A. K. Sharma
Professor of Sociology
Department of Humanities & Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology

Main Page | Department Page | IITK Site

Papers Presented in National Seminars/Conferences, 1990-

        Invited lecture on Integral Humanism, National Seminar on Integral Humanism, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Chair, BHU, Varanasi, 20-21 March 2018.

         Managing People in a Plural Context: Keynote Address, 3rd International Conference on Pluralism, Society and Management, Invertis University, Bareilly, 22-24 February 2018.

         A lecture on Gender Issues, Women's Day, RBI, Kanpur, 8 March 2017.

        Invited paper on Mental Health Issues - A Sociological Perspective, and chair in the session on Gender Issues and Gender Based Violence, National Seminar on Population and Health in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai and   Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Bhubaneswar, 11-13 January, 2017.

         Globalization, Problems of Management and Work Place Spirituality, Invited Paper, International Conference on Globalization, Pluralism and Management, Invertis University, Bareilly, 16-17 August 2016, Bareilly (jointly with Puneet Rai and A. P. Sinha).

         Invited talk on Population Trends in India and their Implications for Development, RBI, Kanpur, 31 May 2016.

         Presented a paper on Menopausal Health: Exploratory Factor Analysis of Symptom Severity Experience, National Seminar on Demographic Challenges in India: Current Scenario and Future Directions, 9 July 2015, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University, Delhi (jointly with Dr. Vibha Dixit).

         Presented a paper on Mental Illness and Mental Health: A Neglected Field of Health in India, Twelfth Annual Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), G.L.Gupta Institute of Public Health, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, 21-23 November 2014.

         Participated in National Seminar on Demographic Transition and Development: Issues and Challenges in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and chaired a session on Fertility Timing and Postponement, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, 11-13 March 2014.

Presented a paper on Sociology of Health, as a panellist in Second Northern Regional Congress, organised by Northern Regional Centre, ICSSR, in Collaboration with the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, 27-28 February 2014.

Presented a paper entitled Alternative Systems of Health Care and National Health Mission: Treading with Care, 35th Annual Conference of Indian Association for the Study of Population (IASP), Chaudhry Ranbir Singh Institute of Social and Economic Change, Maharshi Dayanad University, Rohtak, 15-17 December 2013.

Values and Ethics in Research: Perspective of a Social Scientist, Workshop on Ethics and Values, IIT Kanpur, 30 November 2013.

Presented a seminar on Gender and Development, Staff College of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, organized by Women's Study Centre, 28 November 2013.

Presented an Invited Paper (as one panellist) on Gender and Development, 9^th Annual National Conference of Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand Economic Association (UPUEA), Awadh University, Faizabad, 26 October 2013.     

Paper entitled Sociological Critique of the National Rural Health Mission: Issues and Priorities, National Conference on National Rural Health Mission: A Review of Past Performance and Future Directions, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University Enclave, Delhi, 6-8 August 2013.   

Paper entitled Perspectives on Pain: A Study of Patients, Care Givers, Volunteers and Professionals involved in Palliative Care Movement in Kerala, National Seminar on The Enigma of Pain, Balvant Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences, IIT Bombay, 7-9 March 2013.

Paper entitled Tracing Back the ‘Psychosocial’ in WHO’s Definition of Health: A Critique of Quantitative Studies of Health in Social Sciences, Tenth Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), held at Department of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 21-23 November 2012 (jointly with Kumar Ravi Priya).

Paper entitled Health Professional’s constructions of women’s health during midlife transition: a study in Kanpur Nagar, Tenth Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), held at Department of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 21-23 November 2012 (jointly with Vibha Dikshit).

Paper entitled Palliative Health care in Kerala: An Exploration into the Perspectives of the Patients, Poster presentation in the Tenth Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), held at Department of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 21-23 November 2012 (jointly with T.Shukkoor).  

Inaugural address, Power of Models: Experience in Use of Policy Models for Policies and Programs, State Level Training Workshop on Policy Models for Evidence-Based Decision Making and Advocacy, Health Policy Project of USAID/India, State Program Management Unit, Vikash Complex, Vidhan Sabha Marg, Lucknow, 28 May 2012.  

Paper entitled Population and Environment, National Seminar on Climate Change: Science and Society, HSS Department, IIT Kanpur, in association with the Liberty Institute, New Delhi, 30-31 March 2012.

Defining Minorities in India, Seminar on Understanding Minorities in India and Canada, Canadian Studies Development Programme, BHU, Varanasi, 25-26 February 2012.

Chaired a session and spoke as a panelist in National Seminar on Culture of Religion and Trans-Cultural Religion, Christ Church College, Kanpur, 2-4 February 2012.

Paper entitled Development in the Light of Works of Banwasi Sewa Ashram: An NGO in Sonbhadra, presented in Brainstorming Workshop on Socionity, IIIT Hyderabad, 28 November 2011 (jointly with Ms. Rita Singh).

Paper entitled Palliative Care in India: A Comparative Study of Clinic Based and Community Based Models in Kerala, presented in the Ninth Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, on Health, Gender and Inclusive Development, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, 24-26 November 2011 (jointly with T. Shukkoor).

Participated in 33^rd Annual Conference of IASP, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, and Chaired two sessions, one on Maternal Health, and another, a Plenary Session on Census of India 2011: Emerging Issues, 11-23 November 2011.

Participated and chaired a session in UGC sponsored National Conference on Judicial Activism in India: Prospects, Challenges and Threats, Christ Church College, Kanpur, 3-5 November 2011.

Invited talk on Non-economic Factors in Development, Seventh Annual Conference of Uttar Pradesh - Uttarakhand Economic Association (UPUEA), BIMTECH, Greater Noida, 17 October 2011. 

Invited lecture on Modeling in Population Research, National Conference on Mathematical Modeling & Computer Simulation, ISMMACS, Bhabha Group of Institutions, Kanpur, 7-9 July 2011.

Presented a paper on Training Needs Assessment (TNA) of Elected Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in India, Two Day Workshop on TNA, Haryana Institute of Rural Development, Nilokheri, Karnal, 4-5 July 2011.

Presented a paper entitled Palliative Care in India: Major Issues for Sociological Investigation, XXXVI All India Sociological Conference, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, 27-29 December, 2010 (jointly with T. Shukkoor).

Presented a paper entitled Measuring Environmental Awareness through New Ecological Paradigm Model, National Symposium on Advances in Environmental Monitoring and Modeling, Organized by Centre for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, IIT Kanpur and BARC, Mumbai, 13-15 May 2010 (jointly with Pradip Swarnakar).

Presented a paper on A Pilot Study of Factors Determining Maternal Health and Morbidity in Slums: An Exploratory Study of Kanpur City, Seventh Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, BHU, Varanasi, 5-7 March, 2010 (jointly with Rita Singh and Rohini Ghosh).

Presented a paper on Planning for Social Development among the Tribal Communities: Understanding Social Representations of Health, Seventh Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, BHU, Varanasi, 5-7 March, 2010 (jointly with Shikha Dixit and Rita Singh).

Presented a paper on Indian Society in 21^st Century, International Seminar on Imagining India: Discourse of the Nation, Department of English, Banaras Hindu University, 18-19 December, 2009.

Paper presented on Stigma against HIV/AIDS: A Need for Contextual Understanding, International Conference on Health for All: Opportunity and Challenges, India International Institute of Social Sciences (IIISS), Jaipur, 21-23 September 2009 (jointly with Sonal Mobar).  

Paper presented on Society, Self Image and Risk: A Study of MSM Community in Mumbai, Sixth Annual Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), School of Social Sciences & International Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, 7-8 March 2009 (jointly with Ashish Kumar Mishra).

Paper presented on Mapping High Risk Groups: The Bihar Experience, National Seminar on Methodological Issues in Measuring Millennium Development Goals in Districts of India, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, 12-13 December 2008 (jointly with Rita Singh).

Paper presented on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Treatment Seeking Behavior among MSM: A Study of MSM Community in Mumbai, 30^th Annual Conference of IASP, ISEC, Bangalore, 17 – 19 October 2008 (jointly with Ashish Kumar Mishra).

Poster presentation on Conceptualizing HIV/AIDS Stigma among Adolescents and Youths in a few North Indian Settings: A Social Representations Approach, International Conference on Fundamental and Transnational Research on HIV/AIDS – Global Perspectives, ISSRF and ICMR, ITC Grand Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Mumbai, 5- 8 October 2008 (jointly with Sonal Mobar, Ashish Kumar Mishra, and Rita Singh).

One day Workshop on Orientation of the Selected Mapping Agency and SACS/TSU, National Aids Control Organization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Chandralok Building, Janpath, New Delhi, 30 April 2008.

Presented a paper on Positive people in Negative Milieu: Lessons from District Situation Analysis in Nine Districts of East and Central India, Fifth All India Conference of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, 7-9 April 2008 (jointly with Rita Singh).

Presented a paper on Developing the Rural Poor: Experiences of Banwasi Seva Ashram, Sonbhadra, National Seminar on Revitalization of Rural Institutes: Problems and Prognosis, Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, New Delhi, organized by GSP/CSSS/SSS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 15-16 March 2008.

Presented a paper on Mahatma Gandhi Yuva Samvad Yatra: Dialogues with Youths in selected Districts of Uttar Pradesh, National Seminar on Youths, Banwasi Seva Ashram, Sonbhadra, 20-21 March 2008.

Presented Reports of Vulnerability Mapping and District Situation Analysis for HIV/AIDS in Six Districts of UP, based on studies sponsored by UNICEF Lucknow, UPSACS, Lucknow, 19 July 2007.

Presented a paper on Issues in Human Values for Ultimate Global Success, Seminar on Gross National Human Values – GNV: The Determining Factor for the Global Status of any Nation, Amity University, NOIDA, 20 April 2007.

Lecture on Role of Statistics in Social Science Research, National Workshop on Social Science Research Methodology, Christ Church College, Kanpur, 15-20 January 2007.

Presented Keynote Address in National Seminar on Population and Health Status in Orissa, P.G. Department of Population Studies, F.M. University, Balasore, 12 January 2007.

Presented a paper on Social Representations of Health and illness among the Bondos: Sources of Resilience and Change in the Community, National Seminar on Population and Health Status in Orissa, P.G. Department of Population Studies, F.M. University, Balasore, 12 January 2007 (jointly with Shikha Dixit and Mamata Mishra).

Presented a paper on Drinking Death in Groundwater: Social Sufferings of Women in an Arsenic Contaminated District of West Bengal, India,  32^nd All India Sociological Conference, University of Madras & Loyola College, Chennai, 27-29 December 2006 (jointly with Pradip Swarnakar).

Presented a paper on Theorizing Social Movements: Need for a New Hermeneutics in Gandhian Constructive Work, National Seminar on Efforts and Endeavours of Constructive Work after Gandhi, Banwasi Seva Ashram, Govindpur, Sonebhadra, UP, 4-6 November 2006.

Participated and chaired a session in the Dissemination Seminar (Uttar Pradesh): Reproductive and Child Health Project (DLHS-RCH, 2002-04), sponsored by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, at Hotel Clarks Avadh, Lucknow, 26 May, 2005. The seminar was organized by International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, and Population Research Centre, Lucknow University, Lucknow.  

Presented a paper on Tribal Health Issues and Challenges: A Study of Raigarh and Surguja Districts of Chhattisgarh, National Seminar on Tribal Demograhpy, Health and Development in India, Hotel Piccadily, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 25-26 February 2005 (jointly with A. K. Misra and Rita Singh).

Presented a paper on Routes to General Population: Redefining Vulnerability, International Conference on People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs in Asia: Progress, Achievements and Ways Forward, Organized by Centre for Operations Research and Training (CORT), Baroda, in collaboration with WHO, Population Council, Pathfinder International, Family Planning Association of India, CST-UNFPA Nepal, and CRDC Baroda, at The Claridges Hotel, New Delhi, 2-4 Dec. 2004 (jointly with Ashish Kumar Misra and S. K. Singh).

Presented a paper on Issues in Implementing Rural Development Programmes in India, National Seminar on Changing Perspectives of Rural Development: Emerging Challenges in the Context of Globalization, Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, 17-18 Februrary 2005. Also chaired a session on Land Reforms, Power Sector Reforms, Agrarian Crisis in India-Emerging Issues and Challenges (jointly with Rita Singh).

Presented a paper on Steering Development: Some Lessons from the Indian Villages, Paper presented in the National Seminar on Rethinking Villages: An Interdisciplinary Discourse on Development, Modernity and Change, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Jhusi, Allahabad, 24- 25 May, 2004.

Presented a paper on Population and Development: Participatory Perspective, National Seminar on Socio-economic Development and Resource Dynamics in India: Implications for Human Resource Development, Department of Social Work, Lucknow University, 19-20 March 2004.

Presented a paper on Studying Globalization in Sociology: Some Issues, National Conference on Social Change in Global India, Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society, NEDA Complex Lucknow, 12- 14 March 2004.

Presented a paper on Triple Burden on Women in Science at the Reputed Institutes of Higher Education in Science and Technology, National Seminar on Women in Science: Is the Glass Ceiling Disappearing? 8-10 March, NISTDS, New Delhi (jointly with Dr. Namrata Gupta).

Presented a paper on Writing Proposals for a Development Project at the Grassroots Level: Some Issues, Project Methodology Workshop, 1- 3 Feb. 04, IIT Kanpur.

Chaired a session on Socio-Political Dimensions and Indian Youth, National Symposium on Construction and Reconstruction of Indian Youth, Sri Jai Narain Snatkottar Mahavidyalaya, Lucknow, 27 Jan. 2004.

Lectures on Issues in Sampling and Qualitative Methods, UGC Refresher Course, Staff College, Banaras Hindu University, organized by Deartment of Sociology, Varanasi, 17 Jan. 04.

Chaired sessions on Indian Systems of Medicine and Pharmacology- 4, and Philosophy of Traditional Knowledge Systems-1, National Conference on Tradional Knowledge Systems of India, 9- 11 Jan. 2004, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur.

Presented a paper on Indian Systems of Medicine-Commodification of Health and Marginalization of Tradition, National Conference on Tradional Knowledge Systems of India, 9- 11 Jan. 2004, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur.

Presented a paper on Health and Illness among Tribes: A Quick Survey of Two Blocks of District Raigarh, Regional Conference of Indian Association for the Study of Population (IASP), Sponsored by United Nations Population Fund, Population Research Centre, Department of Economics, Lucknow University, 13-14 November 2003 (jointly with Ms. Rita Singh).

Presented a paper on Perspectives on Health, Illness and Wellbeing: An Agenda for Future Research, National Seminar on Dimensions of Health, Centre for Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Allahabad University, Allahabad, 10 – 12 April, 2003.

Presented a paper on Social Construction of Health and Illness among women, IRMS Silver Jubilee & XX Annual Conference of Indian Society of Medical Statistics, AIIMS, New Delhi, 19- 22 December 2002 (jointly with Shikha Dixit and Mamta Misra). Also chaired a session on Fertility and Contraception during the conference.

Presented a paper on Managing Bench Workers in Indian Software Industry: An Agenda, in National Seminar on Structure of Employment and its Interface with Technology: Present Status and Policy Imperatives for Productivity Enhancement, HSS Department, IIT Delhi, 27- 28 March 2002 (jointly with P. Vigneswara Ilawarsan).

Presented a paper on Sustainable Development: Shift from Population to Cultural Paradigm, International Conference on Population, Development and Environment, BITS Pilani, 15- 16 March 2002 (jointly with P. Vigneswara Ilawarsan).

Presented a paper on Dilemmas in Sustainable Development, National Seminar on Environmental Ethics: To What Extent Does it Go Beyond Human-Centered Ethics, Organized by Christ Church College Kanpur and sponsored by Indian Council of Philosophical Research, January 21- 23, 2002 (jointly with P. Vigneswara Ilawarsan).

Participated in 19th UP Sociological Conference of Uttar Pradesh Samaj Shastra Parishad, Sociology Department, 9th February, 2002 and presented a paper on Social Movements in India and Uncertainty: A Post-Sociological View.

Participated in Workshop on Practice Research Engagement, Viswa Yuvak Kendram, New Delhi, February 7-8, 2002, Organized by PRIA, New Delhi.

Presented invited paper on Sociology of AIDS: Some Issues, 19th Annual Conference of Indian Society for Medical Statistics, and 6th Conference of The International Biometric Society (IR), Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Dec. 1- 3, 2001.

Presented a paper on Some Issues in Mobilising Opinion in Favour of Family Planning in UP with particular reference to Intervention among Muslims, State Conference on Mobilization of Opinion Makers on Population Policy, organized by Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi at Taj Residency Hotel, Lucknow, 16th May 2001.

Presented a paper on Would WTO Routinize System Work in India? Some Answers from a Pilot Study, in Opening Seminar of WTO and Allied Issues, Conducted by Strategic Forum, India at IIM Lucknow, 4-5 Feb. 2001 (jointly with P. Vighnesh Illavarsan as the first author).

Presented an invited paper on Measurement of Urbanization: Construction of Chernoff-Type Face in National Seminar on Emerging Methodologies of Data Analysis and Related Inferences, Department of Statistics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 5-7 February 2001.

Presented a paper on Fertility in Uttar Pradesh: What can be done? in National Seminar on Population and Health at Govind Vallabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad, 18- 19 January 2001. Also chaired a session on Population Policies: Implementation and Agencies.

Presented a paper on Routinization and Deskilling Debate in Indian Software Industry, XXVI All India Sociological Conference held at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 29-31 December, 2000 (jointly with P. Vighnesh Illavarsan as the first author).

Presented a paper on Environment and Peace: What can Sociologists do? National Seminar on Environment, Peace and Technology, Lucknow University, 1-2 December 2000.

Discussant, Millenium Conference on Population, Development and Environment Nexus, Jointly Organized by IASP-PFI-UNFPA, Lakshmipat Singhania Auditorium, PHD House, 4/2, Siri Institutional Area, New Delhi, 14-16 February, 2000.

Presented a paper on Fertility in UP: What can be done? National Seminar on Population and Economic Development, DG Girls College, Kanpur, 6-7 January, 2000.

Resource person in the workshop on poverty, held at Manvodaya, Lucknow, 3 February 1999.

Presented a paper on Social Constraints in the Progress of the State for Population Stabilization and Related Development Issues, Roundtable Conference on Population Stabilization and Related Development Issues in Uttar Pradesh, Hotel Awadh Clark, Lucknow, 8-9 January, 1999.

Presented a paper on Voluntary Development Organization (VDO) in Civil Society: Limits of Professional Particularism, International Seminar on Gandhi and the Twenty-First Century, Wardha, 1-4 Feb. 1998.

Presented a paper on National Conference on Integrating Humanistic Values & Social Concerns with Technical Education Programme, HSS Department, Roorkee University, 3-5 Nov., 1997.

Presented a paper on Fertility needs a New Mindset, paper presented in One day seminar on Fertility in U.P. , Yojana Bhavan, Lucknow, 16 Jan.1997.

Presented a paper on Family Planning in India: Some Lessons from the National Family Health Survey 1992-93, The Nineteenth Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, 26-28 Feb. 1996, Population Research Centre, M.S. University, Baroda.

Invited to participate in the Regional Workshop on Reproductive Health, 6-8 Feb. 1996, Hotel Clarks Avadh, organized by Centre for Operations Research and Training and Indian Association for the study of Population, sponsored by Ford Foundation.

Presented a paper on Teenage Reproductive Behaviour in Rural U.P., 18th Annual Conference of IASP, SIHFW, Lucknow, 25-27, March 1995.

Participated as Consultant in National Workshop on the Role of Private Medical Practitioners in Promoting MCH and Family Welfare Program, sponsored by Population Council, 18 January 1995, Hotel Clarks Avadh.

Presented a paper on Social Values and Quality of Life in India: Empirical Findings, XXI All India Sociological Conference 19-21 Dec. 1994, CSS/SSS, JNU, New Delhi (jointly with Manju Singh).

Presented a paper on Social Development and Fertility in U.P., Seminar on Population and Development in Uttar Pradesh, 16-18 Nov.1994, SGPGI, Lucknow.

Presented a paper on The Value Perspective of Social Development, XVIII Indian Social Science Congress, 12-16 Nov. 1994, M.S.University, Baroda (jointly with Manju Singh).

Presented a paper on Statistics and Medical Sciences, XII Annual Conference of ISMS on Evaluation Technologies in Medical Education and Health Care Delivery System, 5-7 Sept., 1994, MGIMS, Sevagram, Wardha.

Presented a paper on Sustainable Development and The Scheduled Tribes, National Seminar on The Scheduled Tribes and the Mainstream of Indian Society and Culture, 18-19 March, 1994, Lucknow, Deptt. of Public Admn., Lucknow University, organized by Ethnographic & Folk Culture Society.

Presented a paper on Demographic Aspects of Riots, National Symposium on Riots in India, IIT Kanpur, 4-5 Dec.1993.

Presented a paper on Population and Sustainable Development, Seventeenth National Systems Conference, 24-26 Dec. 93. IIT Kanpur.

Presented a paper on Synthesis of MCH and FP Studies in UP, January 19, 1994, Clarks Avadh, Lucknow, National Workshop Organized by Population Council.

Presented a paper on Muslim Fertility in Urban U.P.: A Qualitative Study, Research Workshop on Demographic Transition and Development Alternatives, 26-27 Nov. IIHMR, Jaipur, 1993.

Invited Seminar on Population Explosion and India's Problems of Environment, U.P. Academy of Admn. Nainital, 24 April, 1992.

Presented an invited paper on Social Acceptance of Family Planning Technologies, Committee on Science and Society, Indian Science Congress, Vadodara, Jan. 5, 1992.

Presented a paper on Family Planning Programme in the Western Region, Workshop on Area Specific Approach, Population Centre, Lucknow, Oct. 13-15, 1990 (jointly with A.S. Chauhan).

Presented a paper on Status of Women and Fertility: Gandhian Perspective, in National Seminar on Women in Development: Issues and Perspectives, Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Presented a paper on Planning India's Urban Future, National Seminar on Recounstructing Theories of Modernization and Development, SSS, JNU, New Delhi, March 22-24, 1991.

Presented a paper on Fertility and Family Planning among Muslims, National Seminar on Population Programme: Towards 2001, Annamalai University, August 23-25, 1990.