Papers by Abhay Chawla
IGNOU, 2024
While mojo has been around for some time now, people need to be aware of its enormous possibiliti... more While mojo has been around for some time now, people need to be aware of its enormous possibilities. Proper training and context are required for journalists to tap the complete potential of mobile journalism, and they need to hone their skills to tell their stories effectively through this medium.
As we learnt about the basics of mobile journalism in previous units, this Unit will focus on the tools and techniques required for practicing mojo.
Nausantara Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences, 2024
Open defecation (OD) remains a significant public health and environmental challenge, particularl... more Open defecation (OD) remains a significant public health and environmental challenge, particularly in rural India, where socio-economic and cultural barriers hinder the adoption of sanitation facilities. Despite over two decades of government initiatives, including the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), achieving an Open Defecation Free (ODF) status has proven elusive. This paper examines the systemic limitations of these programs, focusing on the disconnect between policy objectives and community realities. Drawing from the author’s field experience in Haryana, the study highlights critical barriers, including inadequate water supply, economic constraints, and insufficient integration of social learning strategies. The analysis underscores the failure of top-down approaches that emphasize latrine construction while neglecting socio-cultural dynamics and local engagement. The lack of trained personnel, culturally relevant messaging, and participatory planning has resulted in low adoption rates and widespread skepticism about sanitation programs. Using Bandura’s social learning theory, the paper advocates for community-led approaches that leverage social networks and behavioral modeling to foster sustainable change. By comparing India's experiences with successful sanitation strategies in countries like Bangladesh, this study emphasizes the need for context-specific, inclusive, and adaptive solutions. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on public health, demonstrating that sustainable sanitation requires a holistic approach integrating technology, behavior change, and community ownership. Policymakers must prioritize cultural sensitivity and social learning to bridge the gap between infrastructure provision and behavioral adoption, ensuring long-term public health benefits.
Nusantara Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Disease, illness and death have been a human being’s constant companion right from the dawn of ci... more Disease, illness and death have been a human being’s constant companion right from the dawn of civilization and Pandemics are a part of this fatal manifestation which has been witnessed century upon century, successfully wreaking havoc upon the unsuspecting mankind. A pandemic (from Greek - pan, meaning "all" and demos meaning "people") is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, spreading through continents and killing with impunity as it spreads. Throughout human history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. The most fatal pandemic in recorded history was the Black Death (also known as The Plague), which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. Other notable pandemics include the 1918 pandemic, the Spanish influenza (Spanish flu). The current pandemics include Covid19 and HIV AIDS. The history of pandemic has been recorded meticulously by playwrights, noveli...
Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi eBooks, 2020
Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi eBooks, 2020
Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi eBooks, 2020
Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, 2020
New Media and the Politics of Online Communities, 2010
Perspectives on Politics, 2010
of presentation has certain advantages, especially for readers who are practitioners of counterte... more of presentation has certain advantages, especially for readers who are practitioners of counterterrorism, scholars looking for a more thematic and theoretically integrated discussion may be disappointed. Scholarly readers will also be disappointed by the book’s index, which seems hastily put together without a great deal of thought. Indeed, the book is more a contribution to policy debates than it is to academic discussion of global jihad, transnationalism, and international politics. When read in this light, Global Jihadism represents an especially important contribution. And if those policymakers whose job it is to respond to global jihadism read this book and learn from it, as they should, then Brachman’s efforts will be vindicated, and the ghost of Sun Tzu would be pleased.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements From the conception of an idea, through the germinating proces... more TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements From the conception of an idea, through the germinating process, the gestation period and, finally, culminating in its fruition is a long path that scholars who have trod through will know-that along the way, there are many who have worked to enable us to reach the fruition stage. The idea of working on a research topic on 'Chinese women and their network capital: the use and abuse of the cyber-network' took off when I was awarded a research grant by the University of Hong Kong. As the research came to fruition, I began to explore the possible idea of organizing an international conference to bring together scholars who are interested in working in this area to share their views and to bring together an edited book on this topic. This has resulted in an international symposium in 2004 on the theme: 'Log on: Chinese women and the cyber-networks' that I organized under the Centre for Anthropological Research at the University of Hong Kong. This international symposium brought together scholars from different parts of the world who presented various issues of Chinese women and their experiences with the cyberspace. The final session of the symposium was a workshop where the conference participants discussed key ideas that emerged in the course of the two-day symposium and we were able to concretize the ideas that would be put into the edited book. Subsequently, I invited some of the conference participants to write for this edited book. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the University of Hong Kong for a research grant that enabled me to conduct the research on 'Chinese women and their network capital: the use and abuse of the cyber-network' which allowed for the seed to be planted at the initial stage. I am also grateful to my former dean, Professor James Tang, who kindly provided a conference grant to enable us to organize the international symposium. I am extremely indebted to my graduate students, especially Gao Chong, Huang Yedan and the administrative colleagues at the Department for helping with all aspects of the conference. I am delighted to acknowledge the contributions by the conference participants for their enthusiasm and ideas and especially so to those who have contributed to this edited volume.
Dynamic Approaches for Dynamic Business Environment, 2014
As an all pervading technology, Internet is changing the way individuals consume media. It is now... more As an all pervading technology, Internet is changing the way individuals consume media. It is now being incorporated as a part of the culture, for example the first activity of the day for some individuals is the checking the new emails and Facebook notifications.
This technology is enabling people to connect with others with a mere click of the mouse bringing in a new paradigm to the concept of networking and relationship formation.
This paper seeks to study the status of e-social networking in India based on the study of the social networks Eatlo and Lets Walk Gurgaon, both open, gender neutral networks with one devoted to food and other devoted to walking. Eatlo in addition spans multiple cities and cultures.
The paper will look at finding out causal relationships between individuals and e-social networks by a process of webnography and interviews and discuss implications of this point and click relationships by individuals.
It will explore how these virtual relationships translate into the physical world.
The Meos, a Muslim-Rajput tribe staying around Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, have a rich oral tradition... more The Meos, a Muslim-Rajput tribe staying around Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, have a rich oral tradition and have several popular tales sung to this day. This article explores how these stories contribute to the formation of the Meo identity through the prevalent folklore within this community.
Editor's Message
This Newsletter is 27th edition of ‘Roots and Routes’ which has been carrying a ... more Editor's Message
This Newsletter is 27th edition of ‘Roots and Routes’ which has been carrying a variety of things pertaining to global Diasporas. It has im-proved its contents and forms ever since its inception. We are so grate-ful to people who has been associated and provided sustained assis-tance so far. We look forward to your committed and sustained sup-port for making qualitative and quantitative changes to match with global standards. We welcome your fresh and innovative ideas to take it forward. We request you to factor in your contribution wherever you live in the globe. By doing so, let us keep the discourse on Diaspora be alive.
This edition has a long interview with Prof.Gijsbert Oonk by Dr. Sadananda Sahoo. The interview illustrates Prof.Oonk’s perceptions and perspectives about South Asian business Diaspora in East-Africa. I would like to recall and recollect here Prof. Gijsbert Oonk who had an interaction with GRFDT members in the recent past while his visit to Delhi. He spoke in length about his research work on South Asian business community on the occasion.
The book review section of this edition has an excellent review by
Abhay Chawla who has been regularly contributing to the Newsletter ‘Roots and Routes’. It is a great pleasure to know many of GRTFDT members who are participating and contributing research papers in various seminars, conferences and workshops in the various parts of globe. This edition carries a brief note about their participation. ‘A note from Malaysia’ chronicles about the recently held workshop about Malaysian Indian community. The most popular page of the news letter ‘global update’ provides various happenings in the domain of Diaspora.
Much more things to follow in the next issue, until then good bye
Have a Happy Reading!!!!
Mahalingam M
Issue Editor
Book Reviews by Abhay Chawla
Chinese Women and the Cyberspace, 2008
Chinese Women and the Cyberspace, Edited by Khun Eng Kuah-Pearce, Amsterdam University Press, 20... more Chinese Women and the Cyberspace, Edited by Khun Eng Kuah-Pearce, Amsterdam University Press, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-9053567517
Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement, 2009
Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement, Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff , Cambridge Uni... more Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement, Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2009, ISBN-13 978-0-511-71938-7
New media and politics of online communities , 2010
New media and politics of online communities edited by Aris Mousoutzanis and Daniel Riha, Inter-... more New media and politics of online communities edited by Aris Mousoutzanis and Daniel Riha, Inter-Disciplinary Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-84888-032-0
Books by Abhay Chawla
Springer, 2024
Workplace practices for journalists involve the collection or generation, processing, storing and... more Workplace practices for journalists involve the collection or generation, processing, storing and sharing of data during the lifecycle of any news story. Today’s digital workplaces generate reams of data which are normally stored in a digital format on various platforms and devices by a journalist and media organisations. This digital data can be scraped programmatically from websites, apps, intranet, messaging applications and social media accounts by motivated individuals, organisations or state/non-state actors and agencies. New media has given tremendous power to third-party data brokers to collect myriad personal and non-personal data without the concept of ‘owner consent’ and this data available to threat actors can not only create a 360-degree profile of a journalist but can also put the journalist of today in grave bodily harm and/or financial and reputational loss. As digital engagement in workplaces increases and as convergence of personal and professional speeds up, it is important for a journalist in a digital data field world to understand how the new media technology works and how to engage with it responsibly. This chapter discusses the various facets of the new media world and the generation, collection, processing and sharing of digital data along with the various threats and threat actors a journalist may face during the course of his or her work. The chapter also discusses some best digital security practices and how to avoid the obvious pitfalls during the process of constructing a story.
Google Books, 2023
While most of the earlier scholarship of the Meo community has focused on the community’s troubl... more While most of the earlier scholarship of the Meo community has focused on the community’s troubled histories, their backwardness and unusual social and religious configuration; this research—conducted over a span of five years—shines a light upon modern Meos in the twenty-first century, and their embracing of mobile technology to leapfrog into the future.
With special attention given to Meo youth and women, this work engages with the lived-experience of these actors delving into their aspirations, challenges and self-devised solutions as they negotiate the structures of tradition and patriarchy.
The Meo community—saddled with high levels of illiteracy and marginalization— inhabits the Mewat area of North-West India nestled between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Their spoken language is Mewati and there are multiple conjectures put forth about their origin and continual migrations throughout history before finally settling in Mewat. Practitioners of Islam, the Meos, at the same time, observe Hindu social practices such as division into Pals and Gotras with clearly laid-down exogamous rules. Historically this has rendered the Meos as an enigma to outsiders, and as a problem for the reigning political state, from the Delhi Sultanate to the British colonizers, contributing to their marginalized status. As an oral society, the traditional Meo medium was that of the mirasi—folklore tellers and bards—who would sing about Meo valor in the face of state authority.
So deeply entrenched in tradition and alterity, how do Meos then tread and engage with modern techno-centric new media? The answer to such an inquiry is not simple or straightforward. While over 90% of Meos owned a mobile phone as of 2016, different audience segments provide different narratives, and leverage the technology in different ways. College students use their mobile phones to access different social media platforms and opportunities for employment and higher education; truck drivers on the other hand use their mobiles to remain in touch with their families when out on long distance driving assignments. Meanwhile married women and young girls while not allowed to own a phone, nonetheless find ways of gaining access to the technology. With the use of new media, Bollywood consumption is on the rise, and one sees changes in sartorial choices, ideas on grooming and marriage and social life in general. So much so, the traditional profession of the mirasi has now become defunct.
Present-dayMeo society is experiencing a change at multiple levels which is a complex negotiation between traditional and modern. And in this twenty first-century story—empowered by technology— rather than being a ‘victim’ the Meo emerges as a ‘hero’.
Pearson India, 2021
this book gives insight to basic concepts of mass Communication while covering the many dimension... more this book gives insight to basic concepts of mass Communication while covering the many dimensions of mass Communication that operate in our society using examples drawn from everyday life. The text presents how the concepts of ‘mass Communication’ and ‘mass media’ came to be coined and gained currency in the form we know them today. It has been written taking into consideration the various syllabi of leading Indian universities offering mass Communication at the undergraduate level.
Pearson Education; First edition, 2021
First of its kind handbook for students of journalism and Mass Communication, creatively introduc... more First of its kind handbook for students of journalism and Mass Communication, creatively introducing the principles of new media and related contemporary issues in the ever-changing Indian and global media landscape.
Uploads
Papers by Abhay Chawla
As we learnt about the basics of mobile journalism in previous units, this Unit will focus on the tools and techniques required for practicing mojo.
This technology is enabling people to connect with others with a mere click of the mouse bringing in a new paradigm to the concept of networking and relationship formation.
This paper seeks to study the status of e-social networking in India based on the study of the social networks Eatlo and Lets Walk Gurgaon, both open, gender neutral networks with one devoted to food and other devoted to walking. Eatlo in addition spans multiple cities and cultures.
The paper will look at finding out causal relationships between individuals and e-social networks by a process of webnography and interviews and discuss implications of this point and click relationships by individuals.
It will explore how these virtual relationships translate into the physical world.
This Newsletter is 27th edition of ‘Roots and Routes’ which has been carrying a variety of things pertaining to global Diasporas. It has im-proved its contents and forms ever since its inception. We are so grate-ful to people who has been associated and provided sustained assis-tance so far. We look forward to your committed and sustained sup-port for making qualitative and quantitative changes to match with global standards. We welcome your fresh and innovative ideas to take it forward. We request you to factor in your contribution wherever you live in the globe. By doing so, let us keep the discourse on Diaspora be alive.
This edition has a long interview with Prof.Gijsbert Oonk by Dr. Sadananda Sahoo. The interview illustrates Prof.Oonk’s perceptions and perspectives about South Asian business Diaspora in East-Africa. I would like to recall and recollect here Prof. Gijsbert Oonk who had an interaction with GRFDT members in the recent past while his visit to Delhi. He spoke in length about his research work on South Asian business community on the occasion.
The book review section of this edition has an excellent review by
Abhay Chawla who has been regularly contributing to the Newsletter ‘Roots and Routes’. It is a great pleasure to know many of GRTFDT members who are participating and contributing research papers in various seminars, conferences and workshops in the various parts of globe. This edition carries a brief note about their participation. ‘A note from Malaysia’ chronicles about the recently held workshop about Malaysian Indian community. The most popular page of the news letter ‘global update’ provides various happenings in the domain of Diaspora.
Much more things to follow in the next issue, until then good bye
Have a Happy Reading!!!!
Mahalingam M
Issue Editor
Book Reviews by Abhay Chawla
Books by Abhay Chawla
With special attention given to Meo youth and women, this work engages with the lived-experience of these actors delving into their aspirations, challenges and self-devised solutions as they negotiate the structures of tradition and patriarchy.
The Meo community—saddled with high levels of illiteracy and marginalization— inhabits the Mewat area of North-West India nestled between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Their spoken language is Mewati and there are multiple conjectures put forth about their origin and continual migrations throughout history before finally settling in Mewat. Practitioners of Islam, the Meos, at the same time, observe Hindu social practices such as division into Pals and Gotras with clearly laid-down exogamous rules. Historically this has rendered the Meos as an enigma to outsiders, and as a problem for the reigning political state, from the Delhi Sultanate to the British colonizers, contributing to their marginalized status. As an oral society, the traditional Meo medium was that of the mirasi—folklore tellers and bards—who would sing about Meo valor in the face of state authority.
So deeply entrenched in tradition and alterity, how do Meos then tread and engage with modern techno-centric new media? The answer to such an inquiry is not simple or straightforward. While over 90% of Meos owned a mobile phone as of 2016, different audience segments provide different narratives, and leverage the technology in different ways. College students use their mobile phones to access different social media platforms and opportunities for employment and higher education; truck drivers on the other hand use their mobiles to remain in touch with their families when out on long distance driving assignments. Meanwhile married women and young girls while not allowed to own a phone, nonetheless find ways of gaining access to the technology. With the use of new media, Bollywood consumption is on the rise, and one sees changes in sartorial choices, ideas on grooming and marriage and social life in general. So much so, the traditional profession of the mirasi has now become defunct.
Present-dayMeo society is experiencing a change at multiple levels which is a complex negotiation between traditional and modern. And in this twenty first-century story—empowered by technology— rather than being a ‘victim’ the Meo emerges as a ‘hero’.
As we learnt about the basics of mobile journalism in previous units, this Unit will focus on the tools and techniques required for practicing mojo.
This technology is enabling people to connect with others with a mere click of the mouse bringing in a new paradigm to the concept of networking and relationship formation.
This paper seeks to study the status of e-social networking in India based on the study of the social networks Eatlo and Lets Walk Gurgaon, both open, gender neutral networks with one devoted to food and other devoted to walking. Eatlo in addition spans multiple cities and cultures.
The paper will look at finding out causal relationships between individuals and e-social networks by a process of webnography and interviews and discuss implications of this point and click relationships by individuals.
It will explore how these virtual relationships translate into the physical world.
This Newsletter is 27th edition of ‘Roots and Routes’ which has been carrying a variety of things pertaining to global Diasporas. It has im-proved its contents and forms ever since its inception. We are so grate-ful to people who has been associated and provided sustained assis-tance so far. We look forward to your committed and sustained sup-port for making qualitative and quantitative changes to match with global standards. We welcome your fresh and innovative ideas to take it forward. We request you to factor in your contribution wherever you live in the globe. By doing so, let us keep the discourse on Diaspora be alive.
This edition has a long interview with Prof.Gijsbert Oonk by Dr. Sadananda Sahoo. The interview illustrates Prof.Oonk’s perceptions and perspectives about South Asian business Diaspora in East-Africa. I would like to recall and recollect here Prof. Gijsbert Oonk who had an interaction with GRFDT members in the recent past while his visit to Delhi. He spoke in length about his research work on South Asian business community on the occasion.
The book review section of this edition has an excellent review by
Abhay Chawla who has been regularly contributing to the Newsletter ‘Roots and Routes’. It is a great pleasure to know many of GRTFDT members who are participating and contributing research papers in various seminars, conferences and workshops in the various parts of globe. This edition carries a brief note about their participation. ‘A note from Malaysia’ chronicles about the recently held workshop about Malaysian Indian community. The most popular page of the news letter ‘global update’ provides various happenings in the domain of Diaspora.
Much more things to follow in the next issue, until then good bye
Have a Happy Reading!!!!
Mahalingam M
Issue Editor
With special attention given to Meo youth and women, this work engages with the lived-experience of these actors delving into their aspirations, challenges and self-devised solutions as they negotiate the structures of tradition and patriarchy.
The Meo community—saddled with high levels of illiteracy and marginalization— inhabits the Mewat area of North-West India nestled between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Their spoken language is Mewati and there are multiple conjectures put forth about their origin and continual migrations throughout history before finally settling in Mewat. Practitioners of Islam, the Meos, at the same time, observe Hindu social practices such as division into Pals and Gotras with clearly laid-down exogamous rules. Historically this has rendered the Meos as an enigma to outsiders, and as a problem for the reigning political state, from the Delhi Sultanate to the British colonizers, contributing to their marginalized status. As an oral society, the traditional Meo medium was that of the mirasi—folklore tellers and bards—who would sing about Meo valor in the face of state authority.
So deeply entrenched in tradition and alterity, how do Meos then tread and engage with modern techno-centric new media? The answer to such an inquiry is not simple or straightforward. While over 90% of Meos owned a mobile phone as of 2016, different audience segments provide different narratives, and leverage the technology in different ways. College students use their mobile phones to access different social media platforms and opportunities for employment and higher education; truck drivers on the other hand use their mobiles to remain in touch with their families when out on long distance driving assignments. Meanwhile married women and young girls while not allowed to own a phone, nonetheless find ways of gaining access to the technology. With the use of new media, Bollywood consumption is on the rise, and one sees changes in sartorial choices, ideas on grooming and marriage and social life in general. So much so, the traditional profession of the mirasi has now become defunct.
Present-dayMeo society is experiencing a change at multiple levels which is a complex negotiation between traditional and modern. And in this twenty first-century story—empowered by technology— rather than being a ‘victim’ the Meo emerges as a ‘hero’.
This Unit will explore how online communication evolved and the various tools and platforms used in online collaborations.
We will then examine social media’s role in online communications and collaborations. With benefits come challenges, and we shall explore the benefits and challenges of online communication and collaboration
along with the ethics of online communication.
We will end the Unit with a few case studies demonstrating online communication and collaboration.
Today, in this information and information processing revolution, one simply breaks down information into its tiniest bits. As communication relies on information exchange, the theory is a mathematical approach to studying the exchange of this information’s coding, quantification, storage, and communication.
For the students, explaining the theory in this Unit is done without using mathematical formulas or engineering explanations.
Much work has been done on the theory, and essential additions have been made since it was formulated, such as its extension into the quantum domain and exploration of the information-theoretic aspects of quantum mechanics.
The theory today has implications for practically every field of science, from engineering to biology to medicine and even the social sciences.