NAME: ZAHRA ("ZAH-ruh") DESHPANDE, PHD
AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: MUMBAI, INDIA
OCCUPATION: ECONOMIST AND SOFTWARE TECH
BIOGRAPHY: BORN IN MUMBAI, RAISED IN WEST LONDON. PARENTS ARE BRITISH-INDIAN. FATHER AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER, MOTHER A SCHOOL TEACHER. ATTENDED OXFORD UNIVERSITY, MAJORED IN APPLIED ECONOMIC THEORY. CO-AUTHORED CONTROVERSIAL PAPER ON SUBMISSIVES IN THE WORKFORCE PUBLISHED IN EARLY 2001. AWARDED THE MARCEL-BENOIST IN 2008, AND THE VORAHLBERG SCIENCE PRIZE IN 2009. DESIGNED THE POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA APP KNOWN AS "WHIPP." RECENTLY COMPLETED TEACHING A SEMINAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH. CURRENTLY TEACHING AT ST. BRENDAN'S ACADEMY.
Thatā¦is a good question. I mean, itās New Hampshireā¦They have to be used to snow, right? I mean, if theyāre anything like New York, theyāll be able to handle it.
Thatās kind of you. Perhaps you can tell me where I might be able to go locally to find a supply of winter clothes? It seems Iām going to need them.
Welcome to St. Brendanās, Dr. Deshpande! Iām submissive Instructor Calliope Hart and I am probably going to sit in on a class or two if you donāt mind.
Thank you, Miss Hart. Everyone here has been so welcoming, itās been lovely. I hope you will, I donāt mind at all. Knowledge isnāt only beneficial to those of college-age. How long have you been teaching at St. Brendanās?
Iām sure I will. I still find learning to be enjoyable, especially when it comes to the social construct of Dominance and submission. In other countries Iāve been too and lived in, itās been completely different from America in how both are viewed. Do you have a favorite place to travel to?
You consider Dominance and submission a social construct, Professor? Iāve been quite a lot of places, but in my opinion nothing can quite compare to coming back home.Ā
I see. Thatās a rather physical job, isnāt it? Were you deployed?
Itās a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Deshpande. Welcome to the Academy. My name is Joshua Williams, fourth year submissive. If I can be of any help, please let me know and Iāll be glad to assist you, Maāam.
That makes senseā hopefully itās a positive experience then, and we donāt disappoint! Our of curiosity, are there particular topics youāll be speaking about related to D/s and the economy? As an established professional, Iām curious how your experiences have been, and how you think the recent expanded freedom of job opportunities for submissives will affect things⦠As well as how it will be received both socially and economically.Ā
Iām already having a new experience, so disappointment isnāt possible at this point. I always enjoy learning new things. There are several topics I plan on covering, but the primary focus of the seminar is essentially what you just mentioned (and itās the subject Iām currently researching just now): the economical impact of the 2015 laws regarding submissive business ownership. I donāt want to give too much away, but as a submissive yourself I think you might find the material interesting!
The weather reports arenāt looking very favorable right now. Is the local infrastructure in this area capable of coping with the snowfall theyāre projecting, or ought I to be worried?
I am Dr. Zahra Deshpande. I shall be teaching a temporary seminar on Dominance and Submission in Economics. Iām very pleased to be here, with all of you.Ā
My class will be taught Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4 to 6pm. If you have any interest in economic theory, I invite you to sit in. It ought to be quite informative.
Welcome to the staff, Dr. It will be great honor to have you around considering how well known your work is - Ā and despite being a Professor myself, thereās a good chance I may sneak in to sit in on your lectures.
Iām Hunter Clarington, by the way. I teach History at the Academy, which isnāt as cool as my old job, but Iāll take it considering itās a lot more stable and relaxing to enrich the lives of students.
Thank you, Professor Clarington. That's kind of you to say. I hope you'll find my lectures interesting and informative. What area of history do you teach, and may I ask what your previous job was that you found to be cooler?
Hello, Kurt. Itās very nice to meet you too. Yes, youāre right, economics and business often go hand in hand. Iām glad I can count on having at least one student.Ā
I've been engaged in teaching seminars at different universities in the US and Europe for a few years now.Ā It's a hobby, I think you could say, and one I appreciate since it changes up my normal schedule of conducting endless research.
Most of the school I've been to have had student populations composed exclusively of Dominants, so I will admit that factor of St. Brendan's was intriguing to me. I have not had much opportunity to teach submissives in the past. I'm curious to see what that's like.
Thank you. WHIPP was the result of a fair few sleepless nights, but I can hardly say Iām disappointment in how it turned out. Thatās kind of you to say.. Iām happy to know you found it useful. Iāve been working on an updated version, as a matter of fact. It ought to be ready for release sometime this spring if it makes it through beta testing on the first or second go.
Thatās what I love about itā¦Like, you could have made any other dating app and saved yourself such a headacheā¦But you made one that might actually help people meet someone that theyāre compatible with on every level, not justĀ āWe both like dogsā orĀ āItalian food is my favoriteā. Like, sure, those are important, but so is knowing whether someoneās in to spanking or not. Really? Howās the new version going to be different? Or is that, like, a massive secret until it comes out?
Originally posted by harryfuckmeup
So, your Econ classā¦Do we need to have any sort of Economics class as a pre-req to take it, or can we take it just for fun, even if we arenāt really interested in Econ otherwise?
TheĀ world was already full of other dating apps, but there was a need for one that takes into account users' intimate sexual preferences. WHIPP has been demonized by plenty of people over the years as something abhorrent, but the critics just can't argue that there was an untapped niche in the market. Millions of downloads speaks for itself on that, I think.
The promotion team wouldn't like it if I gave too much away about the new design, but one significant change will be the digitization of consent contracts. The app will provide a standard, fillable digital contract that Doms and subs can eachĀ sign electronically, simply to have on file in the event of a laterĀ dispute.
No knowledge of economics is required to take the seminar. An interest isn't necessary either. I'll challenge myself to make the content interesting for you.
I am Dr. Zahra Deshpande. I shall be teaching a temporary seminar on Dominance and Submission in Economics. Iām very pleased to be here, with all of you.Ā
My class will be taught Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4 to 6pm. If you have any interest in economic theory, I invite you to sit in. It ought to be quite informative.
Itās a pleasure to have you here, Dr. Deshpande.
Partha Gangopadhyay explores the role that game theory has played in advancing and propelling economic theory.
Game theory is concerned with decision-making in an interactive world such that the best decision of every decision-maker depends on what decisions others make. As a result, everyone in this interactive world, for advancing oneās self interests, will need to predict decisions of others. The theory has a fascinating interaction with George Orwellās 1949 dystopian novel,1984, set in a world mired in a world of perpetual war, intrigues, bluffs and public manipulation. So game theory is similarly rooted in this Orwellian world of deceit, information fudging and above all winning games and wars.
No, like, you donāt understand. Your app is likeā¦AMAZING. Like, I mean, I never actually met anybody off of it,Ā ācause like, stranger danger is too real, but likeā¦The detail, dude! It was likeā¦If that app was a person, I would have flirted with it, hardcore.
Thank you. WHIPP was the result of a fair few sleepless nights, but I can hardly say Iām disappointment in how it turned out. Thatās kind of you to say.. Iām happy to know you found it useful. Iāve been working on an updated version, as a matter of fact. It ought to be ready for release sometime this spring if it makes it through beta testing on the first or second go.
Oh how I wish I could be here to listen in! Welcome to our campus, Dr. Zahra! I hope St. Brendanās treats you well while youāre here. This is my completely biased opinion, but we have to have the best campus and student body in the country. Iām Leah, Iām headed to a teaching program in the next few days for a few months, but I thought Iād say hi anyway!
Zahra is perfectly fine, no preface required. Thank you for the welcome, Leah, I do appreciate it. Iāve seen many campuses over the last few years and this one is quite lovely, I must agree. Oh, well then I wish you the best in your program. I may not be here when you return, but at least we were able to say hello and wish one another luck.