Human Ecology in Action, Vol. 1 (Hardbound - 2003)

An attempt has been made in this book to provide a philosophical perspective to the “Inter-dependence" in and among the various levels of Social Pyramid with “Individual” at the bottom and “society” at the top. It makes an effort to highlight the loopholes and weaknesses in “the education system.” It emphasises on the ways and means to transform the inherent challenges into opportunities in the spheres of Education and Agriculture.

The study deals with the critical theme of Food, Nutrition and Environmental Security. It also brings to centerstage the need to help the Farm Families to achieve utmost levels of productivity, employment, income, and quality living, for sustaining ecological security and natural sovereignty; and emphasises on the role played by trained products of the institutes for higher learning.

In totality, it provides a mirror which not only reflects but, also, showcases the grains of coherence required to nurture the ecological conceptions of human world.

The volume will be of great use as a reference book to students and research workers in the field of Human Ecology and Education.

Dr. (Mrs.) Shashi Kumar received her Master of Science degree from Christ Church College, Kanpur (1965), and her Ph.D. from the University of Delhi, India (1977) on Foliar studies. She has 33 years of teaching experience in Botany and Applied Botany. She has received fellowship to carry out her work at the Floriculture and Bulb Research Centre (LBO), Lisse, the Netherlands; Training in Rural Extension and Teaching (TREAT) and Training in Women Extension Workers and Agriculture (WEA), Deventer, the Netherlands; and a course on Farming System Development in Germany. Her Post-Doctorate research is related to induction of appropriate technology package in improving life support systems for small, marginal and landless women farmers of India. She has executed 22 projects funded by national and international agencies. She is the author of several National and International publications.

She was a special invitee from India to present a paper on “Vegetarian diets in India” at NASA Johnson Space Centre, Houston, Texas, USA in 1994. Later in 1997 she attended the Conference on “Nutrition and Food Concerns of Long Term Space Travel” organized by NASA & NJ-NSCORT at University of Houston, Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Texas, USA. In 1999 she made a country presentation on “A System Approach for Income Generation for Farm Women” at 10th Biennial International Congress of Asian Regional Association for Home Economics, ARAHE 99, Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama Japan.

At present she is Reader at the Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi.