Volume 11 Number 4 (July 12)

Val Plumwood’s Logic of Domination vs. Freya Mathews’ Autopoietic Ecology: Ecological Psychosis and Arboreal Kinship in Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest

Sarah Hadi Razzaq

This research aimed to examines the novella The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin of 1972 using the dualistic approach of Val Plumwood on the ecofeminist logic of domination and Freya Mathews on autopoietic ecological theory. It assumes that the story anticipates ecological psychosis as the symptomatic future of colonial exploitation and gives a model of arboreal kinship based on mutual ecological awareness. The hierarchy between the two dualisms as criticized by Plumwood explains an anthropocentric, colonial stance of Captain Davidson, the Terran logging agenda, and the autopoietic model by Mathews offers a strict ontology concerning the relationship between Athsheans and their forest settings. Through a contrast between these views, the article shows how Le Guin dramatizes the dialectic between extractive domination and ecological reciprocity. This article will serve as a contribution to the current academic discussions on ecocriticism and speculative fiction in relation to environmental ethics, cultural survival, and the future of eco-relational futures.

From Myth to Modernity: The Evolving Image of Kalki in Contemporary Discourse

Dr Divya Singh

This paper offers an introduction to the changing image of Kalki, the prophesied final avatar of Vishnu, across Hindu tradition and modern media. It begins with the traditional mythological image of Kalki as a sword-wielding warrior who arrives at the end of the Kali Yuga to destroy evil and restore dharma. The paper then traces the evolution to modernity: humanization, appropriation, and hybridization. Kalki is no longer only a divine figure bound to scripture. Writers, filmmakers, and game designers now reshape him into a relatable hero, a symbol borrowed for new causes, and a character blended with other genres and ideas. The paper identifies several key trends in this shift. One is action-oriented heroic narratives, where Kalki appears as a warrior fighting clear villains in comics, films, and web series. Another is philosophical and rational lenses, where thinkers and writers treat Kalki less as a literal god and more as a metaphor for moral renewal or social change. A third trend is sci-fi and dystopian hybrids, seen in recent cinema and fiction that place Kalki in futuristic, post-apocalyptic worlds. A fourth trend is cultural and nationalistic resonance, where Kalki's image is used to express pride, identity, or political ideas. Together, these trends show how Kalki has moved into broader contemporary discourse, appearing in politics, pop culture, and online debate, not just religious texts. This connects to a larger question: how ancient stories continue to shape our worldviews today. The discussion section evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of retelling a sacred figure for contemporary audiences. The paper's conclusions argue that Kalki's many modern forms do not erase the original myth. Instead, they show how old stories stay alive by adapting to new times.

Thermodynamics of the Soul: An Epic of Spatial Hegemony, Entropy, Sensory Perception, and Cosmic Faith in Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Prabhakar Kumar Awasthi

This research paper presents an extensive, multi-layered interdisciplinary analysis of Robert Frost's canonical poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1923). Moving decisively beyond traditional pastoral or purely psychological interpretations that reduce the text to a metaphor for existential despair or a subconscious death drive, this study positions the poem as a profound metaphysical arena where geographical boundaries, thermodynamic gradients, and cosmic consciousness assimilate. We evaluate the text along two primary analytical vectors: the Spatial Axis, which maps the institutional and legal boundaries separating human property ("the village") from natural sovereignty ("the woods"); and the Energetic Axis, which tracks the thermodynamic field between the traveler—as a localized, self-sustaining source of metabolic heat—and the high-entropy pull of absolute thermal equilibrium represented by the winter solstice. Furthermore, this paper integrates innovative, multi-dimensional frameworks to map the process of human awakening. It establishes the horse as an essential biological guardian and sensory avatar; interprets consciousness through the physical parameters of a Newtonian optical lens; frames the auditory environment through the metaphysical science of Naad Yoga; and scales individual volition into collective civilizational infrastructure via the ancient Vedic mandate of Charaiveti, Charaiveti and Rabindranath Tagore's philosophy of Ekla Chalo Re. This synthesis ultimately demonstrates that the traveler’s journey is an immortal cosmic orbit, proving that human volition is an indomitable force moving in perfect harmony with a dynamic, ever-evolving universe.

Climate Finance and Renewable Energy Transition in India: Evaluating Policy Effectiveness and Investment Challenges in the Post-Paris Era (2015-2025)

Kamesh Yadav, Dr Nisha Kumari

This paper critically analyses how climate finance and renewable-energy investment can enable India to transition to low-carbon in the post-paris Agreement period between 2015- 2025. The research design embraced in the study is a qualitative and descriptive study design, which is solely based on secondary data that has been sourced through government reports, policy documents, international climate-finance data bases, and academic sources. The article has examined the country-level climate-financing approaches including the green bonds, renewable-energy initiatives, government-corporate initiatives, and international climate-finance instruments like the Green Climate Fund. The study identifies that India has achieved a lot in the growth of renewable-energy and other sustainable-finance processes; nonetheless, the structural issues such as financing gaps, technological dependence, unpredictable regulations, and perpetual reliance on fossil fuels remain to limit the decarbonization over time. The paper concludes with the finding that the most important issue of the realization of the climate-commitments of India in the Paris Agreement should be the improvement of the institutional coordination, climate-finance governance and technological innovations.

CONTEMP-ADAPT: Adaptation of Modern English Plays for Contemporary Media

The present study investigates the ways in which social dramas in modern Britain have framed social identity in drama and how such framings are transformed in the medium of film. It examines George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and John Osborne's Look Back in Anger and their film adaptations: Pygmalion (1938) directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, and Look Back in Anger (1959) directed by Tony Richardson. The study adopts the Conceptual Framework of Intermedial Adaptation Transformation. It examines five layers of connection, i.e., original dramatic text, social identity construction, narrative and intermedial transformation, audience reception, and contemporary cultural relevance. The study presents a qualitative textual, visual and scene-based analysis. It determines that the process of building Pygmalion's identity is one of accent, class mobility, linguistic education, gender self-fashioning and/or public recognition, which are manifested in a visible and audible form in the film adaptation. Look Back in Anger builds identity on the basis of masculine anger, domestic entrapment, class resentment, and post-war alienation; on the other hand, Richardson's adaptation adds wider social realism to enclose the stage realism. The study states that adaptation is not a mere reproduction of drama texts but a reorganization of social meanings in the space of cinema, camera motion, close view, cutting, sound, costume and performance. The present study contributes to the field of adaptation studies through the demonstration of modification as a “cultural rejuvenation” that makes dramatic identities visible, affective, and socially resonate across media.

The Politics of Sexual and Female Resistance in Mahasweta Devi’s Draupadi

Surbhi, Dr. Nidhi

The research paper is a humble effort to examine the politics of sexual violence and female resistance in Mahasweta Devi’ Draupadi (1978). The work occupies a significant place in contemporary Indian literature for its powerful portrayal of gender, power, and resistance. Set against the socio- political background of the Naxalite movement, it depicts the harsh realities faced by tribal communities and exposes the violence inflicted upon marginalized women by state institutions. Through the character of Dopdi Mejhen, Mahasweta Devi challenges the conventional representation of women as silent victims and instead portrays a protagonist who confronts oppression with remarkable courage and determination. Dopdi's refusal to cover her violated body after custodial rape marks a decisive moment of resistance that unsettles patriarchal notions of shame, honour, and female modesty. Rather than accepting the identity imposed upon her by her oppressors, she reclaims her agency through an act of fearless defiance that transforms her body into a powerful symbol of protest. The study draws upon feminist and postcolonial perspectives to analyse the relationship between bodily violence and political power while highlighting the significance of resistance in the struggle for dignity and justice. The paper further argues that Mahasweta Devi presents sexual violence as a reflection of broader systems of social and political oppression operating within patriarchal and hierarchical structures. By foregrounding the experiences of a tribal woman, the narrative questions dominant ideas of justice, authority, and gendered violence. Draupadi ultimately demonstrates that resistance can emerge even under the most oppressive circumstances, making the text an enduring contribution to feminist literature and postcolonial discourse. The study concludes that Mahasweta Devi's portrayal of Dopdi Mejhen continues to offer valuable insights into contemporary debates on gender, violence, human rights, and the politics of the female body. Through this study, the researcher has attempted to establish that Draupadi is not merely a narrative of victimization but a powerful discourse on female agency, resistance, and the politics of the violated body. The researcher further emphasizes that Mahasweta Devi’s portrayal of Dopdi Mejhen redefines resistance by transforming bodily oppression into a site of political empowerment.

A Study of the “Orient”ation of Hinduism in British Romantic Literature

Diptishree Gupta

This paper examines the works of Sir William Jones, the British Orientalist figure, and establishes him as a “Bard of the East”. This research situates itself within the theoretical framework of Edward Said's Orientalism. Through a close reading of literary compositions, especially two specific “hymns” (Durga and Bhavani) composed by Sir Jones. It also explores how the circulation of Western depictions of “Hindooism”, by Jones, influenced one of the celebrated Romantic poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and his poetic composition, “Kubla Khan”. Employing the practice of close reading, this paper identifies recurring motifs in these compositions and debates whether certain aspects of Hinduism were recomposed to make it suitable for Western readership. It concludes by stating that Sir William Jones, although celebrated as an Orientalist figure of merit, can be considered a Romantic poet, as his "hymns" not only influenced the West but also acted as a reservoir of compositions dedicated to the deities of “Hindooism”.

Cobbled Memory Paved Borderscapes in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Sajoe Monica U, Dr. S. J. Kala

The culmination of topographical boundaries and human psyche is illuminated through interdisciplinary the concept of ‘mnemonic borderscapes’ The reverberations of the borderscapes are heard in literature that reflect the life and thoughts of human beings. Writers of fiction use the physical landscapes to portray human life and its complexities. The study aims to analyse the presence of mnemonic borderscapes in Thomas Hardy’s fiction, Tess of the d’Urbervilles. It attempts to identify the social distinctions of the Victorian society as a contested space where people compete for power and delineates the depiction of borderscapes as sites of trauma and grief. The study employs narrative inquiry methodology that identifies how mnemonic borderscapes channelise one’s action based on the past memories. The scrutiny of Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles will foster the comprehension of the temporal nature of borderscapes that becoming inexorable components of human life.

Culinary Rituals and Carnival Time: Thiruvathirakali as Ritual Space for Kerala Women

Dr. Soumy Syamchand

Thiruvathirakali is the women-centred folklore festival of Kerala’s Nair and Namboothiri communities. This paper examines the interconnectedness of ritual, food culture, and women’s health. Drawing on interviews with traditional knowledge holders and ethnographic observation, the study maps ritual routines (bathing rites, Pathirapoochoodal, Poothiruvathira), festival performances, and the seasonal dishes prepared for Makairam and Thiruvathira days (Ettangadi, Thiruvathirapuzhuku, special drinks and snacks). Situating these practices within Kerala’s agrarian and caste-structured lifeways, the paper argues that festival foodways are both symbolic and functional: they encode social meanings, enable sanctioned transgression during carnival time, and provide nutritive and medicinal benefits tailored to the female body and seasonal exigencies. Reading Thiruvathirakali through Bakhtin’s carnivalesque highlights how temporary suspension of everyday taboos creates collective space for embodied solidarity and potential resistance, even as such freedoms remain circumscribed by broader social hierarchies. The paper concludes that Thiruvathira’s culinary rituals perform dual roles — preserving communal identity and offering pragmatic health practices — and calls for further comparative and clinical research to assess the long-term health implications of these traditional food regimes

Existential Angst an outcome of the Modern life in Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape.

Reeba Suleman Saiyed

This study surrounds the existential crisis that Yank and by extension, every man suffers due to industrialization and the fast-paced growth of society. Through Yank's descent from being the man who seems to be in control of his world to a man who is nothing but a hairy ape, O'Neill wants to portray the reality of modern life. The researcher intends to explore Yank's existential crisis due to the mechanization of society. Existential and Marxist lens are the primary lens’ used in building the argument that Yank's ultimate death is a product of the dehumanization of the modern working class at the hands of the bourgeois.Yank is the mirror image of the modern man who has worked all his life but never found a place of belonging of his own Yank’s existential dilemma stems from not only having a place of belonging, nothing to call home but also a result of the exploitation he suffers in his labour due to the exploitative strategies of the bourgeois class that is ultimately contributing to his existential dillemma.

A Study on Illness Writing in Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place from the Perspective of Spiritual Ecology

Ma Chaofan, Wang Wei

Terry Tempest Williams’s nonfiction Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place interweaves family trauma and ecological crisis through a dual narrative, standing as a classic spanning nature writing, trauma literature, and women’s literature. Using Lu Shuyuan’s Spiritual Ecology theory as its core framework, this paper focuses on two manifestations of spiritual ecological imbalance reflected in the work’s illness writing, spiritual vacuum and behavioral incompetence, analyzes the underlying causes behind the imbalance, and explores the practical paths for the reconstruction of spiritual ecology. The study finds that ecological pollution caused by nuclear tests and alienation from nature driven by anthropocentrism jointly lead to the imbalance of individual spiritual ecology. However, the restoration and reconstruction of spiritual ecology can be achieved through individuals’ self-reconciliation with illness and the reconstruction of spiritual connections between humans and nature. The similar fates of the community of women and bird species in the work not only reveal the dual crises of spiritual ecological imbalance and natural ecological destruction in modern society but also provide a literary reference for contemporary people to address spiritual predicaments and ecological challenges.

The Use of English Learning Apps to Enhance English Language Proficiency among Undergraduate Students in Peripheral Areas

Dr. Mohammad Rizwan Abdul Majid Sheikh

The rapid growth of mobile technology has transformed language learning by making educational resources easily accessible through smartphones. English learning applications such as Duo lingo, Hello English, BBC Learning English, Cake, and Elsa Speak have become popular tools for improving language proficiency. This study investigates the role of English learning applications in enhancing the English language skills of undergraduate students living in peripheral areas. The study examines students' perceptions, frequency of app usage, and the effectiveness of these applications in improving vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to undergraduate students from colleges located in peripheral regions. The findings indicate that regular use of English learning apps significantly improves learners' confidence, vocabulary, pronunciation, and overall communication skills. However, challenges such as poor internet connectivity, limited digital literacy, and inconsistent learning habits continue to affect effective usage. The study recommends integrating mobile learning applications into higher education language teaching and encouraging students to use these apps alongside classroom instruction.

The Aesthetics of Atmospheres in A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's The Power of Prayer

Yogadharshini Paramasivam

This paper examines A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s autobiographical essay “The Power of Prayer” through the theoretical lens of Gernot Böhme’s aesthetics of atmospheres. While Kalam’s narrative has conventionally been read as a testament to interfaith harmony or spiritual secularism, this paper argues that the essay’s deeper significance lies in its representation of how atmospheric spaces, rather than formal instruction or abstract ideology, shape ethical subjectivity. Drawing on Bohme’s concept of atmosphere as an “in-between” phenomenon that mediates between objective environments and bodily feeling, the analysis demonstrates how Kalam’s childhood in Rameswaram unfolds across multiple atmospheric registers: the domestic atmosphere of generosity and spiritual wisdom fostered by his parents; the sacred atmospheres of the mosque and the Shiva temple, which dissolve religious boundaries through shared affective experience; the communal atmosphere of a locality where Muslims and Hindus live amicably; the elemental atmosphere of the sea and cyclone, which instills humility and resilience; and the pedagogical atmospheres created by teachers who challenge social hierarchies. The paper contends that Kalam’s identity does not emerge despite his environment but through it, the atmospheres of Rameswaram produce an ethical self that transcends religious and caste divisions long before Kalam can articulate such principles intellectually. This reading positions Bohme’s atmospheric aesthetics as a productive framework for understanding how lived environments, rather than doctrinal teachings, cultivate pluralistic consciousness in South Asian autobiographical narratives.

The Rhetoric of Defence: Poetic Authority and Humanist Discourse in Sidney’s an Apology for Poetrie

Dr. P. Sakthivel, Dr. R. Amalan

Sir Philip Sidney's An Apology for Poetrie (1595) holds a key place in English literary criticism as one of the earliest systematic defenses of poetry during the Renaissance. Written when poetry faced moral, religious, and philosophical critiques, Sidney's work aims to reaffirm the dignity, authority, and value of imaginative literature. He does this through a strong mix of classical rhetoric, Aristotelian ideas about poetry, and Renaissance humanism. This article looks at the rhetorical methods Sidney uses to build poetic authority and to position poetry as an essential tool for moral lessons, intellectual growth, and civic duty. By using rhetorical criticism and humanist literary ideas, the study examines how Sidney draws on classical thinkers such as Aristotle, Horace, and Cicero while also addressing Platonic concerns about the ethics of poetry. Special focus is given to Sidney's view of the poet as a ‘maker.’ He sees the poet's imagination as something that goes beyond the limits of history and philosophy by presenting idealized models of virtue that can inspire ethical behavior. The article also explores the connections between rhetoric, persuasion, and moral education in Sidney's arguments. It shows that his defense goes beyond just literary appreciation to address wider cultural and educational issues in the English Renaissance. Ultimately, the article argues that Sidney's rhetorical defense provides important insights into the lasting connection between literature, imagination, morality, and public discussion, reaffirming the ongoing importance of Renaissance literary theory in today's critical studies.

Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications of using Artificial Intelligence for the Development of Communicative Competence

Satabdi Bhattacharjee, Dr. G. V. S Ananta Lakshmi

In the globalized world of today, the demand for English language proficiency is continuously increasing. This has resulted in the transformation of language teaching pedagogies with the inculcation of diverse technologies in the classroom. These technologies are an innovative feature in the internet sphere, more popularly known as artificial intelligence (AI). AI-based apps have been seen to have a positive impact in enhancing the learner’s levels of communicative competence. Communicative competence can be simply defined as ‘the ability to use language appropriately and accurately in different contexts’. This paper aims to revisit the basic models of communicative competence proposed by linguists and provides a critical analysis of how the different AI-based technologies help to strengthen the distinct aspects of communicative competence. Nevertheless, this aspect of language learning is also bordered by certain ethical concerns which calls for attention on the part of the instructor/teacher. Therefore, this paper attempts to shed light on the advantages and the constraints that may arise due to the use of artificial intelligence in language teaching classrooms from a theoretical and pedagogical perspective and calls for a balanced approach in imparting language education.

Impression of Women in Literature and Life

Dr. Sarita Jain

The impression of women in literature and life has historically been intertwined, with literature frequently acting as a mirror that reflects, shapes, or reinforces societal, patriarchal views. History of Literature has noticed and observed the role of women being evolved through centuries. The Journey of Women of yesterday has been very crucial, scornful, censures which they have handled with poise and patience. Women have endured all the criticism and persisted with their perilous journey. Today Women have come a long way emerging as the strong fraternity. The discourse around women in literature highlights recurring archetypes, including the temptress, the pure virgin, and the mother, which have shaped societal expectations and literary narratives. As time progressed, particularly in the twentieth century, there was a notable shift toward the inclusion of diverse female voices, with women authors increasingly gaining recognition and focusing on a wider range of female experiences. This evolution of literature not only reflects changing societal attitudes towards gender but also challenges traditional stereotypes, paving the way for a more nuanced understanding of women in both fiction and real life. Prominent female writers, such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, have contributed significantly to this rich literary landscape, emphasizing the importance of varied perspectives in the portrayal of women's identities.

Culture and Education: Storytelling as a reflective tool for critical thinking

Mark J. R. Wakefield

The power of storytelling is acknowledged as having a powerful capacity to help readers think about characters and reflect on their own lives through the experiences of the characters explored in such tales. Having been part of the cultural character of the wider human community from time immemorial, storytelling retains its strong capacity to inspire critical reflection. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between storytelling and critical thinking and how one can stimulate the other and expose the overall benefits such an exercise can produce.

The Voice of the Unheard: Tribal Literature as Counter-Discourse in Indian English Literature

Dr. Parul Saxena

The tribal literature in Indian English literature acts as an apt tool of counter-discourse on the mainstream discourses on history, culture, development, identity, etc. It exposes the deprived, wretched and the downtrodden. Oral voices make their place to communicate their anguish. Tribal writing in Indian English literature is also a strong discourse of contestation of the dominant discourse of history, development, culture and identity by giving an authentic experience to native discourse to voice the excluded, misunderstood and ignored people. Through writings highlighting the experience of resistance, identity, displacement, ecological understanding, the safeguarding of culture, or the retelling of oral stories, the tribal literature undermines the constructions of colonialism, capitalism and the state apparatus. It aims to understand how tribal narratives contest hegemonic representations and establish indigenous authority through analysing the writings of Mahasweta Devi, Gopinath Mohanty, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Temsula Ao, and Mamang Dai within the framework of Subaltern Studies and Ecocriticism. The essay focuses on how tribal literature remembers collective history, reinforces cultural integrity and builds up a sensitive rapport with nature. The utilisation of the English language as a means of literary representation is beneficial for the accessibility and propagation of indigenous voices and thus opens debates on authenticity and misrepresentation.

Humanity Amidst Communal Violence: Witnessing Partition Victims through Saadat Hasan Manto's Khol Do

Moumita Biswas, Dr. Indira Banerji

The Partition of India in 1947 has become one of the most devastating events in the history of South Asia that saw unprecedented communal violence, mass displacement and human suffering. Literary depictions of the day-to-day life of ordinary people tell the stories that are not always central to official histories. This article takes up the case of Saadat Hasan Manto's Khol Do for an analysis of the role of the writer in its capacity as a witness to the traumatic experiences of Partition victims. Inspecting trauma theory, testimony studies, memory studies and feminist theory, the study proposes that Manto brings fiction to bear as a potent ethical archive of collective suffering. The paper examines the collapse of humanity in face of communal violence, the gender aspect of atrocities of Partition and the lingering psychological impact on the trauma through a close textual analysis of Khol Do. The focal points are Sakina's and Sirajuddin's lives—their split identities and heartaches are the microcosm of the human toll of political violence. Instead of the violence being a one-off event in history, Manto uncovers the ability of violence to shape memory, identity and moral conscience. The paper also argues that by rehabilitating the marginalised victims and keeping the emotions that are usually missing from the historical record, Khol Do confronts the nationalist historiography. This work places Manto's writings in the broader context of the interdisciplinary discussions of witnessing and memory, and underscores the continuing importance of literature in recording human suffering and preserving the memory of Partition.

The Representation of Colonial Power in M. G. Vassanji's The Book of Secrets

Sujata Kumari, Dr. Sanjeev Tayal

The present research paper examines the representation of colonial power in M. G. Vassanji's The Book of Secrets (1994), a significant postcolonial novel that revisits the colonial history of East Africa through the intertwined narratives of memory, history, identity, and power. Set against the background of British colonial rule in East Africa, the novel explores the ways in which colonial authority operates through administration, surveillance, cultural hierarchy, and the control of historical knowledge. Through the figure of Alfred Corbin, a British colonial administrator, and his secret diary, Vassanji presents colonial power not merely as political domination but also as the power to observe, record, classify, and represent the lives of others. The discovery and interpretation of Corbin's diary by Pius Fernandes further expose the limitations of official colonial records and raise questions about whose version of history is preserved and whose voices remain silenced. The novel also examines the complex position of Asian communities in colonial East Africa and challenges a simplistic division between colonizer and colonized. The experiences of marginalized characters further reveal the intersection of colonial authority with cultural and patriarchal structures. Drawing on postcolonial perspectives, the paper argues that Vassanji critically represents colonial power as a system that attempts to control both people and historical narratives. At the same time, the novel demonstrates that colonial authority cannot completely suppress memory, identity, and alternative interpretations of the past. Thus, The Book of Secrets becomes a significant literary exploration of colonial power and its continuing influence on the construction of history and identity.

Posthumous/ Posthuman: Reexamining the Gothic Corpse in Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Body Snatcher” and Arthur Machen’s “The Inmost Light”

Sudipta Mandal

This article examines the gothicity of the corpse as a liminal and posthuman figure in Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Body Snatcher” and Arthur Machen’s “The Inmost Light.” Situating these texts within the anatomical culture of the late nineteenth century, this study investigates how the posthumous body destabilizes conventional distinctions between human and nonhuman, life and death, and self and matter. Drawing on critical posthumanism and Gothic studies, the article argues that the corpse functions as an “abhuman” entity whose materiality exposes the instability of the humanist subject. Stevenson’s tale mobilizes the uncanny return of the dissected body to expose the contingent nature of human identity while Machen’s story interrogates contemporary theories of cerebral localization to challenge the presumed relationship between consciousness and bodily identity. By reading the corpse as a site of posthuman critique, the article demonstrates that fin-de-siècle Gothic fiction anticipates some of the contemporary debates on materiality, embodiment, and the limits of human exceptionalism.

Beyond the Representation of Écriture Féminine and the Poetics of Everyday Life in Zoya Pirzad’s “Mismatched” (Lengeh-be-Lengeh)

Marjan Moghadas

This paper explores the manifestation of écriture féminine in Zoya Pirzad’s short story “Mismatched,” drawing on the theories of Hélène Cixous. While Pirzad’s works has frequently been studied through the lenses of female representation, everyday life, and identity, the linguistic and narrative mechanisms tied to the concept of écriture féminine in this story remain under-researched. Employing qualitative textual analysis and close reading, this study demonstrates that écriture féminine operates in this text not merely at the thematic level, but through its form, rhythm, silences, everyday details, and the organization of narrative perception. The findings reveal that the “everyday” in Pirzad’s fiction is not merely a backdrop for representing women’s experiences, but functions as an arena for meaning-making, resistance against established patriarchal linguistic patterns, and the rewriting of lived female experience. Consequently, this paper argues that “Mismatched” articulates a poetics of the everyday, through which écriture féminine in contemporary Persian fiction is realized—not through extreme linguistic ruptures, but through a delicate economy of silence, rhythm, and the minutiae of daily life.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Reports in US Media in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Yu Liang

As a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a history of more than four thousand years. Examining overseas news coverage of TCM can contribute to a better understanding of its international representation and communication. Based on Fairclough's three-dimensional analysis model, this study conducts a critical discourse analysis of traditional Chinese medicine coverage in mainstream American media from 2020 to 2022. At the textual level, the high-frequency words show that the focus of the reports is mostly on the effectiveness of TCM. US media use a large number of low-value modal words to convey their attitude towards TCM, which is conducive to building a relatively objective media image, but the selection of relevant components shows its questioning attitude towards traditional Chinese medicine. At the level of discourse practice, the analysis of news sources shows that most of the news sources are specific. However, US media rely more heavily on American scholars, experts, and institutions than on Chinese scholars. In the social practice dimension, the study primarily examines the American social context, revealing various societal factors that influence the mainstream US media's attitude toward TCM. The findings of this study provide meaningful implications for the global dissemination of Chinese traditional culture and the international communication of traditional Chinese medicine.

Breaking the Shell: Women's Struggle and Resilience in Nadia Hashimi's The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

Parneet Kaur

The paper explores the condition of women in Nadia Hashimi's novel The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (2014). The novel follows the lives of two women, Shekiba and Rahima, who belong to different generations but share a similar fate as they struggle to survive in a patriarchal society. It demonstrates that, regardless of the time period, women continue to face oppression and must constantly fight for their survival and dignity. The study examines how both Shekiba and Rahima encounter similar social restrictions despite living generations apart. To escape discrimination and gain opportunities denied to girls, both are compelled to adopt the tradition of bacha posh, disguising themselves as boys and concealing their female identity. Through their experiences, the novel highlights the persistence of gender inequality and the enduring impact of patriarchal norms on women's lives. This paper not only explores their suffering but also examines how one woman's experiences inspire the other to challenge patriarchal oppression. Ultimately, both Shekiba and Rahima break free from the metaphorical ‘shell’ of social restrictions, assert their identities, strive to live their lives delightfully, and reject the norms of patriarchal society. However, they faced a lot of exploitation, lost their family members, were deprived of various rights such as education, property rights, playing freely, and choosing their life partners, and so on. It further emphasizes that despite continuous oppression, challenges, and social injustice, women demonstrate remarkable courage and determination.

An Empirical Investigation of Startup Challenges: A Modeling Approach using Exploratory Factor Analysis

Rubi, Dr. Kapil Malhotra

Startups are important drivers of innovation, employment generation, and economic development; however, they encounter numerous challenges that affect their growth and sustainability. This study aims to investigate the major challenges faced by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-recognized startups in Haryana using a modeling approach based on Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A cross-sectional research design was adopted, and primary data were collected from 55 startup founders and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) through a structured questionnaire using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value (0.766), significant Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (p < 0.001), and Cronbach's alpha (0.965) confirmed the adequacy and reliability of the measurement scale. EFA identified five key dimensions of startup challenges—financial, regulatory, human resource, managerial, and market-related—which explained 87.094% of the total variance. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, incubators, investors, and entrepreneurs to formulate strategies that enhance startup sustainability and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Writing as Resistance: Caste, Gender, and Subaltern Subjectivity in Poomani’s And Then

T Marx

Poomani’s debut Tamil novel Piraku, translated into English as And Then by T. Marx (2019), is among the earliest Tamil novels to render the lived experience of the Arunthathiyar (Chakkiliyar) community with sustained realism. Set in the karisal (black-soil) tract of southern Tamil Nadu, the novel follows Alagiri, a cobbler bound to a semi-feudal land-tenure arrangement called the kaani system, and his daughter Muthumari, whose life and death expose the intersecting violence of caste and patriarchy. This paper reads And Then through subaltern studies, cultural studies, and trauma studies frameworks to argue that Poomani constructs a doubly and trebly marginalized community whose labour, kinship, orality, and silence together constitute both the site of oppression and the ground of resistance. Attention to the novel’s language politics, its staging of post-Independence electoral democracy, and its gendered trauma situates And Then within Tamil Subaltern writing and the wider world literature of the soil.

The Natural World as Sacred Presence: An Ecospiritual Reading of The Man with the Compound Eyes

Ishfaq Ahmad Shah, Dr. Hina Tahir

In the Anthropocene, due to rampant anthropogenic impact on ecological systems, a divide has occurred between human and nonhuman worlds, where the former exerts its power on the latter. This hierarchical relationship between them has proved detrimental to both. To challenge and dismantle this uneven paradigm, I discuss the scope of ecospirituality—which regards the nonhuman world as sacred—in promoting a harmonious relationship between humans and other-than-humans. This spiritual approach emphasises the collective evolution grounded in interconnectedness and interrelation among all life forms. Influenced by the ecological philosophies of Thomas Berry and Thomas Clarke, I argue that ecological space is sacred for the islanders of Taiwan, with whom they communicate and stay in communion. I foreground their familial relationship with the natural world, highlighting coexistence rather than domination. Besides, I contend that the islanders deem nonhuman objects as agential entities that help shape their realities. Moreover, I examine Wu Ming-Yi's depiction of ‘ecological memories’ as a way to underscore the geological and temporal scales at which transformations in the nonhuman world become perceptible.

Renunciation and Reconstruction: Spirituality, Redemption, and Masculine Identity in the Fiction of R. K. Narayan and Manju Kapur

Neha Raghav, Dr. Girish Chandra Pant

This paper comparatively examines the representation of spirituality, redemption, and masculine identity in the fiction of R. K. Narayan and Manju Kapur. It argues that Narayan presents masculine reconstruction through renunciation and Hindu spiritual philosophy, whereas Kapur depicts identity as an ongoing negotiation shaped by modernity, globalization, and gender relations. Through a comparative textual analysis of selected novels, the study highlights continuities and divergences in their treatment of masculinity and redemption.

Invisible Chains: From Slavery to Patriarchy in Selected Women’s Writings

Dr. Indu Rani

Even though legal slavery was outlawed in the nineteenth century, its ideological underpinnings are still present in modern dominance structures. The shift from physical enslavement to psychological, cultural, and social forms of control shows that oppression has only taken on new forms rather than vanishing. Through a comparison of Toni Morrison's Beloved, Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, Nadine Gordimer's July's People, and Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, this essay explores the similarities between historical slavery and contemporary patriarchal oppression. The study explores how power structures govern women's bodies, identities, sexuality, labor, and social roles in various cultural and historical contexts, drawing on Simone de Beauvoir's idea of women as the "Other." The study makes the case that patriarchy acts as a modern-day version of slavery by establishing covert control mechanisms that limit women's agency and autonomy. Roy and Gordimer show how gender discrimination, caste hierarchies, racial inequality, and cultural constraints continue to subjugate women in postcolonial societies, while Jacobs and Morrison highlight the harsh realities and psychological legacy of racial slavery. The study uses a comparative literary analysis to show how institutionalized gender norms, economic dependence, and social conditioning create dominance relationships that mimic the logic of slavery. In addition, women are portrayed in the chosen texts as active agents of resistance who fight for self-definition and oppose oppressive systems. This essay illustrates how patriarchal power endures across national and cultural borders by drawing connections between South African, Indian, and African American literary traditions. It argues that even though oppressive practices have evolved, the ways in which women are disadvantaged still bear the scars of slavery. In the end, the article suggests that modern patriarchy functions as a system of invisible chains that upholds inequality while hiding its coercive nature behind social and cultural conventions.

The Metaphor of Desire: Eroticism, Pornography, and the Sanctity of Art in an Age of Sexual Materialism

Snober Sataravala

This paper examines the increasingly complex relationship between art, literature, pornography, and the commodification of sexuality in the contemporary cultural marketplace. It proposes that the twenty-first century may be understood as an emerging age of sexual materialism, in which sexual desire, representation, and the human body are increasingly transformed into commodities governed by systems of production, consumption, and exchange value. While both literature and pornography are products of labour and respond to market demand, the paper argues that their distinction cannot be determined solely by the presence or absence of sexual representation or by the degree of explicitness. Instead, it is located in the relationship between representation, meaning, and metaphor. Drawing upon Marxist theories of labour, commodity, use value, and exchange value, alongside literary and aesthetic theories of representation, form, the gaze, and artistic technique, the study examines the thresholds that regulate the production and reception of cultural commodities. It argues that the erotic in art is distinguished from pornography by its capacity to signify beyond the immediate sexual act. Through metaphor, sexuality may acquire psychological, philosophical, symbolic, aesthetic, and cultural meanings that exceed the demands of physical gratification. Pornography, by contrast, tends towards the collapse of metaphor, reducing the body and the sexual act to objects of immediate consumption. The paper further contends that the market, despite its capacity to commodify desire, remains constrained by consumer expectations. The consumer's refusal to accept a representation that fails to meet the perceived aesthetic or intellectual value of art establishes a threshold beyond which commodification becomes unsustainable. This threshold constitutes a potential safeguard for the autonomy and sanctity of art. The study therefore argues that although sexual materialism may increasingly influence cultural production, the continued operation of metaphor and the critical agency of the consumer preserve a distinction between erotic representation and pornography, thereby resisting the complete reduction of art to commodity and sustaining the possibility of art as a mode of meaning beyond immediate consumption.

English Language Proficiency among Secondary School Students in Adoni Division of Andhra Pradesh: An Empirical Study using ELPT-MKDR

Dr. R. Manoj Kumar, V. Amrutha

English language proficiency plays a pivotal role in determining academic success and enhancing employability prospects, particularly in multilingual societies such as India. This study examines the English language proficiency levels of secondary school students in the Adoni Division of Andhra Pradesh using the standardized English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT-MKDR). Adopting a descriptive survey design, the study utilized both descriptive and inferential statistical methods to analyze the data. A sample of 300 students was selected through stratified random sampling from government and private schools located in both rural and urban areas. The ELPT-MKDR, comprising 56 items distributed across three sections and fourteen content domains, was administered under standardized testing conditions. Data analysis involved the computation of mean scores, standard deviations, independent samples t-tests, and correlation coefficients. The results revealed that most students demonstrated a moderate level of English language proficiency. Significant differences were observed with respect to school location (rural–urban) and school management (government–private). Furthermore, the findings indicate a disparity between students’ grammatical competence and their ability to use English effectively in communicative contexts. The study underscores the need for pedagogical interventions and curriculum reforms aimed at strengthening communicative language competence and improving overall English language proficiency among secondary school learners.

Mirroring the Offline World: An Integrated Conceptual Framework of Cybercrime Perpetration and Victimization in Online Media

Arun R. S., Dr. Uthara Soman

Cybercrime does not emerge in isolation from society; rather, it reflects and replicates existing social, economic, and cultural conditions of the physical world within online environments (Wall, 2007). While cyberspace alters the scale, speed, and anonymity of offenses, the underlying human motivations—such as financial gain, power, revenge, and exploitation—remain largely unchanged (Grabosky, 2001). In India, this menace has escalated dramatically, transitioning from minor web defacements and identity thefts during the early e-commerce and UPI boom into a massive multi-billion-dollar threat dominated by complex cross-border financial frauds, aggressive "digital arrest" scams, and AI-driven extortion (NCRB, 2023). Despite diligent law enforcement interventions, the staggering financial toll and skyrocketing incident rates underscore the urgent need for a deeper, more structured understanding of digital offenses, particularly within highly vulnerable and gendered sectors of cyber abuse, such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and online harassment (Devika et al., 2019; IT for Change, 2019). Despite a growing body of literature, contemporary cybercrime research remains highly fragmented, frequently analyzing perpetrator motivations or victim vulnerabilities in isolation (Holt & Bossler, 2014). This academic separation obscures the dynamic, interactive process through which cybercrimes actually occur. Addressing this critical gap, this paper develops a comprehensive, integrated conceptual framework that synthesizes established criminological, sociological, and communication theories to explain cybercrime as a fluid interplay between offenders, targets, and technological contexts. Crucially, the framework positions the online media environment as a vital mediating and contextual variable. It explores how platform-specific structural features, such as user anonymity, rapid accessibility, algorithmic amplification, and weak architectural guardianship, facilitate harmful intersections between motivated offenders and suitable targets (Yar, 2005). By bridging these disparate dimensions, the proposed model maps the convergence of perpetrator traits and victim lifestyles into four distinct digital outcomes: financial loss, severe psychological harm, reputational damage, and systemic privacy violations. Ultimately, this paper provides a robust theoretical foundation to guide future empirical research, while offering actionable, evidence-based insights for policymakers, educational curricula, and platform providers to design user-centered safety features and proactive risk-reduction strategies.

Memories Cast in Ritual and Soil: Neelakkuyil and Nirmalyam as Mnemonic Narratives of Kerala's Modern Crisis

Unnikrishnan Kalamullathil

This paper examines Neelakkuyil (1954) and Nirmalyam (1973) as mnemonic texts within Malayalam cinema that encode the complex experience of modernity in Kerala. Situating the films within the socio-historical transformations of postcolonial Kerala — marked by linguistic reorganisation, agrarian reform, communist mobilisation, and the decline of feudal and ritual formations — the study argues that these works do not merely reflect social change but actively participate in the construction of cultural memory. Drawing on Jan Assmann's theory of cultural memory alongside postcolonial frameworks of hybridity and ambivalence, the paper analyses the distinct mnemonic landscapes each film produces as sites where the tension between tradition and modernity is negotiated. Neelakkuyil employs social realism to memorialise caste repression and legitimate a rationalist, reformist nationalism, while simultaneously reinscribing gender and caste hierarchies through the silencing of subaltern voices. Nirmalyam, in contrast, adopts an elegiac modernist aesthetic to lament the spiritual and ontological displacement wrought by modernisation — a register of loss, dispossession, and irresolvable historical rupture. Taken together, the two films constitute a dialectic of cultural memory: one oriented toward liberation and futurity, the other toward mourning and critique. In doing so, they lay bare the contradictions and costs of modern transformation in Kerala. The paper concludes that these films remain vital for understanding how postcolonial societies visualise, negotiate, and contest the meanings of progress, identity, and historical change.

Creative Rebellion: Rewriting and Reconstruction in Translation through the English Version of Frog

Kaize Wang

In traditional translation theory, "faithfulness" is regarded as the core criterion for evaluating the quality of a translation, and translators are often expected to faithfully convey the original text while remaining “invisible”. However, with the cultural turn and the development of translation criticism, the translator’s agency and creativity have increasingly come to the fore. The view that “translation is rewriting” challenges fidelity centrism, emphasizing that translation is a process of re-creation shaped by ideology, aesthetic standards, and cultural context. This study examines Mo Yan’s representative work Frog and its English version , drawing on André Lefevere’s theory of rewriting to explore the translator’s creative acts of defiance during the translation process. This paper focuses on adjustments to linguistic style and the reconstruction of culturally loaded language in the translation, analyzing how the translator reshapes the text’s meaning within the target culture. Through a close reading and comparison of the source text and the translation, it demonstrates that the English translator, Howard Goldblatt did not mechanically reproduce the source text when handling sensitive themes, stylistic rhythm, and cultural metaphors, but rather engaged in strategic omissions, transformations, and re-creations within the context of the local target culture.

A Study on the Optimization of Classroom Observation and Evaluation in Primary Mathematics Based on the Improved Flanders Interaction Analysis System

Wenqi Yang, Danzi Yang,Yuxi Yu

Aiming at subjective judgment and ambiguous evaluation criteria prevailing in current lesson observation and evaluation of primary mathematics, this study takes the Improved Flanders Interaction Analysis System (IFIAS) as the core quantitative tool. Adopting a mixed research method integrating classroom observation, questionnaires and in-depth interviews, it constructs a segmented behavioral coding framework adapted to primary mathematics classrooms. A total of 118 mathematics lessons were observed and coded at 30-second intervals, generating 12,400 behavioral units. Questionnaire surveys collected 152 valid responses from participating teachers, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 teachers. This paper systematically sorts out the necessity and feasibility of implementing this tool as well as its practical effects, and analyzes various obstacles existing in its application. It further constructs a closed-loop optimization path covering pre-class, in-class and post-class links, and puts forward supporting guarantee strategies from the perspectives of hierarchical training, digital empowerment and diversified teaching research, so as to provide operable practical references for primary and secondary schools to carry out data-oriented and professional mathematics teaching research.

Intersectional Re-Framing: A Tool for Portraying Phoenix Like Characters in Meena Kandasamy’s Poems

Dr. Abhilasha Rohilla

The present research paper, Intersectional Re-framing: A Tool for Portraying Phoenix Like Characters in Meena Kandasamy’s Poems, is a critical assessment and attempt to establish Meena Kandasamy’s adventurous journey of becoming an interventionist to the mainstream literature through her scathing expressions, gory description of atrocities, discussing the facade of subjugation, registering her resistance through creativity, and demythifying the established tradition and religious hegemony of Brahmanic cultures. The backdrop of oppression, jeopardising females at gender, race, caste and class levels, transcends their level of tolerance and endurance. The functioning of intersectionality as a critical framework to define multiple and interconnected power factors such as racism, casteism, sexism, class exploitation, etc. becomes indispensable for the modern-era creative writer. By acknowledging burning issues, the writer is incited to resist, reframe, and recreate through deconstruction and dissent, demystifying the traditional standards that jeopardise females, announcing a "New Feminism" at various levels, and rejecting the entire concept of western feminism as inapplicable to all contexts, including India. She blatantly subverts the established hegemony of the patriarchal and androcentric setup with a “New Literature" for the subaltern, down-trodden, underprivileged, Dalit, and oppressed females. She successfully creates a niche of resistance literature demanding liberation in a modern, liberal, and pragmatic way. Meena Kandasamy’s oeuvre exposes exploitation, from transgression to transformation, by resolving the problems through resilience and developing focused strategy through intellectualism and practical wisdom. The poetess asserts in her Introduction to the anthology, Ms Militancy, “I strive to be a sphinx: part woman, part lioness, armed with dissent and lethal with riddles.” (Kandasamy 9). The paper covers the journey of Meena Kandasamy’s creating the gyno-space in “New Indian Feminist Literature” through autobiographical and confessional notes, seeking liberation for her characters through the literature of resistance by selecting the path of resilient intellect and level-headed action, the resurrection of universal characters as the Indian phoenix, and self-annihilation for the sake of social justice.

Evolutionary Path and Mechanisms of Value Co-creation by Focal Firms in Digital Innovation Ecosystems: Evidence from Anjoy Foods

Zihan Wang

In the era of the digital economy, digital innovation ecosystems have become a critical vehicle for the digital transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Understanding how focal firms drive value co-creation across different stages of ecosystem development is of both theoretical and practical importance. Using Anjoy Foods, a leading enterprise in China's frozen food industry, as a longitudinal case, this study investigates the evolutionary path and underlying mechanisms of value co-creation from the perspective of the digital innovation ecosystem by adopting a motivation–process–outcome analytical framework. The evolution of Anjoy Foods' value co-creation practices from 2019 to 2025 is classified into three sequential stages: connection, collaboration, and symbiosis. The findings indicate that each stage exhibits distinct characteristics, reflecting a progressive transition from linear value co-creation to networked value co-creation and ultimately to ecosystem-based value co-creation. Furthermore, this evolutionary process is jointly driven by four complementary mechanisms: the interest coordination mechanism, information integration mechanism, incentive compatibility mechanism, and environmental coupling mechanism. The findings provide practical insights for enterprises seeking to implement value co-creation strategies within digital innovation ecosystems in the digital economy.

Pan-Asianism, Theory and Culture: A Nexus in Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Areeb Abbas Zaidi, Dr. Nilofer Shakir

Pan-Asianism, civilization and the actuality of globalization is ideated in Hamid's Exit West in a postcolonial actuality. The paper explores this idea through an analysis of the novel in the light of nationalism, violence, civilization and its adjunct idea of identity in a globalized world fractured by late-stage migration. The examination of these ideas takes place through Asian and Western civilizations as two different and opposing thought processes/philosophies in context with the novel that ultimately shape an ideological stance of the socio-political implications in neo-coloniality.