should learn from non-Western contexts. Indigenous inclusion, specifically linked to Adivasis in India, illustrates how geographical contexts matter for theorising inclusion which can be enriched by examining non-Western contexts; and 2. Liberation theology through discernment and contemplative action, can provide insights and probe the possibilities of the nature of inclusion. I make no claim to a sole interpretation, rather I offer a guiding framework, grounded in an empirical contribution, for a nuanced understanding of Indigenous inclusion. My poignant hope is to invite other adaptations and traditions to further enrich and unveil understandings of geographies of inclusion for MOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Children with systemic lupus erythematosus have a more challenging and difficult course as compared to their adult counterparts. Today, the aim of therapy for any child with lupus is to keep the child in a state of sustained remission with minimal or no use of steroids. This laudable goal is often difficult to achieve for the child with lupus. In addition to the use of disease modifying agents, sometimes in combination, Rituximab (RTX) is also used as an off-label indication to manage such patients. Objectives: To study the use, efficacy and safety of RTX in a cohort of patients with pediatric lupus followed at a single tertiary level center in Northern India. Methods: This paper is a retrospective review looking at the use of RTX in children with systemic lupus at a tertiary level pediatric rheumatology center in North India over a period of seventeen years. This paper describes the indications, use, efficacy and safety of RTX in childhood systemic lupus erythematosus. Results: RTX was used in 17 of 225 pediatric lupus patients (7.5%), with the most common indication being resistant renal disease (53%). Significant improvement was seen in all domains studied: The mean SLEDAI was 16.25 prior to RTX and reduced to 1.43 six months after the RTX (p value 0.001), steroid use dropped from 100% pre- RTX to 33% at 2 years, there was a sustained reduction in proteinuria in the patients with nephritis from a mean urine spot protein creatinine ratio of 3.1 pre RTX to 0.4 at one year post RTX (p=.006). Finally, 82% of the children had no flare during the follow up (median 24 months). No patient had any adverse event. Conclusions: This study confirms that RTX is very effective in childhood lupus and can be safely used even in a country with a very high burden of infectious diseases. This data adds to the scarce literature in this area from the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intersection of group-based expressions including digital moral outrage, collective guilt, and collective action on Twitter, following the tragic incident of 8 May 2020, in which 16 migrant workers were run over by a train after the Indian government imposed a sudden COVID-19-related lockdown. Twitter data were gathered immediately at three different times - May 8–15, May 16- 23, May 24-May 31, and 4598 tweets were manually coded. The analysis revealed that digital moral outrage was the most frequently expressed emotion. It, however, gradually decreased, signaling digital outrage fatigue. Collective guilt and sympathy constituted the second-largest portion of the total tweets, and tweets reflecting collective action by the community progressively increased. The network of relationships among different group-based emotions, the promotion of one-sided narratives and virtue signaling on social media platforms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The high-cited publications (HCPs) (with 50 or more citations) on orthopedic research from India were analyzed on various parameters. Methodology: The HCPs that were published between 2002 and 2021, on the Indian orthopedic research and indexed in the Scopus database were evaluated on various parameters. A network analysis was used to evaluate and visualize the collaborative interaction among the most productive organizations, authors, and keywords using VOSviewer and Biblioshyn software. Results: Of the total 4606 publications, 179 (3.88%) were HCPs, that were cited 22767 times (averaging 127.19 citations per publication). An external funding was received in 24.58% of publications and 36.87% of publications had an international collaboration. The most productive organizations were the Indian Institute of Science - Bengaluru (n = 11), All India Institute of Medical Sciences - New Delhi, and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences - Kochi (n = 8 each) and the most impactful organizations in terms of citations per paper and relative citation index were Vellore Institute of Technology - Vellore, TIET - Patiala, and Lovely Professional University. The most productive authors were K. Chatterjee, D. Lahiri, and R. Vaishya. The most impactful authors were P. Mukherjee, S. Rajasekaran, and J. N. Babu in terms of citations per paper and relative citation index. Delhi was the epicenter of research and publications (n = 27). Material science and medicine contributed the largest number of publications (n = 77 and n = 73), followed by Engineering (n = 51). Treatment and clinical studies accounted maximally (24.58% and 8.38%) and hydroxyapatite (n = 40) was the most significant keyword appearing in the literature. Conclusion: This study provided an insight into understanding of research status including trends identified and studied the most influential contributions and performance of Indian organizations and authors and indicated broad and narrow subject fields contributing to this medical specialty. It gives some ideas about past, present, and future hotspots in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, in India was widely contested by both political parties and various civil society formations. Shaheen Bagh, a sit-in protest demonstration which continued for over a hundred days in the nation's capital from mid-December 2019 to late March 2020, occupied the central position within the corpus of these protest demonstrations. The protests at Shaheen Bagh were led by poor, Muslim working-class women, who had come out on the streets protesting and asserting their rights amidst the dominant ruling-class communal politics. The Shaheen Bagh protests were a potent force of the working-class and oppressed minorities of the country. The paper brings in Marxist and Gramscian perspectives to explain how Shaheen Bagh has contributed to Indian left-wing politics. The paper argues that the women in Shaheen Bagh have been successful in bridging the gap between the civil society and political society in the country and has to an extent, altered the very nature of Indian politics. Moreover, the assertive nature of the Muslim women regarding their religion and the support which they garnered from the Indian left, widely accused by many of being Islamophobic in nature, has wide repercussions as far as political and social alliances between the left and Muslim politics in India is concerned. The present paper locates the protest within the notion of subaltern unity and tries to analyse the possible impacts of the support for the protests, within and beyond the anti-CAA protest movement, from the Indian left. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings from a thermal comfort field study conducted in institutional studio classrooms in the warm-to-moderate climate of Tumkur in Karnataka, India. A total of 506 datasets were obtained in the questionnaire survey consisting of students of architecture. The survey was carried out during the hot-dry months of March, April and May 2019 using subjective questionnaires during which indoor environment variables were measured simultaneously in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 55 Class II protocols. A comfort temperature of 30.4°C was obtained using Griffith's method, and the comfort band was found to be between 25.0°C to 32.5°C on the central sensation scale for 80% acceptability for the summer (hot-dry) season. Subjects showed greater tolerance and adaptation to warmer conditions with the main means of adaptation by opening windows, wearing lighter clothing, use of ceiling fans, drinking of cold water and use of curtain blinds. Comparison of the field study results with international standards shows that the standards failed to capture the comfort limits and adaptations of subjects in tropical climates of India. Findings of the present study bear significance in developing guidelines for thermal comfort for institutional buildings in the warm-to-moderate climate of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of maternal healthcare utilization on early neonatal, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality in India using the recent round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data. At the national level, for the last live birth of women during the five year preceding the survey, the early neonatal mortality rate was about 16, neonatal mortality rate was 19 and post-neonatal mortality was 7 per thousand live births. Also, only one-fifth of women who had a birth in the past five years received full antenatal care (ANC), 83 percent women received safe delivery and 65 percent women received post-natal care. Findings of the study indicate that full ANC and postnatal care were significantly associated with early neonatal and neonatal mortality. However, no significant association between safe delivery and newborn mortality were found after adjusting the socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Therefore, for a policy point of view, there is a dire need to strengthen supply dependent factors regarding public awareness, accessibility, and affordability of maternal and child healthcare services. It is also necessary to focus on increasing utilization along with continuum of care of maternal and child healthcare services to sustain the reduction in mortality during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the incidence of COVID-19 and the associated fatality with altitude using high frequency, district level data from India. To understand the implications of the nationwide lockdown after the outbreak, we use data for about four months- two from the lockdown period starting from March 25 till May 31, 2020 and about two months after unlocking was initiated (June 1-July 26, 2020). The multivariate regression result indicates slower growth in average rate of infection during the lockdown period in hilly regions, the gains of which attenuated after the unlocking was initiated. Despite these early gains, the rate of fatalities is significantly higher during the lockdown period in comparison to the plains. The findings remain robust to multiple alternative specifications and methods including one that accounts for confounding possibilities via unobservable and provides consistent estimates of bias adjusted treatment effects. The evidence supports the need for provisioning of public health services and infrastructure upgradation, especially maintenance of adequate stock of life support devices, in high altitude regions. It also underscores the necessity for strengthening and revising the existing Hill Areas Development Programme and integrating important aspects of public health as part of this policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructive Engagement (CE) aims at developing sustainable and equitable marketing systems that ensure collective well-being. This paper reflects on an initiative that constructively engages with impoverished market actors, i.e., rag-picking women in India. It is endeavored by operationalizing Integrative Justice Model (IJM) principles while trying to tackle the issue of solid waste management. Our findings suggest that CE across the spectrum in the value chain is required to alleviate the conditions of disadvantaged market actors and improve their well-being. Our qualitative inquiry in rag-picking women's lives and an initiative of social enterprise contribute to the ongoing conversation in macromarketing literature- (1) by empirically evidencing how the CE operationalizes the IJM and help redress the issues of social traps and internalities; (2) by uniquely connecting the macro issues of waste management with the issues of honesty, fairness, dignity and deserved justice in the neglected market transactions; (3) that IJM principles guide the constructive engagement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism is called "spectrum" disorder because there is a wide variation in the type and the severity of symptoms that people experience. India has a vast population, diverse cultures, and multiple languages, making it crucial to under- stand the unique challenges faced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder in the Indian context. This narrative review explores the current state of knowledge about autism spectrum disorder in the Indian context. Databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Sage journals, and other sources were searched with relevant terms for preparing this review. All published literature till January 2023 was studied and those which met the inclusion criteria were included. The resources included were original research articles, review articles, web pages, and book chapters addressing the purpose of the paper. Forty-eight such studies which met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Results showed that the prevalence of autism varied across different studies in India. The study found advanced paternal age, fetal distress, gestational respiratory infections, labor complications, preterm birth, neonatal jaundice, delayed birth cry, birth asphyxia, late initiation of breastfeeding, neonatal seizures, use of maternal hormonal intervention, and consanguinity as some of the identified risk factors of autism spectrum disorder. Parents and families of children with autism have to go through a complex negative experience, both in the family and the community. This negative experience is further compounded by the lack of awareness and access to appropriate professional help and resources. It can be concluded that there is an urgent need for services that help parents cope with the stress of parenting a child with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial necessity and desperation is the primary reason for females to enter into sex work. The health and well-being of female sex workers (FSWs) depend on the balance between their earnings and the cost of living in their local environment. Therefore it would be of value to examine the comparative cost of living adjusted earnings of FSWs in different countries to gauge equity or its absence in their financial state. Data about per client per encounter earnings for FSWs in Pune, India was taken from primary research conducted by the first author. Equivalent secondary data was acquired for the US and Thailand from an online literature review. Earnings after converting to US dollar values were adjusted against the cost of living in the respective environments of the FSWs and then compared. An FSW in India, (Pune) earned on the average US $4.40 after adjusting for the cost of living locally, while in Thailand (Bangkok) the equivalent earning was US $18.77 and in the US (Washington DC region) it was $101.79. These results suggest that an FSW in the US earns 23 times more, and a Thai FSW earns 4 times more than an FSW in India. There are numerous variables that affect the earnings of an FSW and the limited defined scope of this paper based on available data does not permit detailed analyses of causal or intermediate influencing factors. Nonetheless, it can be said with reasonable confidence that much needs to be done and can be done to mitigate the earning disparity, particularly in an emerging economy like India as shown in this small study, and that can perhaps be done best under the umbrella domain of a "harm reduction approach." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the implication of present and future bioclimatic potential of passive heating and cooling design strategies for climate change scenarios of five locations covering all climate zones of India. Weather data for future climate change were developed for A2 (medium-high) scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for four time slices, namely TMY (Typical Meteorological Year), 2020, 2050 and 2080. A case study residential building was used for calibration and validation of the bioclimatic potential using EnergyPlus simulation. Results show a strong correlation between the annual bioclimatic summer and winter discomfort hours and the corresponding annual cooling and heating energy load for the changing climate scenarios. Results also show an overall increase in annual cooling energy load, over and above the base case, ranging from 18% to 89% among the five cities in 2020; 32% to 132% in 2050 and 58% to 184% in 2080 if residential buildings continue to be operated in the same manner as it is done today without passive strategies. The use of passive strategies may reduce the annual cooling load by about 50%– 60% in residential buildings in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Quotas have helped women achieve greater numerical representation in government around the world. Yet do they have indirect effects on representation elsewhere? We take advantage of plausibly exogenous variation in when and which states enacted legislation mandating 50% women's representation in the lowest level of government in India to analyze how quotas affect women's candidacy, vote share, and winning probability at the state level of government. We find that women are more likely to compete and win for the higher political office when women reservation is implemented at the local levels of political governance. This suggests that gender quotas have spillover effects onto other levels in politics. As women continue to be under-represented in politics, this paper highlights the role of policy instruments in shaping political careers for women and building inclusive political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this review was to identify and synthesize the findings of the existing literature that highlighted the psychosocial and mental health issues of the migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Materials and Methods: An exploration of the PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google search, and some other manual searches was undertaken so that no relevant study was missed. A search on Indian scientific literature and cross-references retrieved was also conducted to get further information. The period of the search has been one year from March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. The database was searched with the terms "migrants," "migrant workers," "COVID-19 pandemic," "lockdown," "migrant population," "mental health issues," "psychosocial issues" to retrieve the published literature. Results: Initially, 48 research articles were retrieved and 10 of them were excluded as they had no sufficient information about mental and psychosocial challenges faced by the migrants. In the remaining 38 articles, 9 articles were original research work (n = 9) published from India related to the impact of COVID-19 on migrants. The second category consisted of editorials or commentary or letters to the editor or policy paper on psychosocial and mental health aspects of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 17). The third category was 11 articles on perspectives or opinions or viewpoints (n = 11) related to various psychosocial and mental health issues among migrants in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Predominantly psychosocial issues found among migrants were living conditions, basic needs, family concerns, and joblessness. The mental health issues found among migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic included psychological distress, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders. Conclusion: Existing literature from India has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the psychosocial and mental health status of the migrants in India. This review suggests the need for more research work from the affected states of India and the development of psychosocial and mental health intervention strategies to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dried blood spots (DBS) on filter paper have been used as a practical method of sample collection in sero-surveillance studies of numerous diseases. DBS may be particularly useful for HIV screening in remote areas, in which unrefrigerated transfer time to a laboratory may take a number of days. In this study, we evaluate the ability to detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type-1 antibodies from DBS that have been subjected to a tropical climate in southern India for 6 days. DBS were prepared from blood samples of 59 known HIV-positive individuals and 30 known HIV-negative individuals. ELISA and Western blot results from DBS that were subjected to a mean temperature of 35.8 degrees C and humidity of 73% for 6 days had a sensitivity of 100% and 92%, respectively, and a specificity of 100% and 100%, respectively. Based on these findings, we conclude that DBS sampling could serve as a cost-effective and convenient tool for widespread HIV sero-surveillance in remote areas within tropical countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing job is quantitatively demanding and may draw upon officer's resources. This study aimed to examine quantitative demands' effects for officers' burnout and allied outcomes. Specifically, the study examined a mediation model that incorporated burnout as a mediator of quantitative demands' relationship with job satisfaction, commitment to the workplace, organizational citizenship behaviours, health, work–family conflict, and feeling to quit. Using a cross-sectional (paper–pencil version) design, the study examined the model in a non-random sample of 1,223 officers of an Indian state, Haryana. The results showed that quantitative demands were associated positively with burnout, and burnout partially transmitted quantitative demands' effect on job satisfaction, work–family conflict, and feeling to quit. The results vis-à-vis other outcomes revealed inconsistent mediation of burnout (i.e., suppression situations). As expected, quantitative demands, via burnout, had a negative effect on commitment to the workplace, organizational citizenship behaviours, and health; however, the concerned direct effect was against expectation. Apart from contribution to knowledge, the study's findings are potentially of value for the government and police administrators. Practical implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A participative and representative democracy like that of India cannot deny media's significant role in strengthening its democratic fabric. However, while media has offered a huge platform for creating awareness, educating and sensitising people, the quality of knowledge disseminated, the kind of awareness created, the way of connecting with the masses as also, the content flashed and the intention behind it are clouded with dubiousness. This paper proposed to conduct a qualitative study into analysing the role and performance of media towards nurturing democratic principles in Indian context through narrative analysis of certain instances picked deliberately for the purpose; and suggested certain measures for enhancing the effectiveness of media in this context. The paper reaffirmed media in the country, contrary to the expected role, to be biased, indulging in blatant fabrication of news, manipulating facts and spreading propaganda, hence fast losing its credibility, integrity and sanctity under the garb of reinforcing democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 300,000 women died due to pregnancy related causes in 2015, a global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 per 100,000 live births (Alkema et al., 2016). Millennium Development Goals have led to a 44% decline in global MMR, but significant variations still remain across geographical regions (United Nations [UN], 2015). India accounts for the second highest maternal deaths in the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). In contrast, the U.S. is the only developed country with an increasing MMR in recent years ("Maternal Mortality," 2015). However, little attention has been given to maternal health in public policy research and practice in both countries. This paper compares and contrasts maternal health status and analyzes maternal health policies in India and the U.S. two health models. Based on comparative case analysis, the overall recommendation is to expand the scope of maternal health from a biomedical health model towards a biopsychosocial model and restructure the policy frameworks. This paper contributes to the maternal health discourse and hopes to garner attention of global and regional health policy scholars and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the use of thematic collages as a methodological innovation to participatory photography as a research framework. Participatory photography was used to understand the subjective "off-script" motivations behind the full or partial adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by members of women's self-help groups in Andhra Pradesh, India. The addition of thematic collages to existing participatory photography methods was developed as a mechanism to better support the dialogic generation of new Freirean "generative themes" for investigation by a group. Further, the use of thematic collages invites the integration of "renegade" or non-thematic images into participant group analysis. ZBNF is an agricultural practice that has become an extension priority in Andhra Pradesh. It emphasizes the use of defined chemical-free inputs and regenerative farming techniques as a holistic approach toward socio-ecological resilience. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this participatory photography design was piloted parallel to a soil science experiment in three geographically distinct agroecological zones in Andhra Pradesh. We show how participatory photography, with the novel addition of thematic collages, can be integrated into interdisciplinary research as a method to discover the underlying motivations to adopt agricultural practices and participate in agricultural movements like Zero Budget Natural Farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India has the second-largest population of elderly in the world. Serious mental illness (SMI) is a subset of the mental disorders that result in significant functional impairment and is usually long term. Persons with SMI face several challenges in their old age that are different from the issues faced by younger people with SMI. Understanding the problems faced by elderly individuals suffering from SMI is fundamental for planning programs to address them. The SENIOR (Support Systems Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Illness in Old age) project is a study aimed at evaluating the problems faced in obtaining mental health care by elderly persons having SMI in the Kerala state of India. Aim: To describe the scientific methodology of the SENIOR project. Methods: This study employs mixed-methods cross-sectional design among a minimum sample of 768 SMI patients identified through cluster sampling from three districts, and Focus Group Discussion among mental health program officials. Discussion: This paper presents a methodological model to assist researchers in future field epidemiological studies on mental illness. Assessing service needs and barriers to access for the most vulnerable among the mentally ill will help the policymakers make evidence-based decisions to improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 has a profound impact on people with existing mental disorders, augmenting the prevailing inequalities in mental health. Methods: In order to understand the status of telepsychiatry in India and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in mental health and its potential applications, a scoping review was done between March 2020 and May 2020. The literature review revealed 253 papers, which were used to derive the primary framework for analysis. The information was then reviewed for ideas and concepts, which were integrated with evidence from gray literature and categorized under broader themes based on the insights derived. Finally, a thematic framework was developed for discussion to tailor scientific information for decision-makers' needs. Results: Review findings are summarized under the following headings: changing patterns of health-seeking behavior, origin and evolution of telepsychiatry, possible applications of telepsychiatry and AI, technological features, and AI models in mental health. Conclusions: Though there are several potential opportunities, the time is not yet ripe for telepsychiatry and AI to be adopted fully in the field of mental health care. But it is time that we develop indigenous proprietary technology and test and validate it. With many solutions offered by telepsychiatry and AI, psychiatrists must choose an appropriate tool based on their requirements, availability of resources, and feasibility of deployment. Harmony between conventional care and technology-based care must be reached gradually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic debates in the decades following the 1960s have shaped much of the discourse on population ageing across the world. This paper traces these discourses and research agendas that led to the understanding of demographic transitions in the developed and developing world. The policies were mostly articulated by demographers from the US and ageing was seen more as a challenge for the West. The questions addressed in this paper are that apart from the predictable and unchanging vulnerabilities of ageing voiced earlier by anthropologists and social workers in the 1940–1950s, what were the new risks being articulated by development experts? Once a diffused 'world' agenda was articulated and largely left adrift without resources, what were its afterlives? How did experts in various parts of the world redeploy the global ageing agenda and plan to assert various other alignments? Where did China and India figure in this? The paper locates the debates on India and China in the afterlives of the World Assembly on Ageing held in Vienna in 1982. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent literature, largely from Africa, shows mixed effects of own-production on diet diversity. However, the role of own-production, relative to markets, in influencing food consumption becomes more pronounced as market integration increases.Objective: This paper investigates the relative importance of two factors - production diversity and household market integration - for the intake of a nutritious diet by women and households in rural India.Methods: Data analysis is based on primary data from an extensive agriculture-nutrition survey of 3600 Indian households that was collected in 2017. Dietary diversity scores are constructed for women and households is based on 24-hour and 7-day recall periods. Household market integration is measured as monthly household expenditure on key non-staple food groups. We measure production diversity in two ways - field-level and on-farm production diversity - in order to account for the cereal centric rice-wheat cropping system found in our study locations. The analysis is based on Ordinary Least Squares regressions where we control for a variety of village, household, and individual level covariates that affect food consumption, and village fixed effects. Robustness checks are done by way of using a Poisson regression specifications and 7-day recall period.Results: Conventional measures of field-level production diversity, like the number of crops or food groups grown, have no significant association with diet diversity. In contrast, it is on-farm production diversity (the field-level cultivation of pulses and on-farm livestock management, and kitchen gardens in the longer run) that is significantly associated with improved dietary diversity scores, thus suggesting the importance of non-staples in improving both individual and household dietary diversity. Furthermore, market purchases of non-staples like pulses and dairy products are associated with a significantly higher dietary diversity. Other significant determinants of dietary diversity include women's literacy and awareness of nutrition. These results mostly remain robust to changes in the recall period of the diet diversity measure and the nature of the empirical specification.Conclusions: This study contributes to the scarce empirical evidence related to diets in India. Additionally, our results indicate some key intervention areas - promoting livestock rearing, strengthening households' market integration (for purchase of non-staples) and increasing women's awareness about nutrition. These are more impactful than raising production diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian government needs to increase the access to electricity of a growing population and economy taking into account major environmental and health related challenges, rapidly changing technologies, social and cultural preferences and international commitments. Such an increased access calls for substantial investment, and hence India has been gradually liberalising the electricity sector since 1991. This paper addresses the question: What are the opportunities for accessing the foreign funding available to India and how can it use this funding to modernise its electricity sector in a sustainable manner? Based on a two year research programme, this paper examines the international institutional context and draws conclusions regarding the different mechanisms for India and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing India. It argues that since foreign funding is flowing into the country with enhanced liberalisation, the climate change mechanisms should be used to steer electricity generation in a sustainable direction, and aid funds should be used to focus on access for the rural poor to energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is paucity of evidence on cost of antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivered through the public sector in India. Moreover, the Government of India is considering changing the criteria for introduction of ART to HIV patients, which is likely to have significant economic implications. In this paper, we assess the health system cost of ART services at two levels of health care delivery. Bottom-up costing was used to collect data on capital and recurrent resources consumed over a period of one year (April 2014–March 2015). Capital costs were annualized and shared costs apportioned to calculate annual and unit costs of providing ART care. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to measure the extent of uncertainty in input prices. The annual per capita cost of ART therapy was INR 48,975 (USD738) in the Centre of Excellence (COE) and INR 24,954 (USD376) in the ART centre. Drugs contributed around 70% and 65% of total annual cost, followed by human resource (19% each) and capital cost (7%; 12%) in COE and ART centres, respectively. These provide a comprehensive assessment of the cost of ART care in India. The study estimates could be used for planning of services, as well as undertaking further cost-effectiveness studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mobility turn offers a rich terrain for research to investigate the exercise of politics and power in movement through attention to associated meanings and practices. Despite this, the ontologies that can anchor this research within a historical imagination remains largely uncharted. Happily for us, coming from the opposite direction history, and especially the field of transport history, has grappled with mobilizing history in the face of the mobility turn. Several scholars have offered "usable past" as a mode of mobilizing mobility cultures of the past to inform policy actors about future choices. But is the ontology of a usable past appropriate for countries enmeshed within pre/post/colonial histories of displacement in their society and culture? Employing a case of automobilization in the city of Bengaluru in India, this paper sketches an exposition of the "displaced past" in sedimented residues that continues to live and contest the enterprise of automobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jobs consist of bundles of tasks, with most jobs involving one or a few core tasks as well as supplementary tasks. In this article, the author argues that, keeping constant the number of supplementary tasks performed, the nature of these tasks can affect workers' productivity in their core task. The study uses quantitative and qualitative data to study tea pickers at a plantation in India. Using fine-grained personnel data on workers' task assignments and their daily productivity, the author finds that workers' productivity is affected by the extent to which their supplementary tasks are facilitative of their core task, when comparing workers performing the same number of supplementary tasks. Qualitative data suggest that one way in which performing a facilitative rather than a non-facilitative supplementary task could improve core task productivity is by temporarily boosting what the author calls "core task identification." This article contributes to scholarship on the design of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]