In Solidarity: The Women in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Novels

Writing the Self in Illness: Reading the Experiential Through the Medical Memoir is MUP?s refreshing venture into the developing fields of Medical and Health Humanities with an aim to consider the necessity of the narrative knowledge as complementary to the contemporary notions of well-being, illness, and healthcare.

Is individual happiness contingent on health and well-being? How does one find happiness in the throes of illness? In the present-day scenario, wherein medical practice is largely dominated by evidence-based understanding, diagnostic language, and problem-solving methods, the discipline of Medical Humanities emerges with a reciprocal dialogue between Humanities, Social Sciences, Health, and Medicine. The study of varied experiential narratives ? literary works and unmediated accounts of patients and healthcare professionals, is foregrounded in Medical Humanities to amplify knowledge and understanding about the complexity of encounters with illness and their transformational quality in a nuanced manner. Both thought-provoking and informative, this publication brings about the anecdotal form of personal narratives in the light of medical discourses along with the specific cultural context of the narrative.
The present publication seeks to be an important reading for students and academics in the field of medical humanities, health professionals or medical practitioners, as well as scholars aspiring to venture into this flourishing field.

Author: Santhosh C, Vasudevan Baskaran Kartha

Biomedical spectroscopy is the output of the intensive discussions of the authors and the medical professionals of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University. The ?Centre for Laser Spectroscopy?, a centre for developing biomedical applications of laser spectroscopic methods, was established at Manipal University in 1997. The scientists of the Centre, together with the physicians, surgeons, and pathologists of the KMC, initiated a number of research programs in this area. The main aim of the Centre was to develop spectroscopic methods for early detection, screening, monitoring therapy and identification of disease markers, with special emphasis on various cancers, so that these techniques can be applied for routine healthcare applications. Outcome of these research activities are covered in the book. A common platform of information can provide a more open communication enabling faster and better evolution of the spectroscopic methods for biomedical applications.

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Linear Algebra with Applications portrays selected articles published earlier by Prof Ravindra B Bapat in various reputed journals. This volume published in honour of Prof Bapat, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, consists of his original research articles written in the area of (i) Permanent, Determinant and their applications, (ii) Non-negative Matrices, (iii) Matrix Methods in Statistics and Graph theory, and (iv) Generalized Inverses of a Matrix. Starting with an article A Generalization of a Theorem of Ky Fan on Simplicial Maps, his first article published in 1980, several articles probing the properties of permanent and determinant, characterization of generalized inverses, spectral properties of graphs, and applications of matrix methods in statistics are compiled in this volume. The articles selected in this book will certainly inspire the young linear algebraists and provide several matrix techniques to solve different problems in the area of applied linear algebra.

Free and fair media are at the heart of any democratic set up. A thriving field of journalism and zealous and ethical journalists in that sense become torch bearers of a brighter and promising tomorrow. In this light, the status of journalists, the most important actors in the field becomes increasingly important as a matter of study. They act as gatekeepers of information that is flooding in the era of new media, a wave that is not so new anymore. Their roles remain intact and even becomes prominent in the chaos of many-to-many communication.
Not concentrating on specific countries, selected contributions in the book reflect on the developments of media and journalism education across different countries. Introducing the book with an overview about the state-of-the-art of journalism education and the research on a meta level, the book moves on to talk about media studies in the Asian countries and in Arab world, the African States and Brazil.
The recent economic and social developments present both opportunities and risks for journalism. Freedom of expression and freedom of press, even in democratic countries, are under pressure. This book provides an international perspective on the different aspects of journalism ? the situation in which journalists work, their working conditions, educational backgrounds, struggles and successes. It is aimed at an international public interested in the field of journalism and freedom of speech. It addresses journalists, trainers and academics. Furthermore, institutions in the field of development cooperation, education or cultural policy and cultural education are the focus of this work. Though the book is focused on journalism and journalism education in developing countries, contributions are from across the globe. This book is an interesting read for all those who care about a vital media landscape and an open democratic society.