South Asian Context Research Articles

A temporal gaze on work-life balance in academia: Time, gender, and transitional episodes in Bangladeshi women faculty narratives.

This article seeks to decentre the Global North knowledge production about ‘work–life balance’ (WLB) in academia by applying a temporal gaze to illuminate WLB possibilities in Bangladeshi academia where institutional WLB policies are absent. Drawing on Adam’s (2008) timescapes and Flaherty’s (2002) time work concepts, we focus on Bangladeshi women faculty’s experiences as an example of how a temporal gaze can help illuminate the interrelationships between time, gender, and life transitions underlying women faculty accounts of WLB in a Global South context. Drawing on the narratives of three Bangladeshi women faculty in different career stages and family statuses, we probe how women faculty manipulate, control, or customize their temporal experience (i.e. temporal agency) in response to local gendered norms and life transitional episodes (e.g. separation, academic mobility, illness, and/or retirement). We demonstrate how WLB is not a static outcome, but a work-in-progress, and that a temporal lens helps illuminate multiple time work strategies that emerge during life transitional episodes. We argue that a temporal lens troubles the outcome (quantitative, clock-oriented) and spatial orientation of WLB practices, as our participants constantly blurred work/home boundaries refracted across social positionality, gendered norms, and relationships. By examining the temporal dimensions underlying WLB, we contribute a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships between academic/personal life, various roles, and temporality in a South Asian context.

Blessing of the moon: cultural beliefs, birth timing and child health in Nepal

In many South Asian contexts, specific dates are auspicious and inauspicious for health-related behaviours and outcomes. This study analysed the effect of lunar date-related auspicious beliefs in Nepal on childbirths and neonatal health outcomes. Using the daily birth records from a tertiary maternity hospital, we empirically examined whether births occurred disproportionally around full moon days. We found an average of 10.7 extra births on and before full moon days, with an average of 7.5 extra Caesarean deliveries on full moon days. We demonstrated that births occurring on or before the full moon day have poor neonatal health outcomes. However, a subsample analysis suggested better health outcomes for low-risk mothers and worse health outcomes for high-risk mothers. These findings suggest that low-risk mothers may move their deliveries to auspicious dates with fewer complications than high-risk mothers. The results emphasise the need for additional research to distinguish health service demand from supply influences on birth timing in Nepal.

Attributes of loyalty card programme membership and their influence on customers’ behavioural and attitudinal loyalty: a case of fashion retailing in the Sri Lankan context

Purpose: Loyalty card programmes are commonly used by fashion retailers with the intention of building customer loyalty and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of company financial performance. The purpose of this paper is to study whether customer loyalty depends on the loyalty membership, number of loyalty cards and gender. These questions remained unanswered as the past studies showed mixed results and even very few studies have been carried out in Sri Lanka on this topic. 
 Design/methodology/approach: The study critically analyses the influence of loyalty card programs under three aspects; the loyalty program membership, the number of loyalty cards available, and the gender of the cardholders to find out if there is any loyalty difference between male and female customers. 250 fashion retail customers within the Western Province of Sri Lanka were conveniently selected for the sample. All hypotheses were tested using an independent sample t- test. 
 Findings: The findings show that a loyalty difference exists between the customer being a member of a loyalty card programme and a non-member whereas no difference is shown in terms of the number of cards a customer holds and the customer’s gender. 
 Originality: The study fills the existing gaps of knowledge and arrives at a proper conclusion on the influence of loyalty card programme membership on both behavioural and attitudinal loyalty in fashion retailing in the South Asian context whereas the majority of the studies have focused on grocery retailing (Liu, 2007and influence on behavioural loyalty aspect only (Ha, 2007).
 Implications: The loyalty programmes can be identified as a means of building customer loyalty. It brings other benefits for retailers such as providing opportunities for personalization and aiding in decision-making encouraging to invest on such programmes. While the present study fills the gap of knowledge regarding the attributes of loyalty programs and gender to some extent it still offers a lot of potential for future research.

KHALED HOSSEINI’S A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS: INTERSECTIONS OF HISTORY, MEMORY AND CULTURE

Memory studies as an interdisciplinary approach uses memory as a tool for remembering the traumatic experiences. Khaled Hosseini’s text A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) narrates the events of the past by combining history, culture and politics in the South Asian context and it also explains about the gender and religion in particular the lives of women under Islamic regime. The novel is set in the historical era of Afghanistan during soviet invasion and until the Taliban occupation. The theme revolves around the struggles and challenges of the people at times of war and invasion. Through the protagonists’ Mariam and Lalia’s struggle against the patriarchal clutches, Khaled Hosseini symbolizes Afghan people’s desire for independence. Mariam and Lalia undergo cultural trauma, the former traumatizes due to the internal displacement and by the vigorous imposition of religious practices, and the latter suffers from trauma through the forceful external migration and also by the memories of homeland. Khaled Hosseini as a diaspora writer describes the ancient history and cultural practices of Afghanistan. This shows his individual and cultural memory towards his native land. The research argument takes into account the intersection of trauma and memory in the interpretation of the literary text as it represents the interrelated and complimentary fields of study since 1990s. Trauma is considered as the act of remembering, thus this paper tends to highlight the traumatic histories embedded in the culture of oppression.

Investigating the Influence of Flexible Work Arrangements on Work-Life Balance in South Asian Gig Workers: Does Ryff's Six-Factor model of Psychological Well-being Moderates?

Remote work endows with flexibility, and this flexibility makes or breaks work-life balance. This research establishes the association of flexible work arrangements with the work-life balance of gig workers. Besides, the moderation of Ryff's six-factor psychological well-being model is also investigated. The quantitative research method was used to collect data via an adapted questionnaire. The target population was the freelancers of selected five Facebook groups. SPSS-21 was used for descriptive and inferential statistics. For moderation, Peacher's and Hayes' process macro was performed. Data were collected from 384 respondents. After pilot testing, We performed data screening and data normality. Later, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and correlation) and inferential statistics (hypotheses testing through regression) were performed. Flexible work arrangements have a direct and significant influence on work-life balance. The moderating role of Ryff's six-factor model of psychological well-being is not established. This research endows valuable recommendations to the gig economy and other home-shored businesses/organizations to provide flexible work arrangements during the COVID pandemic, so that they could balance their work and life responsibilities. The policy implications are provided in detail in the respective section. This study is unique as the gig sector is less explored in the South Asian context.

Comparative Analysis of Suicide, Economic Growth and Unemployment Rates: South Asian Context

Comparative Analysis of Suicide, Economic Growth and Unemployment Rates: South Asian Context

Review: Art Cinema and India’s Forgotten Futures: Film and History in the Postcolony, by Rochona Majumdar

Review: <i>Art Cinema and India’s Forgotten Futures: Film and History in the Postcolony</i>, by Rochona Majumdar

Populism, Protest and the Social Norms

We live in an era in which women are more prominent. We can see what women want. We can see them evolving and establishing a viewpoint for themselves and the world. Although, more significantly, we can see them fighting for justice, and equality and knocking down the barriers of the past, indeed breaking the social norms. In any case, these barriers are significantly more challenging to overcome for women who come from marginalised societies or from a segment of society that is already struggling to achieve equality; being brought into the world locally confronting segregation from society and a patriarchal mindset is still a topic for debate. The struggle to raise their voice and seek justice is another part of their struggle. This paper adds to the current research by focusing on the South Asian context. As this article will expound on the concept of populist culture, a large segment of the population supports the dissatisfaction of the targeted group, making the issue more widespread in scope. In addition to addressing populist culture, this article examines populist occurrences amongst the marginalised women that arose in the previous decades.

Elder suicides: A reminder from the forgotten generation …….

Elder suicide is a significant public health issue in many countries. This reflects the complex underlying psychosocial, mental and physical health issues that older adults face. Increased life expectancy in developing countries has resulted in a gradual transition to an ageing population. Furthermore, in countries such as Sri Lanka, the transition occurs at a lower per capita income than in developed countries. This will negatively impact the availability of resources and service delivery to at-risk individuals. Thus, addressing elder suicide and concerns of elders are timely issues. This paper looks at the underlying risk factors associated with elder suicide and strategies that can be implemented in preventing elder suicide in the South Asian context, with reference to Sri Lanka.

Intensity of adoption and welfare impacts of drought-tolerant rice varieties cultivation in Bangladesh

Rice production in Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate-related risk such as drought, which contributes to food insecurity. Adoption of drought-tolerant rice varieties can play an important role in increasing productivity, food grain supply, and income. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have measured the welfare impacts of drought-tolerant rice varieties in the South Asian and Bangladeshi context. Therefore, this study identifies the factors that influence the intensity of adoption and welfare impacts of drought-tolerant rice varieties in Bangladesh. To accomplish these objectives, 300 rice growers from three drought-prone districts of Bangladesh were surveyed. To analyze the impacts, the entire sample was divided into three groups depending on their share of land under drought-tolerant rice variety cultivation: full adopters, partial adopters, and non-adopters. The descriptive statistics, two-limit Tobit model and multivalued treatment effect models were used to analyze the data. According to the findings, training as well as technology-related factors play a major role in boosting the intensity of adoption. Full adopters of drought-tolerant varieties receive 1222–1473 kg higher yield per hectare compared to non-adopters. Based on several treatment effect models, the impact on income ranges from 3.46% to 4.22%. When compared to non-adopters, full adopters can consume 1.02–1.29 months more rice from their own production in a year. Shows about climate change and other relevant topics should be broadcast on the television on a regular basis to raise awareness. Modifying the extension method with modern communication technologies will aid in widespread adoption of new technologies. Drought-tolerant rice varieties can help to mitigate the harmful effects of drought and alleviate poverty in drought-prone areas.

Calibrating the “Feminine” and the “Speculative” in Selective Short Stories of Vandana Singh

ABSTRACT Anchoring on the core notions spiraled out of a close reading of Hélène Cixous’s “The Laugh of the Medusa” (1975), this article intends to interpret four short stories of Vandana Singh from the anthology The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet (2008) by using écriture feminine as a tool of analysis. The selected stories belonging to the genre of speculative fiction respectively oscillate around four women characters and leave us with an emerging pattern of searching for a lost “self.” The ingenious story telling with elements of the imaginary addresses subtle yet complicated gender issues. Apropos to this, compartmentalized into three primary sections this work develops an argument toward recognizing an unconventional and original literary tradition in the making that might partially realize the intricate nuances of woman’s writing within a South-Asian (Indian) context.

People are Without Face: Physiognomies of Hegemonic Powers and Issues of Transformation in Henning Mankell’s Selected Literary Fiction

This research explores the representation of the subaltern characters in Henning Mankell's The Shadow Girls. Mankell foregrounds the peripheral characters whose voice has been silenced due to the lack of agency. The main characters like Tea-Bag, Tania, and Leila are submissive and inferior who live a life of absurdity. They are wretched and stifled because of the suppressive hegemonic power, poor economic background, and their inferior rank in terms of class, gender, inability, refugee status, and lack of agency. By bringing subaltern characters into the forefront, the novel shows that subalternity is not only limited to the South Asian context but could bring all the marginal voices of the world. On the surface, Mankell pretends to provide a platform for the minority group but the true voices of the subaltern characters remain unheard. This research is qualitative in nature. Theories presented by Antonio Gramsci, David Ludden, Sarah Crompton, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak help to find the answers to the research questions for this research. As the concern of the revolution from lower people, this novel does not provide the platform openly but desires to transform Leila as an actress, Tea-Bag neglects authoritarian power and some other characters somehow try to evoke the revolution from the lower in the novel.

Leveraging Green Human Resource Management Practices towards Environmental Performance: An Empirical Evidence from the Manufacturing Context in Emerging Economy

This study investigates the role of green human resource management (GHRM) practices on environmental performance (EP) of manufacturing organizations in Bangladesh. The study utilized a questionnaire survey among 328 manufacturing organizations selected conveniently from a population of 5608 firms located in Dhaka and Chattogram. PLS-SEM (partial least squares) was employed to assess the proposed research model. Out of six, three hypotheses were supported. Particularly, green job analysis and job description, green training and development, and green reward and compensation practices significantly influence environmental performance of manufacturing organizations. This study provides valuable insights for organizations on the GHRM-EP link in a unique South-Asian context with high level of environmental degradation. This research also contributes to fill the research gap as few studies have investigated the under-researched area. The findings are of important to scholars, decision makers, and practitioners. Further, the study explains the limitations and directions for future studies.

Spousal concordance in joint and separate households: Survey evidence from Nepal

• We assess how spousal concordance on asset ownership and decision making varies across joint and separate households in Nepal. • Wives are more likely than husbands to report wives’ and others' asset ownership and decision making. • The modal response in joint households is concordance that others own assets and make decisions. • Wives’ asset ownership and decision making are correlated with their well-being, regardless of concordance between spouses. • In joint households, concordance that others own assets and make decisions is correlated with worse outcomes for wives. In household surveys, husbands and wives who are asked the same set of survey questions often provide different responses. The levels of concordance in responses to questions about who owns assets and makes decisions in a household may hold valuable information about household dynamics and women’s well-being. These relationships may be especially indicative in the South Asian context where couples often reside in joint households with the husbands’ parents, resulting in different power structures. Using data from Nepal, we study patterns of concordance between spouses on survey questions regarding household asset ownership and decision making. We analyze these patterns separately for couples that reside with the husband’s parents and those that do not. We consider concordance regarding both the asset ownership and decision making of wives and individuals other than the respondent couple. We find that discordance regarding wives’ asset ownership and decision making is both substantial and systematic. Wives are much more likely than husbands to report their own participation in asset ownership and decision making, in both joint and separate households. Regarding the involvement of others, the modal response in joint households is concordance that others own assets and make decisions; however, wives are more likely than husbands to acknowledge this. Spousal concordance that wives own assets or make decisions, and discordance in which wives report that they own assets or make decisions, are both correlated with some improved measures of wives’ well-being. In households with in-laws present, concordance that others are involved is correlated with worse outcomes for wives. These results highlight that spousal concordance is not necessarily indicative of wives’ well-being, especially in joint households.

The buffering role of servant leadership on the relationship between organizational politics and employee task performance and citizenship behaviors

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine whether servant leadership (SL) buffers the negative relationship between perceived organizational politics (POP) and employee performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged multi source data were collected from 236 supervisor-subordinate dyads in a public sector university in Pakistan. SL, POP and several control variables were measured in subordinates at time 1, and supervisor ratings of organization citizenship behaviors and task performance were measured at time 2. The authors performed moderated multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses underpinning the study.FindingsFindings revealed that POP was negatively related to employee task performance and two types of organization citizenship behavior (individual and organizational). Findings also revealed that SL attenuated the negative effect of POP on employee task performance and the two types of organization citizenship behavior.Practical implications SL is particularly important in organizational cultures characterized by high politics; therefore, managers seeking to enhance task performance and citizenship behavior in employees should adopt this style of leadership if possible.Originality/value This is the first study conducted in the South Asian context that has examined whether, and how, SL buffers the negative effects of POP on employee task performance and organization citizenship behavior.

An Exploratory Study on Subjective Perceptions of Happiness From India.

The present study aimed at understanding the subjective perception of happiness in a sample of Indian participants from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Using convenience sampling, individual interviews were conducted with 60 participants aged between 19 to 73 years (M Age = 40 years). This study employed reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the written transcripts. Nine themes were generated which captured the essence of happiness for Indians—Feelings and Expressions of Happiness; Human Ties and Happiness which encompassed four sub-themes—family bond, the company one keeps, the pandemic and social disengagement, and the nation, society and happiness; Satisfaction with Material Needs and Resources; Lifestyle and Health; Work and Play; Accomplishment and Appreciation; Nature Connectedness; Religious and Spiritual beliefs; and Happiness as a Personal responsibility—Role of Positive Personality Traits. These findings revealed our respondent's multidimensional conceptualization of happiness, and adds to the growing body of happiness literature from the South Asian context.

Understanding the payment for ecosystem services and associated challenges: Global practices and recommendation for Nepal

The payment of ecosystem services (PES) helps to preserve the natural environment and enhance the livelihood of the local people. There is always the fear of the long-term availability of the ecosystem services provided to the locals. There is an uneven distribution of the benefits received by the countries for protecting the natural environment. This study was based on the secondary literature review to explore the global benefits and challenges associated with the payment for ecosystem services, focusing more on the South Asian context. The outcomes were analyzed along with the benefits and challenges received for preserving the ecosystem by Nepal. PES programs have upgraded the livelihoods of local people, decreased energy demand, increased forest coverage, and helped decrease greenhouse emissions. PES has contributed to livelihood sustainability and economic development through forest management programs. There is more potential for Nepal to provide additional services to tourists and to generate additional resources against ecosystem services. There is an urgent need for collaboration among central, provincial, and local governments in Nepal to implement PES more effectively.

READING THE FOURTH GOSPEL IN THE SOUTH ASIAN CONTEXT

This article introduces some of the themes and structural dynamics of the Fourth Gospel in closer integration with the religio-cultural aspects of the South Asian context. As John’s Gospel has the potential to appeal to and accommodate the spirituality of South Asia, a re-reading of the Gospel is possible through the means of a crosspollination of ideas. The four major parts of the Gospel, i.e., the Prologue, the Book of Signs, the Book of Glory, and the Epilogue, demonstrate several cultural and ideological parallels with that of the South Asian realities. A reading that encourages religio-cultural sensitivity can be a required formative factor in the process of interpreting the Fourth Gospel. Some of the key aspects of the Gospel such as the theme of discipleship, the sign language, the “I AM” Sayings, the characters and the characterization, mystical expressions, and dualistic tendencies can be dynamically interlocked within the South Asian ideological and cultural aspects. The universalistic language of the Gospel can have a special appeal to the common realities of the South Asian people.

The Colonial Archaeology of Taxila: A historiographical analysis

Like other major archaeological sites of South Asia, Taxila has now been one and a half century old. Various scholars since the mid-nineteenth century have worked in the area. Amongst them, Sir Alexander Cunningham and Sir John Marshall, both of whom served as Director Generals of the Archaeological Survey of India, stand conspicuous. This paper deals with their work and ideas, with a focus on Taxila, about history and archaeology in South Asian context along with assessing colonial thought in their works. The approach here is historiographical with a focus on socio-cultural and ethnic re/constructions by both these pioneering archaeologists. As we know that writers and researchers cannot be separated from the thought of the age they are living in, the intellectual contexts of the work of Cunningham and Marshall has also been elaborated.

Editorial

No abstract available