International
Dr. Poornima Madhavan (USA) is Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Old Dominion University (ODU) where she also holds affiliated faculty positions in the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Centre (VMASC), the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative (CCSLRI), the Homeland Security Research Group and Vision Lab. Currently, she is also the Director of the Undergraduate Research Program within the Honors College at ODU. She received her PhD in Human Factors (Engineering Psychology) from the Aviation Human Factors Division at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. She was a Post Doctoral Fellow at Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. She has several publications in the form of books, book chapters and research articles. She has been awarded for her achievements by American Psychological Association, US Dept. of Home land Security, South Eastern Psychological Association and others.
Dr. Anita Kapoor (USA) is the Chief Editor of ‘Yadein’, a well known Hindi newspaper published in USA. Her double post graduate studies include Hindi as well as English literatures. Her PhD thesis was based on English Literature. Her Diploma studies include courses on Journalism and Music (Sitar). She has various publications to her credit. She has been awarded with many covetous prizes including ‘International Journalism Award (2012) International Community Puraskar and others.
Prof. Justin Paul (USA) is currently a faculty member in University of Washington, Foster School of Business. He has authored several books including Business Environment, International Marketing, Exim Management and others published by Oxford University Press. His case studies and articles have been published by Harvard Business School, Ivey Business School and by leading news papers of USA.
Penn Kemp (Canada) is a poet, novelist, play Wright and sound poet. She became London’s (Ontario) first poet laureate. Some of her poetic works include Vocal Braiding. Sarasvati Scapes and others in English and Quand cesse le temps in French.
Prof. Alice Clark (USA) is Instructor, The Culture of India – Roots of Tradition and Change – UCB- Extension Online, University of California. Her areas of teaching expertise include the culture of India, international human rights, world history-ancient and modern, modern South Asian history, women and development and cross cultural communication. She has several publications to her credit and is professionally connected to Association for Asian Studies and Population Association of America.
Dr. Jaya Earnest (Australia) is Associate Professor or International Health and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University in Western Australia. A Social Scientist, Medical Sociologist and Educator, Jaya holds a MA from SNDT Women’s University, India, an Advanced Certificate in Education from the University of Bath, UK and a PhD from Curtin University in Western Australia. She has worked as a multi-disciplinary educator and researcher for 26 years in India, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, East Timor and Australia. In 2010, she was awarded a National Award for University Teaching by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. In 2013, she awarded a Fellowship of the Public Health Association of Australia. Dr. Earnest is on the National Board of the Public Health Association of Australia, and is also a Board Member of ISHAR–a multicultural women’s health organization in Western Australia. Her central research interests focus on health inequalities, the social determinants of health, post-conflict adversity on women and youth; refugee and migrant populations, HIV and participatory research.
Prof. Hanna Westberg, (Sweden) Associate Professor, has been, since1980, specializing in research on gender and gender mainstreaming in working life. She now works as a Consultant in the Innovation System Triple Steelix in cooperation with research at Lulea Technical University, in the Division of Gender, Technology and Organization; she is also affiliated to the Department of Work Science, University of Gothenburg to work in a project Gender, Health promotion in Working Life, which is Partner Driven Cooperation, Sweden-India. Her Leadership and recent publications include articles on Gender and Sustainable Growth. Gender Segregation and Equal Opportunity Work in Organizations and Gender Segregation and Learning in Working Life.
Dr. Saoko Funada is a lecturer of English at Beppu University, Japan. She earned a Ph.D .in English language and literature from Hiroshima University in 2012. Her main focus is on the study of Charles Dickens’s figurative expressions such as metaphor, metonymy and simile, by which the author mainly describes various people or substances vividly and humorously. She has investigated the linguistic mechanisms of these tropes from semantic and cognitive perspectives in order to highlight the correlation between the two references (i.e. the topic and the vehicle) included in his expressions.
Indian
Prof. Sitanshu Yashaschandra A Fulbright Scholar and a Ford West European Fellowship recipient, Yashaschandra has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from USA and another Ph.D. in Indian poetics from Mumbai. He worked as Vice Chancellor (Saurashtra University), UG Emeritus Professor and National Lecturer, as well as Chief Editor of the Encyclopedia of Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi). He has taught, as Professor and Chair of Gujarati, at the M.S. University of Baroda, from 1972, and has been a visiting Professor at the Sorbonne University (Paris), University of Pennsylvania, the Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), and Jadavpur University(Kolkata). His creative and critical theory work is mainly in Gujarati but has been widely translated into English and Hindi and many other languages. He has translated several works of poetry, drama and criticism from English to Gujarati. Tokhaar, his adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s Equus was hailedasa landmark play in modern Gujarati theatre. His poetry an theologies include Odysseusnu-n Halesu-n (1975), Jatayu (1986), Mohen-jo-dado (Audio-book in 1990) and Vakhaar (2008).A few of his plays are Kem Makanji kyan chalya ( 1999), A Manas Madrasi Laage Chhe(1999), Khagras (1999), Ashvatthama aje pan jive chhe ane hanay chhe (2001), Nakkamo Manas Chhe Narasimha Maheta (2008) and Akhaani Olakhaano (2009).
Dr. Usha Thakkar is President, Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. She retired as Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She has done post doctoral research at the University of Chicago on Ful bright Fellowship and at Cornell University on Sr. Fulbright Fellowship and at York University (Canada) on WID Fellowship from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. She was also Visiting Fellow at Sheffield City Polytechnic, UK. She has been Vice-President, Asiatic Society of Mumbai, and also of Banasthali Vidyapith (Deemed University of Women), Rajasthan. Her research areas are Gandhian Studies, Women’s Studies, and Indian Politics. She has presented papers at many national and international conferences and has contributed in many prestigious journals. Her publications include Understanding Gandhi (co-edited), Women in Indian Society (co-author), Zero Point Bombay: In and Around Horniman Circle (co-editor),Culture and making of Identity in Contemporary India (co-editor), Politics in Maharashtra(co-editor), Kautilya’s Arthashastra (co-author) and Women’s Studies Series (in Gujarati, co-editor). She is connected with many educational institutions.
Dr. Manjusha Molwane is the Joint Director of Higher Education, Mumbai. She has a rich experience of teaching and administration for more than nineteen years. She is associated with MPSC examinations and has been there source person for many courses recognized by UGC and at national and international conferences. She has authored 3 books in Marathi and 1 in English and written many articles in international / national publications. She has drafted Government Resolution as a Committee Member and assisted in writing project Implementation Plan(PIP) of World Bank Project with the help of UNICEF. Four projects on nutrition have been taken up by her with the help of K.E.M. Hospital, Taj Hotel Group, Hellen Keller International, Sprinkles and Dept. of Women & Child Development, Govt. of Maharasthtra. The office of the Joint Director, Higher Education, Mumbai, acquired ISO9001-2008certification under her auspices.
Dr. Rupalee Burke is Associate Professor and Head of the English Department at Shree Sahajanand Vanijya Mahavidyalaya, Ahmedabad, since 1991. She is a research guide at the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. She has many published research articles to her credit. She has been contributing to several journals (print and online), magazines, anthologies and organisations as writer, critic, editor, translator and transliterator. She writes and translates in English, Gujarati and Hindi. Numerous of her English translations of the literature of Gujarat have been published over the last 15 years. Among her latest publications in the field of translation are English translations of poems in Gujarati as well as languages of Gujarat such as Chaudhari Bhili,Rathwi,Vasavi,Dehwali published in Indian Literature, YapanChitra and Hindi translations of poems in Mishing language of AssaminVahi. She is on the Editorial Board of Adilok, a Gujarati journal of Adivasi life-ways and on the Advisory Board of Shabdasar, a Gujarati journal of literatureandart.
Prof. S. John Michael Raj, is retired professor of Psychology from the Deaprtment of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. He guides doctoral students in the field of Motivational Dynamics, Personality Orientation, Well-Being, Cyber Psychology, Counseling Psychology and the Psychology of Marriage. He has served as Sectional President, Anthropological and Behavioral Sciences of the Indian Science Congress Association. He has also offered his expertise in the area of Pre-Marital Discourse at the Diocese of Coimbatore.
Prof. Kaushalnath Upadhyay is Professor, Dept.of Hindi, Jayanarayan Vyas University, Jodhpur and Editor of “SrujanBharti” aquarterly magazine. He has been awarded with Sahastrabdi Hindi Samman, Sahitya Srujan Shiromani Samman and others. His areas of publications include poetry, criticism a nd research articles in Hindi.
Prof. Prasad Brahmbhatt is Professor and Director, Academic Staff College, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. He is the recipient of many awards and prizes. He received First Prize for Biography ‘Sardar Prasang Parag’ (2000) from Guj. Sahitya Akademi. He has 99 books of publications in his repertoire and more than 250 articles in leading journals and magazines. 8 Ph.D students and 38 M. Phil students have completed their research studies under his able guidance.
Dr. Chandrika Raval is Professor, Post Graduate Department of Sociology, Gujarat University. Her areas of specialisation are Women’s Studies, Industrial Sociology and Education. She has edited three books and authored more than 10 books in her areas of expertise.