Urmi Nanda Biswas – författare

The idea of the book germinated in the symposium on ‘Social Psychology of Health: Issues and Concerns of India’, which was a part of XX Annual Convention of the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India, organized in Jawaharlal Nehru University in December, 2011. Few papers in this book were earlier presented in the conference and few invited articles are contributed by experts in this nascent but growing sub-field of enquiry within social psychology. The chapters included in this book aim to propagate that large amount of the burden of disease can be understood as a product of societal factors, which pushes people towards health aversive behaviour. The chapters emphasize the need for understanding of disease and health care in Indian traditional system, well-being of women in Indian society, and the effectiveness of community health care systems. The book also covers various psycho-social approaches to handle HIV/AIDS pandemic in India and highlights factors that could make social marketing effective for public health care programmes and services. In addition, the book attempts to discuss the psycho-social issues of care giving, suicide etc. in Indian society. The content of the book will be helpful as supplementary reading for various courses on health psychology taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the colleges and universities across the country. The issues and concerns shared in the book may interest the health care practitioners and policy makers to think differently and rediscover the importance of social-psychological parameters in effective delivery of health services.

This book discusses organizational values and their implications for perceived attractiveness and effectiveness of the workplace through cross-cultural research in India and Sweden. The authors provide information on how organizational values are conceptualized, presented and perceived by manager-level employees through cases from manufacturing, information technology (IT), healthcare, and education sectors in a developing and fast-growing economy like India versus a developed and stabilized economy like Sweden. Comparative results from these two very different countries provide knowledge that can be applied to make the workplace attractive in the context of globalized business processes. 

The authors present corporate social responsibility (CSR) and equal opportunities for men and women in the organization (EO) as important values in making the workplace attractive, where attractiveness is conceived in terms of organizational commitment and employees’ intention to leave. The two selected values are particularly important as India is the first country in the world to come up with a mandatory CSR law, whereas Sweden has a long history of CSR and EO. The book demonstrates how work organizations in both countries are promoting these values to meet the challenges of attraction and retention of employees. 

The findings in this book are based on data gathered from various sources and sample groups in India and Sweden. The book generates insight and valuable information for researchers of organizational psychology, human resource management, cross-cultural management, as well as for work managers and HR professionals.

This volume extensively examines the current psycho-social challenges individuals and groups face in building a responsible society. It challenges the norms of social influence research, focusing on processes that drive responsible organizations and societal advancement. It delves into the layers of influence that shape our societies. It also spotlights the practical complexities of implementing government schemes, mainly focusing on Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (PwIDDs). This volume uncovers the driving forces behind societal evolution and the strategies that harness responsible influence for a more inclusive and progressive future. Chapters in this contributed volume present theoretical contributions and results of empirical research from different disciplines, such as applied social and cognitive psychology, organizational psychology, cultural psychology, health psychology, educational psychology, life-span development, and are grouped into four thematic sections. The first part of the book brings together chapters discussing culture, diversity and inclusivity. The second part highlights issues of gender equity and resilience in Indian society. The third part focuses on health and well-being, Finally, the fourth part discusses resilient and responsible behavior in everyday social contexts. The book offers valuable insights into addressing social-psychological challenges individuals and groups face, promoting resilient and sustainable behavior towards a responsible society. It is a valuable resource for researchers in the fields of psychology, as well as for educators and teachers interested in knowing more about social psychological issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusivity within the Indian context.