Professor Sibnath Deb, PhD and DSc, is a full-time professor at the Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University (a central university), India. Professor Deb is also acting as Director (I/C), Directorate of Distance Education, and Dean (I/C), School of Law, Pondicherry University. Prior to joining the Pondicherry University, he was teaching at the University of Calcutta. In 1994, Professor Deb did an intensive course on ‘HIV/AIDS and Qualitative Research’ from the University of Western Australia. From April 2009 to August 2009, Professor Deb visited the School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, as Visiting Faculty. Currently, he is also Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health and Social Work, QUT, Australia. During 2004–2008, he served the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) as Councillor Member. In brief, he has got 28 years of teaching, research and administrative experience and has produced 19 PhDs in addition to publishing more than 100 research articles/book chapters in the leading national and international journals. Professor Deb has written six books and edited five books. His latest published books are (a) Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being: Issues and Challenges (2016); (b) An Empirical Investigation into Child Abuse and Neglect in India: Burden, Impact and Protective Measures (2018); and (c) Positive Schooling and Child Development: International Perspectives (2018). His one more book titled Distance Education: Prospects, Challenges and Way Forward is in press. Professor Deb has received three national and three international awards in recognition of his contribution in the field of psychology. His current areas of research interest include family dynamics, parenting styles, child safety, students’ mental health, adolescent reproductive health and applied social psychology. Dr Anjali Gireesan, MSc and PhD from the Pondicherry University (a central university), has been working as Scientist ‘B’ in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Government of India. She has five years of full-time teaching and research experience. She has published six research papers and written a book chapter titled ‘Contexts of Risks and Exploitation’ with Professor Sibnath Deb for an edited book titled The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research (2015, SAGE Publications, Australia). Her two more chapters, namely (a) ‘Enhancing Education: Improving Learner Outcomes with Principles of Psychology’ and (b) ‘Children with Disability in India: Policies, Assessment and Management’, have been published in an edited book titled Positive Schooling and Child Development: International Perspectives (2018) edited by Sibnath Deb. Her areas of research interest include child development, childhood disability, child abuse and neglect, and student’s mental health. Pooja Prabhavalkar has received her Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She has nine years of teaching experience at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has taught at esteemed institutions such as Fergusson College in Pune and Mithibai College of Arts in Mumbai. She is currently pursuing her PhD, and her research is in the area of body image among young women and the impact of body dissatisfaction on one’s psychological well-being. Her areas of research interest include child welfare, students’ mental health, and adolescent issues and concerns.
