Questions

Increasingly, the notion that seems to backfire is “publish or perish.” Publishing research papers in all areas of generations of knowledge (i.e., disciplines) seems to have updated its course. Lately, however, what seems to dominate the business of the generation of knowledge is the attribute of expansion. Expansion in volume and numbers; still doubtful of the quality, though. What seems to change its course is yet an obvious question that research organizations, universities, and other educational institutions increasingly face is the question of “Why fund research?”. Increasingly, private players' intervention seems to impact the existing research landscape worldwide. Looking at just the discipline of economics, the below graph from Aigner, Greenspon, & Rodrik (2021) demonstrates the irrational yet exponential growth in several journals and published research papers over the last four decades.  While growth in numbers is evident, a question of perspective remains. As follows...

       In my novice attempts to understand higher education choices during my PhD the last few years, I have always wondered what factors matter the most. Of course, there are models of the orthodox or the newer types. I have mostly relied on the orthodox ones that take a general pool of variables and then predict the probabilities. I am using " orthodox " to indicate the pool of models that are accepted but are old and honestly have less empirical relevance. The fact that these are old doesn't reduce their logical validity; it is just that they are too general to learn from and imply something without relying on stronger assumptions. These are mainly the discrete choice family models that have existed for decades. They give us statements like, " Having the per-capita income increased by X amount, the Pr(Choosing Enrollment in Higher Education) increases (or decreases in case of the circumstances) by Y%". They are more of confirmation (not useless research ...

नाव हूँ  मैं बस एक नाव हूँ। बिखरे आसमान में चुभता बादल हूँ, चिरता चिल्लाता बिजली बारिश में हूँ। बिखरे आसमान और पतझड़ में, खुद-खुद ही को पार लगाया हूँ। मैं बस एक नाव हूँ। ...... किनारे आते-जाते हैं, पर मैं कहाँ ठहर पाता हूँ। हर किनारे से बस गीला नोंक लिये आता हूँ। पानी में होकर भी कीचड़ से ढोये रहता हूँ, तो कलंकित हूँ नजरों में। फिर भी तैरते रहता हूँ, मैं बस एक नाव हूँ। ...... कर्म में है जो तैरना, मैं कहाँ किनारे पर ठहर पाता हूँ। किनारे की हर इंच से, जो पानी पीछे छोड़ आता हूँ। हर बूंद से है मेरा एक रिश्ता, पर साथ कहाँ निभा पाता हूँ। मैं बस एक नाव हूँ। ...... लोग कहते हैं, हवा से तो मेरा सम्बन्ध है। बोले जब हवा पाल से ही ख़फा है, हर झोंके से दूर धकेलता है। अब इस झगड़े में, मैं किनारे से दूर चला जाता हूँ। मैं बस एक नाव हूँ।

  The Perceived Layers of Choice: Destiny, Faith, and Randomness "Do you believe in destiny? If yes, how do you think your choices are characterized to be? Are your choices random or deterministic? As people say, destiny has designed and decided everything upfront and you just have to experience it. The concept of destiny and its influence on our choices has been a topic of fascination and debate throughout history. Some believe that destiny governs our lives, predetermined and designed in advance, while others see life as a series of random events. This blog post delves into the distinction between these two perspectives, exploring how choices are perceived and characterized in the context of destiny. Additionally, it examines the role of faith or information in shaping these choices and argues that the nature of destiny is intricately linked to our awareness of it. Destiny as Deterministic:  For those who believe in destiny, choices are perceived to be deterministic. This me...

When I began my PhD journey, my fascination with studying educational choices grew immensely. Much of this interest stemmed from my socio-economic background and a lingering question in my mind: What could I have achieved if I had access to better educational opportunities? Recently, I've delved into the nuances of educational choices across school, higher education, and particularly PhD levels. As a researcher, I find it crucial to employ methods that accurately interpret these choices using quantitative data, graphs, and equations. However, I often feel constrained by the limitations of these models and the lack of comprehensive educational data in India, especially at the individual level. This blog explores why educational choices in India often fall short and highlights the data points needed to improve our existing analytical methods. Not-so-Educational Choices in India The concept of "educational choices" is inherently subjective, shaped by human constructs and soc...