Udoy Saikia

Lecturer

Gender, Population and Environment, Development Studies, Sustainable Development, Globalisation, Women’s Empowerment, HIV/AIDS research and training, population policies, demographic and fertility analysis, Primary health care in developing countries

Contact Details Office: Room 301Social Sciences North Postal: School of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia Email: udoy.saikia@flinders.edu.au Phone: (08) 8201 2639(in Australia); (618) 8201 2639(outside Australia) Fax: (08) 8201 3521 (in Australia); (618) 8201 3521 (outside Australia)

Qualifications

MA Economics (GIPE India), Masters in Population Studies (IIPS Bombay), MSc in Demography (London School of Economics), PhD (Flinders University)

Current Teaching

• PPHR9004: Population Studies
• PPHR 9013: Population and Environment
• PPHR 9024 Research Methods in Population Studies
• DVST 2001/8022 Sustainable Development
• DVST 9112/9112A/9112B International Development Research
• DVST 9906 International Development Research
• DVST 9918/9918A/9918B/9918C/9918D International Development Research
• DVST 9924/9924A/9924B/9924C/9924D International Development Research
• ENVS9003: Sustainable Environmental Management
• GEOG7004: Advanced Demography

Achievements

• Ron Lister Visiting Fellowship, University of Otago, New Zealand 2008
• Scholarship for IUSSP-MPID Joint Summer School, Max Planck Institute, Rostock, Germany, 2007.
• Nominated for Irmgard Coninx Research Grant Award (6th Berlin Roundtables on Population Politics and Human Rights”, Germany) 2007.
• Award for most outstanding presentation (Council of the Australian Geographers) 2001.
• International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (Flinders University) 1999.
• London School of Economics Scholarship (Indian Friends of LSE) 1994.

Consultancy/Research Projects

• 2006: Awarded Flinders Research Grant to conduct a field based research titled “The country with world’s highest fertility: a preliminary investigation into the reproductive behaviour of women of Timor Leste”.

• 2005-06: International Consultant for United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Papua New Guinea to provide technical and research expertise for preparing a Human Development Report 2006 for the Autonomous Bougainville Region. The responsibilities covered all aspects of the report beginning with the selection of a theme of the report, collection and analysis of required data, calculation of various indicators of human development and preparing the chapters.

• 1997-98: Key researcher for Oxfam (India/UK) on a national level report titled “India Disasters Report”.

Consultancy Capabilities

• Gender, Population and Environment, Development Studies, Sustainable Development, Globalisation, Women’s Empowerment, HIV/AIDS research and training, population policies, demographic and fertility analysis, Primary health care in developing countries.

Membership of Professional Associations

• International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP)
• Australian Population Association (APA)
• Peoples Health Movement SA

Research Areas

• Gender, Population and Development, Development in Transitional Societies, Sustainable Development, Globalisation, Capacity Development, Women’s Empowerment, HIV/AIDS research and training, population policies, demographic and fertility analysis.

Research Papers/ Publications/Conference Presentations

• Nguyen Van H, Saikia U, An Thi Minh, 2008 (forthcoming, reprint), "Gender, Development and HIV/AIDS in Vietnam: Towards an Alternative Response Model among Women Sex Workers, Global Gender Research: Transnational Perspectives, Routledge Press, NY.
• Chalmers, J., Saikia, U. and Dasvarma G., 2008 (forthcoming), Human Development Report, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, UNDP, Papua New Guinea.
• Chalmers, J., Saikia U., Dasvarma, G., 2008, Innovative Assessment of Human Development - the Case of Bougainville in Williamson, A. et al. Researching with Communities, Wairua Consulting.
• Nguyen Van H, Saikia U, An Thi Minh, 2008, Gender, development and HIV/AIDS in Vietnam: Towards an Alternative Response Model among Women Sex Workers, Asian Journal of Women Studies, Vol. 14, No.1, pp. 98-119.
• Nguyen Van, H. & Saikia, U. 2008.  “HIV/AIDS in Vietnam: a gender analysis” Asian Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 1.
• Saikia, U. and Dasvarma, G. 2007, “Endangered gender in a matrilineal society: evidences from the Khasi tribe in Northeast India”, Asian Social Science Vol. 3, No. 11.
• Saikia U., 2007, Threats from migration, socio-political injustice and reproductive behaviour in tribal communities- a study in the Khasi tribe in northeast India, 6th Berlin Roundtables on Population Politics and Human Rights, Irmgard Coninx Foundation, Germany. Available at: http://www.irmgard-coninx-stiftung.de/index.php?id=83
• Saikia U.; Dasvarma, G.; Chalmers, J., 2006, “Determinant of high fertility in three different societies of Asia-Pacific region”, Australian Population Association Conference, Adelaide, Australia.
•  Saikia, U. 2005, High fertility in Khasi tribe of northeast India: A repercussion of the fear of identity loss? XXV International Population Conference, IUSSP, Tours, France.
• Saikia, U. 2002, Reproductive Decisions in Transitional Societies, seminar paper presented at University of Adelaide, South Australia.
• Saikia, U. 2002, Cultural and Religious Securities as Determinants of Reproductive Behaviour, in “Reproductive Health: Taking Care of Tomorrows World”, Emmanuel College, University of Queensland.
• Saikia, U. 2002, Guest Speaker: ‘Reproductive Health and North-South Dichotomy in India”, Planet without a plan, Youth Conference organised by Australian Reproductive Health Alliances, Adelaide, April 2002. 
• Saikia, U. 2001, ‘Culture, Religion and Reproductive Behaviour in Two Indigenous Communities of Northeastern India: A Discussion on Some Preliminary Findings’ in XXIV IUSSP General Conference, Salvador, Brazil.
• Saikia,U. 2001, ‘Reproductive Behaviour among Two Tribal Communities in North-East India: Some Initial Findings’ in 2001, geography : a spatial odyssey : proceedings of the Third Joint Conference of the New Zealand Geographical Society and the Institute of Australian Geographers, Department of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, 2001 / edited by Peter Holland.
• Kulkarni, S. & Saikia, U. 1996, ‘Son Preference and Fertility Decline in India’ International Seminar Gender and Population, organised by International Union for Scientific Study of Population, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Postgraduate students supervised

Doctoral students
Dr Mona Girgis: “The capacity building paradox: using friendship work to build capacity in the South”
Sara Javanparast: “Barriers to providing comprehensive primary health care in addressing child malnutrition in Iran”
Sirixai Phanthavongs
Masters students (by coursework)
Silje Bretberg, NGUYEN VAN HUY, Kunthea Kong.

 

Updated 14/08/08