SAMBANDH 2015: Event List

Time/Events	9.30 am	10-11 am	11am-12noon	12 noon -1 pm	1-2pm	2-3.45pm	3.45 pm
Inaugural	Campus View
Lit Events		Crisis (III EPS)/ Creative Writing (II EPS)	Salesman (III PSEco)	20 Questions (III EPS) / Quiz (M.A.)
Art Events		Caricatures       (III PSEng) / Mehendi (I PSEco)	Pot Painting (I PSEng)/ Collage Making (III PSEng)	Wall Painting (II PSEco)
Stage events						10 Minutes on stage
Cultural		World Play
Valedictory							Campus View

An exercise in Service Learning: Being a Skywalker

In a city like Bangalore where the population is 8.5 million with a large percentage of it being the youth, road safety and precaution should be an issue of primary care and concern.

Over the last ten years, the rapid population growth due to IT and other associated industries has led to an increase in the vehicular population to more than 2 million, with an annual growth rate of over 10%. Further, there has been a significant increase in the number of two wheelers and personal cars in use.

Hosur Road, near Dairy Circle is one area that sees shoppers, office-goers, students and employees, all moving in an incredible rush. Being a densely populated area, the BBMP, estimates these numbers to be around an estimated 16,000 per day. Thus, the traffic on Hosur Road is a constant during most times of the day and crossing it is no cakewalk. Children and adults cross the road in the same manner – jumping the signal, running between buses, narrowly missing autos. 

This issue is found to be the same in the narrower lanes and by-lanes in the area as well – be it S.G. Palya, or Chikkalakshmiah Layout, there is no guarantee if the pedestrian, the driver or both are at fault. One faces the same danger in both cases. For a while, there seemed to be no way around it.  That was however, until the establishment of the foot overbridge in front of Christ University. The skywalk was set up under a public-private partnership (PPP) programme that was initiated by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) in 2014. Today, it even has a lift installed that can hold around 50 people at a time.

The problem that is seen however, is the minimal use that the skywalk is put to. While a large number of people make use of it, there is a larger number that does not. And most often, there appears to be no concrete reason as to why they do not do so.

As a group of socially aware and active individuals, the students of third year Sociology decided to take matters into their own hands.

On July 2^nd, 2015, about a group of fifty students decked in red and/or black, holding posters and stickers, spread themselves out across Hosur Road to ensure that people made use of the skywalk. Beginning from Chikkalakshmiah Layout which houses a large number of college-goers, to Christ University, these students made note-worthy attempts in convincing the public at large to ‘be a skywalker’.

Many people refused to do so, with one even claiming that ‘my time is more important that my life’. A certain employee of Tech Mahindra made a gesture of being late for work and thus ignored the pleas of the campaigners, but took a while before he could get across the road. Going back halfway and using the skywalk got him over quicker, and our point was also made. Similar was the issue with many who were in a hurry to get across, regardless of age. Since the activists took to the roads at the peak time, from 8.30 to 10 AM, the resistance was much stronger than at other times. This highlights the strong work culture that is set in our minds, but no road ethics. It also points to us taking life for granted and value time and money over life itself.

Some however did motion to the campaigners about the good job that they were doing and even stopped to read the posters that they held up. They even posed for photographs and seemed to feel glad when we thanked them for using the overbridge, or said that they did a good job. Their smiles and efforts were little success stories.

While individuals may have been convinced to be a skywalker on a certain Thursday, there is a limited chance they continue to do so. One might consider the skywalk if they realise that the roads are crowded or traffic is abysmal. However, they need to realise that the skywalk is there for a reason – it is there for US to be safe, rather than sorry. Further, it does not take up much of an individual’s time but instead, helps save time. As they say, ‘better late than never’.

Pratyusha Dwivedi
1313280
3^rd PSEng

SAMBANDH Announcement

Connecting with the Alumni: Guest Lecture by Rahul B N

Date: June 29, 2015

Time: 10 am

Venue: C1003

This guest lecture was an opportunity for the Department of Sociology to get its MA Applied Sociology batch to connect with alumni from the first batch of the program. Mr Rahul Gowda came to speak to the I MA Applied Sociology class. He graduated from the first batch of MA Applied Sociology and has gone on to finish his MPhil.

He spoke about his experiences as an MPhil scholar and his upcoming PhD program. He is the recipient of the Manipal- Sutasoma Fellowship from Manipal University and the University of Berge, Norway. His area of work has been culture studies as he has studied religious practices among the people of the Madurai region and he is planning to work on the Gowda community in Karnataka.

His session provided fascinating insights into the role of ritual and kinship in everyday life for the people of Madurai. He also spoke about his extensive research on the areas that reveal the intersections of the Great and Little Traditions within the region. 

Call for entries for SOCIUS

Student Exchange with Tubingen University, Germany

The Department of Sociology has entered into an understanding with Tubingen University which enables two of its students to spend 3 months with the German University during the summer of 2015.
Medha Bhattacharjee and Shirley Rebecca Alice Stanley have been selected for this program for the academic year 2015-16.

Census Data Dissenmination Workshop

The Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, and the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, jointly  organized  a  “Census  Data  Dissemination  Workshop”  with  financial  assistance  from  UNDP,  New  Delhi,  on  December  1,  2014. This one day workshop was inaugurated at 9.30  am  at  the ISEC  Campus.  The  purpose  of  the  workshop  was  to  encourage  young  scholars  and  students  to  present  papers  using Census data.
The students of I and II year MA Applied Sociology attended the Workshop and presented papers on the following themes:
1. Population Dynamics 
2. Adolescents and Youths 
3. Literacy Status 
4. Work Status
This was of credit to the students as only 5 shortlisted  papers in  each  theme  were selected for presentation.  The prizes for the best papers were: First Prize: Rs 50,00, Second Prize: Rs 40,000 and Third Prize: Rs 30,000
Medha Bhattacharjee and Varsha Chandrashekhar, I MA Applied Sociology, bagged the third prize for their paper. (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141202/nation-current-affairs/article/ultrasound-technology-not-solely-responsible-dip-sex-ratio)

Report on the Postgraduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Inclusive Growth 2014-15

The Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Student Conference was organised jointly by the departments of Sociology, Social Work, Economics and Psychology. The coordinating department for the academic year 2014-15 was the Department of Sociology. Abstracts were invited from postgraduate students from these departments in the month of November 2014 and the final papers were submitted in February 2015. A total of 95 papers were shortlisted for presentations on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

The inaugural session started around 9.15 am at Sky View, Central Block.  Prof. Suparna Kar from the Department of Sociology welcomed the gathering. It was followed by the presentation of the concept note by Dr. Tony Sam George, Head, Department of Psychology, who also spoke about the background of the Conference and its format. The inaugural session was presided over by Dr. Anil Joseph Pinto, Registrar, Christ University. He spoke about the greater role of a University in nurturing a research culture which is interdisciplinary in nature.

The Guest of Honour for the day was Dr. Baldev Raj, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore. Dr Baldev Raj is a highly acclaimed erudite scientist who reiterated the need for intellectual honesty and integrity in academia which is rooted in values. He also reinforced the need for interdisciplinarity as well as the significance of being able to put academic research into practise. His speech reflected the importance of being the change that we want to see.

Prof John Joseph Kennedy, Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences offered the felicitation address. He spoke about multidisciplinarity and urged the departments to go beyond current practice of interdisciplinarity by accommodating more departments.

The proceedings of the conference were released by the dignitaries. It was followed by the release of two publications from the department of Sociology, one from Social Work and two from the department of Economics. Prof. Greeshma from the Department of Economics proposed the vote of thanks.

Release of Reflections from the Field, internship experiences of the students of MA Applied Sociology

Release of Socius, the newsletter from the Department of Sociology

After the inaugural session the students were broken into five parallel sessions for their presentations. The broader themes were Organisational Dynamics; Issues Among Emerging Adults; Social Issues and Special Groups; Developmental Issues and; Research in Health Sector; Gender, Sexuality and Marginalisation; Economics and Market; Psychosocial Issues; Consumer-Work dynamics and Interventions and Policy. Each sessions were moderated by a faculty member and the best paper from each session was awarded a prize.

The best paper awards for each session were as follows:

1.      CS 01: Organizational Dynamics - Pradeep Gopal

2.      CS 02: Issues among emerging adults - Shagun Guha

3.      CS 03: Social issues and special groups - Sucheta Mishra

4.      CS 04: Developmental Issues - Anupama Sudesan

5.      CS 05: Research in the Health sector - Shefalika Shah

6.      CS 06: Gender, Sexuality and Marginalization - Disha Mangsuli

7.      CS 07: Economics and Market - Roshni Wani Thapa

8.      CS 08: Psychosocial Issues - Vijayapriya C V

9.      CS 09: Consumer Work Dynamics - Anupama George

10.  CS 10: Interventions and Policy - Astha Dugar

The valedictory session was held at 3 pm and was presided over by Dr. Mallika Krishnaswamy, Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences who offered the concluding remarks and gave away the prizes and certificates to the winners along with Dr Victor Paul, Associate Director, Departments of Sociology and Social Work. It was a truly enriching experience made even more memorable by the sharing of ideas and thoughts across the borders of our disciplines by the budding researchers and scholars.

Report on Interactive Session on Career Guidance and Personality Development

CII – Indian Women Network and Christ University

Interactive Session on Career Guidance and Personality Development

The Confederation of Indian Industries-Indian Women Network (CII-IWN) facilitated an interactive session on Career Guidance and Personality Development for the students of Christ University. This Interactive Session was organized by the Department of Sociology and CII IWN along the lines of a Panel Discussion to ensure that the students benefit from the expertise of the panelists.

MCs for the Day: Rusha Ghosh and Medha Bhattacharjee

Invocation

Lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries

Welcome Address by Suparna Majumdar Kar

The Panel comprised of Mrs Priya Chetty Rajagopal, Executive Director -Leadership and Board Practice, RGF India Bangalore; Ms. Shalini Pillay, Head People, Performance and Culture, KPMG India; Ms. Suman Puri, CEO, Just Travel; Mr S V Venkatesh, Convener, Industry Institute Interaction Panel, CII Mysore & CEO, RiiiT, Mysore and Ms Meena Jain, Psychologist & Professional Career Consultant. Ms Priya Chetty Rajagopal moderated this session which was facilitated by Reshmi Mohandas. Suparna Majumdar Kar offered the welcome address.

Panelists

Address by Dr John Joseph Kennedy, Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences, Christ University

Address by Dr Mallika Krishnaswami, Co Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences, Christ University

 The session focused on some of the areas that the students need to focus on and develop in order to enhance employability. This becomes crucial keeping the demographic scenario in mind within which not all the graduates and postgraduates would find employment. As mentioned by the Deans of Humanities and Social Sciences, Knowledge, Skills and Attitude are crucial in the way we groom ourselves and prepare for our professional lives. This was reinforced by the panelists.

The luminaries from their varied respective fields focused on 5 points each that each student could take home from the session. These speakers covered the corporate sector as well as the social sector. Some of these points were communication skills, deportment, drive, perseverance and skills that need to be developed, such as technological skills, and time skills.

A complete personality that encompasses etiquette, emotional quotient, creative thinking, and effective communication (content to context) becomes important. A blend of smart skills and occupation skills is optimum for the career market. Identifying ones goals and creating a brand for oneself becomes significant as well. In order to succeed, the panelists also reinforced the element of joy and engagement with the work that one choses to do.

The panelists also focused on the difference between jobs and careers and spoke about the risks involved with frequent job shifts which could be interpreted as issues with integrity. Also addressed were social media, cyber law and Laws relating to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the work place (POSH).

This interactive panel discussion will prove invaluable for our students as they get ready to embark upon their careers.

Interactive session on career guidance and personality development