Open & Distance Education In The New Mil

Dr Ravi K. Mahajan Professor & Coordinator, Department of Statistics, Panjab University, Chandigarh. In the backdrop of his qualifications in Statistics & Computers, and professional exigencies, since 1977-78, Dr. Mahajan has grown as Distance Educator with some humble contributions towards the system of DE and subject of statistics. Notable being in making Panjab University pioneer, amongst traditional universities catering to DE, on two counts; (i) initiating computerization (1989), and (ii) harnessing computers as learning environment, where the first recorded demonstration was at IIT Kanpur, in March 1992 showcasing an `eLearning' module developed in dBase along with an audio-video equivalent and educational film on statistics. Dr Mahajan has over 50 papers/articles published in leading inter-national/national journals/newspaper/magazines and delivered over 125 talks/lectures at various international/national conferences/seminars etc., in various capacities, including as keynote speaker. Having spent over 40 years in DE system, in the book the author has shared a part of his experiences and researched collections.

Dr Kalpana K. Mahajan Professor & Coordinator, UGC-DSA(III), Department of Statistics, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Since 1977-78, as a member of the Faculty in Statistics, Dr Kalpana Mahajan has grown as a well known statistician, particularly for her `Deshpande-Kusum Statistics' and `MGA Statistics'. Areas of her research interests include Inference, Bayesian Inference, Multiple Comparison Procedures, Income Inequalities, and Environmental Statistics. Besides, she has been contributing to ODE, by developing self-learning martial for some courses in statistics. She had also contributed to the concept and script of education film 'Statistics: An Introduction' which was telecast in UGC's Country-wide Class-Room on a number of occasions in the early 1990s. Besides being on the Reviewer's Panel of a number of International journals, Dr. Mahajan is on Editorial Board of three journals including USA-based International Journal of Statistics. Mrs. Mahajan has delivered over 100 talks/lectures in various capacities at the national/international forums of `statistics' and `distance education'. Starting with 1993, this is the fourth book by the Mahajans.