Deepak K. Srivastava

Changes in acute encephalitis syndrome incidence after introduction of Japanese encephalitis vaccine in a region of India

Seasonal outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) with considerable mortality and disability are frequently reported in Gorakhpur division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Japanese encephalitis (JE) has been a major and consistent cause of these outbreaks in the Gorakhpur division. AES surveillance was established in the area with the objectives of estimating the burden, assessing the effect of JE vaccination and guiding future strategies for control. Most AES cases are admitted in the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, the only tertiary care hospital in the public sector in the division and are reported to the state program officer for onward transmission to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. The laboratory of the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhpur is the regional laboratory for AES surveillance where cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) and/or sera samples from AES cases are tested for IgM antibodies against JE using the ELISA kit developed by NIV, Pune. The kit has specificity of 85% (96% with CSF and 77% with serum) and sensitivity of 71% (75% with CSF and 71% with serum). As per the surveillance guidelines, positive samples are classified as JE confirmed cases and negative samples as JE negative AES. We obtained the line-list of AES cases from the NIV laboratory at Gorakhpur for 2008e2012 which contained information about demographic details, place of residence, JE vaccination details and results of JE serology. The linelist was up to date with laboratory results. We analysed the data to describe the epidemiology of AES in terms of time [incidence and 95% confidence interval (CI) for 2008e2012], place (incidence and 95% CI for different districts), and person (incidence and 95% CI by age and gender). The 2011 census population and 2001e2011 decadal growth rates for the 4 districts in Gorakhpur division was used to estimate the population for different years. During 2008e2012, a total of 10,175 cases of AES were reported from Gorakhpur division. A total of 4335 CSF and 7539 sera samples were collected from these patients. IgM

Analyzing the Structure of the International Business Curriculum in India

This article analyzes the structure of the international business curriculum through a questionnaire-based survey among current students and young managers who are studying or have studied international business courses in one of the top B-Schools of India. Respondents have the opinion that international business is more than internationalization of different functional areas and is to be treated as a separate academic discipline. In the context of pedagogy, respondents feel the need for more elective courses on international business and prefer learning through different methods such as foreign country visits, simulation, and role playing activities.

Factors Affecting Students’ Preferences to Study Abroad Programs: A Case of Indian Business School Students

ABSTRACT This study makes an attempt to explore the factors affecting Indian students’ preferences to study abroad programs. A survey administered in one of the leading business schools of India and subsequent analysis reveals the significance and importance of study abroad for Indian students. Result shows that the top-ranked factors affecting students’ preferences to study abroad are: quality of education in the host country, safety issues in the host country, and reputation and ranking of the host institution. Also, USA was found to be the most preferred country for study, and students belonging to a family business prefer the USA for study. However, no significant relationship was found between country choice and gender of the student. Similarly, specialization of the study was not found to be a significant factor of country choice.