Conference Presentations by Dr. Rituparna Chakraborty
Personhood of women and violation of her dignity and space has been a matter of discussion in con... more Personhood of women and violation of her dignity and space has been a matter of discussion in contemporary academic as well as socio-political sphere. These issues warrant delving into another profound questionsexual world of women-in its cognitive as well as performative ways. India, as a culture and a country represents intriguing position in matters of sexuality, specifically sexual autonomy and subjectivity. It holds a history of once being the anchor to the world in shaping understandings of sexuality, but then getting clouded through practices of taboo and circumscriptions. Bengal represents this paradox equally well like many other parts of India, where current rise in sexual and corporeal violence against women warrants a rethinking and unveiling of their sexual conceptualizations, perspectives and spaces. We conducted a qualitative study, using open-ended in-depth semi-structured interview method with 50 married women participants in parts of Bengal. Sampling technique was purposive for our study, where maximum variation was aimed. The transcribed data were analyzed using qualitative analytical methods considering the cultural-relational-social context. We followed method of pluralism in qualitative analysis to get a deeper understanding of the data with help of multi-layer interpretation and multiple-perspectives brought in through different analytical approaches; where three data analysis methods were used-Grounded theory, Interpretative Phenomenological Approach and Narrative analysis. Analysis helped to delve in the socio-normative practices of sexual modesty and suppression of desire, which creates dissonance in majority of women regarding self-image, where the glorified goal is to personify the ideal of "cultured, sexually submissive and modest" Bengali 'bhodromohila'. Most narratives portrayed infusion of constructs like secrecy, shame, stigma, taboo and repulsion around ideas of
Women in India have come a long way from the dark alleys and long veils of ignorance and illitera... more Women in India have come a long way from the dark alleys and long veils of ignorance and illiteracy. Contemporary Urban India is comprised of a significant female work-force who are educated and global. This scenario puts an intriguing question forward regarding the current socio-economic role of these women and their priorities in lives. Through this research work I intended to delving deep into the contemporary socio-political structure of women and their workplace. Primary research questions were - whether these women have abandoned/discarded the traditional and historical ideals of 'Indian womanhood' and stepped into a new light of identity, or they have moulded the existing one; whether glass-ceiling has disappeared from contemporary workplace scenario; what is the current construct of work-life balance in lives of working mothers. In this research study I primarily focused on women working in private sectors, because govt. sectors had more set norms and rules, whereas in private sectors convenience oriented shaping of norms are more commonplace. I interviewed 30 women working in different professions in private sectors in Bangalore. Purposive sampling strategy and snowball technique were used for the current study. Bangalore is a metro-city, which is hub of multi-lingual and multi-cultural people coming from different parts of India. This location gave me an opportunity to explore the concepts from multiple socio-cultural perspectives, which also helped me in finding the common core among those multiplicity of experiences. Interviews were audio-recorded with participants' consent and data were transcribed for thematic analysis. Analysis of the interviews unveiled the structural, cultural and organisational obstacles leading to struggles, these women go through everyday in their lives. Existence of a glass-ceiling depending on pregnancy was very much evident, where it was a common phenomenon to ask female employees to leave job instead of availing maternity-leave. In spite of having written regulations against it, many participants have been asked about possible pregnancy and motherhood in job-interviews, under the veil of 'informal discussions'. Guilt, depression, self-blame, dilemma and lowering of self-confidence were common themes in most stories, which in some cases lead to existential dilemma in participants. Family-support, intrinsic motivation, organisational support and special training, official help for kid-care - all these came up as instrumental factors of coping strategies. Analysis explored the necessity of structural and cultural changes in workplace discourse for women to foster gender-neutral work environments.
Papers by Dr. Rituparna Chakraborty
2021 International Workshop on Advanced in Information Security Management and Applications, AISMA 2021, 2022
India is facing the problem of the digital divide. Being developing countries and with low litera... more India is facing the problem of the digital divide. Being developing countries and with low literacy rates, digital knowledge among the public is weak. Those who know a bit about digital operations on smartphones and computers are not having complete knowledge of data security and its peculiarities. Therefore, this study aimed to find determinants of data-privacy anxiety among Indians and to understand their stress and anxiety during the use of digital applications in their daily routines, especially amid the COVID-19 scenario. The current study adopted an inductive qualitative exploratory approach to delve into the above issues. This study employed a reflexive thematic analysis method to analyse interview data of 10 participants across young-adult to middle-adult age groups of male and female gender. Participants belonged to middle socio-economic status having urban background. The study found 6 themes and 26 subordinate themes as determinants of data-privacy anxiety. Emerging theme...
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (ICEE 2021), 2021
A sustainable facial recognition based heart rate monitoring system for the detection of atrial f... more A sustainable facial recognition based heart rate monitoring system for the detection of atrial fibrillation in paralyzed
Psychology and Developing Societies, 2019
The contemporary Indian society apparently seems to be at a juncture where it claims more number ... more The contemporary Indian society apparently seems to be at a juncture where it claims more number of women to be educated and independent but, on the other hand, the incidents of vicious mental, social and corporeal violations of women are at peak. Amidst all the ongoing blazing talks and movements, this study is a small attempt of delving into the tale of being women, which may help in cognising the discourse which might be at the core of this double-bind social picture. For this purpose, 30 Bengali (Indian) married women were selected through purposive sampling technique for interview, all of whom were within the age range of 18–40 years. Participants had minimum school-level education and belonged to lower middle to upper middle socio-economic status. They were reportedly free from any mental or physical handicap. The data gathered through open-ended semi-structured in-depth interviews were analysed using thematic analysis procedure. Analytical readings of findings explored a soci...
Psychological Studies, 2015
This study intended to explore the subsistence of body image dissatisfaction among young female u... more This study intended to explore the subsistence of body image dissatisfaction among young female university students, their locus of control and their metacognitive knowledge about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their body. Thirty female university students (age ranged 21-24 years) participated in the study. Assessment through a screening information schedule confirmed all participants being of normal-weight category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) on the BMI scale without any present or past diagnosis of eating disorder. The results demonstrated prevalence of body dissatisfaction among majority of participants, who were also seen to have less metacognitive awareness than the rest.
Psychological Studies, 2014
This study examined the degree of body image satisfaction and its relationship with physical self... more This study examined the degree of body image satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept among adolescents and young adults (n = 120) with normal-weight. Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Psychological Studies, Nov 9, 2022
Contemporary India is part of a global community where modernization, urbanization including cons... more Contemporary India is part of a global community where modernization, urbanization including consumerism is on the rise; but not leaving behind its historic cultural essence. Old scriptures, myths, folklore, literature, cultural proverbs as well as media, apparently have a noteworthy role in shaping the perspectives of Indian people. The current study was done in parts of urban Bengal to explore the influence of these forces, from socio-political, psychological as well as philosophical registers, in shaping the self-image and identity of contemporary women. 50 participants were interviewed using a semi-structured in-depth interview method and data were analyzed following qualitative analytical methods keeping the cultural-relational-social context in perspective. The method of pluralism in the qualitative analysis was followed using three data analysis methods—Grounded theory, Interpretative Phenomenological Approach, and Narrative analysis. Analyses revealed intriguing social-crafting of concepts of gender and identities of women, through idealization and internalization of traits and notions, incessantly presented through celebrated literature, myths, folklore, proverbs, and media. Furthermore, the analysis showed how the deeprooted paradox, inherent in Bengal’s cultural discourse, is internalized even by educated urban women and infuses a sense of lack, vulnerability, self-loathing, blame, and stigma in their identity. On the contrary, it was also observed in a few instances that optimum use of media and global knowledge led to the construction of a new-age ‘individual’ and ‘subjective’ discourse. Notes New-age poet from Bengal, known for questioning social structure and indicating at systemic oppression. Feminist poet from Bengal. Film director from Bengal with International fame—known for making non-binary gender concepts frequent representations in Bengali movies. Protagonist of ‘Chokher Bali’ novel of tagore—self-willed, outspoken widow character. Prafulla—protagonist of ‘Debi Chaudhurani’ novel of Bankim Chandra—escaped housewife turned dacoit-head—Indian version of Robinhood. Protagonist of ‘Ghare Baire’ novel of Tagore—got romantically involved with husband’s friend—was not happy with apparent successful marriage. Protagonist of ‘Chokher Bali’ novel of tagore—prototype submissive housewife—was presented in contrast to Binodini—accepted husband after his illicit romantic affair outside marriage. Protagonist detective character in writings of Satyajit Ray—intelligent, smart prototype of educated Bengalee men—remained single to avoid distractions in life. Protagonist in Shivpurana and Manasamangal folk-tales—the archetypal wife image who brought her husband back to life from death, by travelling to yamaloka alive and convincing Yama. Goddess and negative protagonist in Manasamangal—self-willed female-god, wronged by father and step-mother—killed Lakkhindar (husband of Behula) to force his father in becoming a disciple of her. All these authors are known for writing rebellious texts for women, questioning the years old societal structure and systemic oppression. Famous bengali poet known for questioning societal structure as well as role of media. Film director from bengal—disciple of Rituporno ghosh—famous for unveiling systemic oppression through his movies. IPS officer from Bengal—fought contemporary political conspiracy to unveil truth about park street rape case of 2012.
Psychology and Developing societies, 2019
The contemporary Indian society apparently seems to be at a juncture where it claims more number ... more The contemporary Indian society apparently seems to be at a juncture where it claims more number of women to be educated and independent but, on the other hand, the incidents of vicious mental, social and corporeal violations of women are at peak. Amidst all the ongoing blazing talks and movements, this study is a small attempt of delving into the tale of being women, which may help in cognising the discourse which might be at the core of this double-bind social picture. For this purpose, 30 Bengali (Indian) married women were selected through purposive sampling technique for interview, all of whom were within the age range of 18-40 years. Participants had minimum school-level education and belonged to lower middle to upper middle socioeconomic status. They were reportedly free from any mental or physical handicap. The data gathered through open-ended semi-structured in-depth interviews were analysed using thematic analysis procedure. Analytical readings of findings explored a socially structured world of women; the becoming rather than being of women. The findings indicated how every sphere of their lives-mental, social or corporeal-seems to be under several mediums of authoritative forces; how their lived life, myths about womanhood and socialisation construct their present life, and how the historicised power-politics of gender craft their conceptualisations of body, rights, independence and subjectivity. This study aspires to
This study intended to explore the subsistence of
body image dissatisfaction among young female ... more This study intended to explore the subsistence of
body image dissatisfaction among young female university
students, their locus of control and their metacognitive knowledge
about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their body.
Thirty female university students (age ranged 21–24 years)
participated in the study. Assessment through a screening information
schedule confirmed all participants being of
normal-weight category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) on the BMI scale
without any present or past diagnosis of eating disorder. The
results demonstrated prevalence of body dissatisfaction
among majority of participants, who were also seen to have
less metacognitive awareness than the rest.
This study examined the degree of body image
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self... more This study examined the degree of body image
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.
This study examined the degree of body image
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self... more This study examined the degree of body image
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Dr. Rituparna Chakraborty
Papers by Dr. Rituparna Chakraborty
body image dissatisfaction among young female university
students, their locus of control and their metacognitive knowledge
about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their body.
Thirty female university students (age ranged 21–24 years)
participated in the study. Assessment through a screening information
schedule confirmed all participants being of
normal-weight category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) on the BMI scale
without any present or past diagnosis of eating disorder. The
results demonstrated prevalence of body dissatisfaction
among majority of participants, who were also seen to have
less metacognitive awareness than the rest.
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.
body image dissatisfaction among young female university
students, their locus of control and their metacognitive knowledge
about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their body.
Thirty female university students (age ranged 21–24 years)
participated in the study. Assessment through a screening information
schedule confirmed all participants being of
normal-weight category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) on the BMI scale
without any present or past diagnosis of eating disorder. The
results demonstrated prevalence of body dissatisfaction
among majority of participants, who were also seen to have
less metacognitive awareness than the rest.
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.
satisfaction and its relationship with physical self concept
among adolescents and young adults (n=120) with normalweight.
Analysis of data indicated that majority of the participants
were dissatisfied with their body image, with highest
dissatisfaction in adult males. In contrast the adolescents with
body image dissatisfaction significantly differed from those
who were satisfied regarding their views about physical self.
Implications of the findings are discussed.