Department of Liberal Arts

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is a premier institute of science and technology established in 2008. IITH has been consistently ranked in the&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/reports/" rel="noopener noreferrer">top 10 institutes</a>&nbsp;in India for Engineering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nirfindia.org/2021/EngineeringRanking.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to NIRF</a>&nbsp;making it one of the most coveted schools for science and technology in the country.

IITH offers&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/academics/under-graduate/">undergraduate programs</a>&nbsp;in all the classical engineering disciplines, applied sciences, design, as well as several modern interdisciplinary areas. Students are given a flexibility to explore a broad set of areas, and potentially pursue a minor or double major in a discipline that is not their own. Students who wish to seek a deeper understanding of their own discipline are strongly encouraged to get involved in cutting-edge research with the help of a faculty to mentor them, and earn an Honors in their own field.

The very foundation of IIT Hyderabad is based on&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/research/">research and innovation</a>. The vibrant research culture is evident from the number of patents and publications that IITH produces consistently every year. IITH offers&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/academics/programmes-offered/">graduate programs</a>&nbsp;at both a masters, and a doctoral level, in several diverse areas. There are separate programs for technology, design, science, and liberal arts. The&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/academics/post-graduate/">MTech program</a>&nbsp;is offered in various modes and durations to cater to the ever-growing need of postgraduate level professionals in the country.

IITH encourages and supports&nbsp;<a href="https://iic-iith.netlify.app/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">innovation and entrepreneurship</a>&nbsp;at every stage. The minor program in entrepreneurship is open to all students of IITH, and many of the courses are offered by industrialists who are entrepreneurs themselves. There are various&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/research/centres-incubators/">innovation centers and incubators</a>&nbsp;that promote entrepreneurship and help mentor young innovators. IITH has been very successful in building tie-ups with leading academic institutions around the globe.

IITH enjoys a very special relationship with Japanese universities and industries that goes beyond academic and research collaborations. In fact, some of the iconic buildings in IITH campus will carry the signature of Japanese architecture.

IITH creates a unique holistic ecosystem for education that offers interactive learning, a very flexible academic structure, cutting-edge research, strong industry collaboration, and entrepreneurship. This is an environment which enables students and faculty to translate their dreams into realities.

IIT Hyderabad

Interactions

Aalok Khandekar

Department of Civil Engineering

Fulltext

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Thinking about infertility from a mixed-methods perspective: the need to look at toxicity in rural India

World University root node

Journal of South Asian Development

State Capacity, Ideology and the Management of COVID-19 in South Asia: India and Sri Lanka in Perspective

Background: Due to the scarcity of organs available for transplantation, several patients lose their lives each year. Increased awareness and positive attitudes alone may be insufficient to increase an individual's willingness to donate (i.e., the basic tenets of the knowledge-attitude-practice/KAP model). Therefore, it is pertinent to examine other psychological determinants that are associated with engaging in the altruistic/prosocial act of organ donation. Objective: To understand the association between empathy and KAP of organ donation in an Indian population. This pilot is the precursor to a larger project which aims to develop and test an empathy intervention to promote organ donation. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, Indians (N = 419; female = 261; mean age = 28.48 years) aged 18 years and above were recruited using convenience sampling through an online survey. Questionnaires included the Awareness, Attitudes, and Practice of Organ Donation (Chakradhar et al., 2016) and Empathy Quotient-8 (Loewen et al., 2010). Multiple regression analyses were carried out to analyze the data. Results: Results showed that empathy was related to: (i) Total KAP (β = 0.123, P = 0.014), and (ii) attitudes (β = 0.195, P < 0.001) towards organ donation. Conclusion: These pilot study findings indicate that public health messages focused on evoking empathy can use the technique of patient/donor narratives, and training clinicians on empathic communication skills can help increase individuals' KAP of organ donation. Further, this pilot elucidated the need to conduct mixed-method studies with a donor and nondonor population and clinicians prior to developing and testing a larger empathy-centered intervention aimed at promoting the KAP of organ donation. © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Indian Journal of Transplantation

The empathy factor: The role of empathy in knowledge, attitude, and practice of organ donation in India - A crossectional, observational study

Purpose: This study aimed to understand Indian cancer patients’ hopes and beliefs about the end of life, particularly focusing on how this informed their preferences regarding end-of-life treatment. In India, individuals’ lives are mainly guided by culturally driven practices of doing right by one’s family and believing death is predetermined. Methods: Indian patients (25) diagnosed with advanced incurable cancer and aware of their prognosis participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their hopes as they approached the end of life. The interview also sought to understand patients’ views and beliefs about do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders and euthanasia. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Two major themes were identified: (i) a desire for living or dying comprising sub-themes of perceptions of current responsibilities, and having a fighting spirit versus feelings of despair, and (ii) God was the ultimate decision-maker of life and death. Furthermore, patients understood that a do-not-resuscitate order meant euthanasia and responded accordingly. Some patients reported hoping for death due to the pain and resultant suffering. However, patients did not talk about euthanasia openly, instead choosing to describe it within a larger framework of life and death. Conclusions: Indian patients reaching the end of life valued their family responsibilities which determined their desire to live or die. However, all patients believed that God decided on their life and death. It is important to consider cultural perspectives on DNR or euthanasia and to address patients’ pain management needs towards the end of life. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Supportive Care in Cancer

Demonstrating the importance of cultural considerations at end of life utilizing the perspective of Indian patients with cancer

New employment demands of a burgeoning Indian software service industry are spawning neo-educational structures, especially in the domain of data sciences through vibrant market mechanisms offering a scalable and industry-focused learning system. Since the 1990s, Indian software firms have developed expertise in carrying out outsourced back-office tasks and mid-level IT services like data entry, managing call centres, and performing software quality testing for foreign companies taking advantage of a technically trained local workforce. The trend of automating manual work practices in the IT industry has generated a different kind of demand for data sciences directed at upskilling and job readiness. India is witnessing a market-oriented groundswell of data science and IT skill tutoring ‘shops’, resituating science and engineering education. In this chapter we report from ethnographic research conducted in two IT skill training parks to underpin arguments about emerging neo-educational learning structures suited to a data science education for new livelihood opportunities in an IT-accredited India. Our chapter makes a case for looking at ‘data studies’ from an ethnographic perspective uncovering a ‘program’ of upward mobility through IT skilling and employment. What directions might data studies about tutoring data science skills in the Indian context lead to? Excerpts presented here from field research imagine new livelihoods, aspirations, and technology skills that are more often than not a reflection of the power of data science education. © 2022, The Author(s).

Transforming Communication

The Power of Data Science Ontogeny: Thick Data Studies on the Indian IT Skill Tutoring Microcosm

Through a survey of literature in the measurement of financial integration (FI), this study explores the historical footprints on the measurement of financial integration, key issues, and challenges. We document the evolution of measurements during 1980–2018 and extend the measurement classification with specific criteria associated with the measurements. Furthermore, this study identifies the strength and weaknesses of existing measurements and highlights the need and criteria for choosing an appropriate measure. Finally, our study concludes that as one of the pillars of globalization, appropriate quantification of FI is a major challenge and crucial for monitoring the level and effect of FI for an economy. © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Emerging Markets Finance and Trade

A Survey of Literature on Measurement of Financial Integration: Need, Challenges, and Classification

Objectives To explore Indian physicians' attitudes and practice toward menopause and its management. To contribute to the larger project aimed at developing communication skills and decision aids for Indian physicians and women. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, purposive sampling, and a qualitative methodology, 10 Indian physicians (female, 6; male, 4; mean age, 51.5 years) who were practicing either endocrinology or gynecology were recruited to participate in a virtual focus group discussion. Questions explored physicians' attitudes toward menopause and their approach toward addressing menopause and related concerns with their patients. The focus group was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results Three main themes emerged: (1) "The only way to get over it is to accept it": Attitudes toward menopause, (2) "More than menopausal hormone therapy, it is empathy that's required": Physiological and psychological symptom management and (3) Matching the empathic intent with skills: A need for training in the management of menopause. Conclusions The study findings underscore the need to introduce Indian physicians to empathic communication skills training, involve, and educate physicians about the international and national clinical guidelines regarding menopausal hormone therapy and alternative therapies, and techniques for distress screening and early referrals. Video Summary http://links.lww.com/MENO/B17. © Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Menopause

Indian physicians' attitudes and practice regarding menopause and its management: a focus group discussion

ANQ - Quarterly Journal of Short Articles Notes and Reviews

“Potatosoap”: Moly in James Joyce’s Ulysses

Background: Research and practice in the area of mental health has been conventionally predominated by the deficit-based approach, which attempts to improve lives by fixing symptoms. However, the growing impact of the positive psychology movement in the last two decades has resulted in incorporation of the strength-based approach into mental health work. Purpose: The objective of this article is to (i) emphasize the efficacy of strength-based approach in the area of mental health (ii) identify shortcomings in the Indian Mental Health System (MHS) (iii) recognize micro-level initiatives in the MHS and (iv) provide recommendations for the future. Method: These objectives are accomplished via reflections obtained from an ethnographic research with participants reporting mental health symptoms. Additionally, opinions gathered from mental health professionals, and government and non-government organizations working in the area were also considered. Results: This work has shed light on the recent micro-level transformations in the system including contextualization of mental illness and treatment, valuing patient’s input in the treatment process, and the creation and effective functioning of mental health task-forces. Conclusion: This paper concludes with a four-point recommendation that can help to incorporate the strength-based approach in MHSs for better outcomes. © 2022 Taylor & Francis.