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In any business worldwide, inventory management is a challenging task for every organisation. This article demonstrates an inventory model for deteriorating products from the retailer's point of view in which: 1) demand is determined by price and frequency of advertisement; 2) the influence of trade credit on expanding small business and their consumers is the focus of this research; 3) product deteriorates with an expiry date; 4) retailer invests money in preservation technology to preserve the deterioration of a product; 5) customer returns the product to the company are the significant factors among the interrelation of supplier and retailer for a highly demanding product. The main objective of this article is to optimise the retailer's total profit in terms of cycle length, price, frequency of advertisement, and capital in preservation technology. Also, for optimality, an algorithm is created. Finally, the results were validated by solving two numerical illustrations and conducting sensitivity analysis of the main factors resulting from the following managerial implications: 1) if the retailer receives a longer allowable delay period from the supplier, the retailer can maximise total profit; 2) an increase in the ordering cost per order the overall profit decreases.

Aim: The paper aims to track the changes in HIV-related risk behaviour among men aged 15–54 in high HIV prevalence states in India using three consecutive rounds of the Indian Demographic Health Survey in 2005–06, 2015–16 and 2019–21. Methods: Findings are based on a nationally representative sample of 30,110, 16,822 and 19,517 men aged 15–54 during the periods 2005–2006, 2015–2016 and 2019–21, respectively, from the high HIV prevalent states in India, namely Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram Nagaland, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana). Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. Results: High-risk sexual behaviour increased from 4.5% in 2005–06 to 6.4% in 2015–16 to 7.3% in 2019–21. The prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviour and HIV testing remains disproportionately higher among men with ≥10 years of schooling, residing in urban areas, belonging to economically better-off households, and perceiving that women do not have any sexual rights in all three-consecutive surveys of NFHS. The random part of the multilevel logistic regression revealed that variation in the high-risk sexual behaviour among men was higher at the household level than the community level in all three consecutive surveys of NFHS. Conclusions: The study concluded that high-risk sexual behaviour and HIV testing increased over the past 15 years and remain disproportionately higher among younger, unmarried and urban men, who are mainly from economically better-off households. Men must be the focus and priority of HIV/AIDS research and education, which may strengthen the idea that men are solely responsible for sexual decision-making.

The study examines the entrepreneurial intention of students pursuing various professional courses (BTech, MBA and BArch) from the National Institute of Technology Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh, India) which is commonly abbreviated as NIT Hamirpur (HP). Drawing on Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour (TPB) the study has examined the underlying factor affecting entrepreneurial intention in the selected sample. By employing structured research process and statistical techniques the study divulges the fact that attitude towards entrepreneurship is a critical factor in explaining entrepreneurial intention of students. However, demographical variables like gender and caste are irrelevant in explaining entrepreneurial intention of students. The study concludes that there is lack of awareness among students of NIT Hamirpur regarding various schemes aimed to boost entrepreneurial environment in the country. Implications and further directions have also been discussed.

In the contemporary corporate and management world, the concept of 'spirituality at workplace' or popularly known as 'workplace spirituality' has received a global attention as a positive organisational phenomenon. The extant literature related to this concept indicates that there could be several consequences of infusing spirituality at workplace like organisational commitment, enhanced performance, increased productivity, managerial effectiveness, employee well-being, stress resiliency, and others. However, literature is silent on explaining the linkage of workplace spirituality with employee's burnout which is emerging as a vital organisational issue. This was the key motivation which energised us to empirically examine the role of workplace spirituality in handling burnout (excessive stressful situations) which is generally raised out of increasing complexities in our professional and personal life. We collected the data through questionnaire-based surveys in a sample of 132 employees working in service sector organisations across North India and carried out further statistical analyses with the help of SPSS software. The findings of the study divulge the fact that the concept of 'workplace spirituality' could be recognised as an important predictor of organisational outcomes which are affected by employee's burnout. Implications, limitations, further research directions, and conclusions have been discussed.

Pathogen and human host interaction dynamics are often more complicated in the presence of co-pathogens. Co-infection can occur either as the presence of pre-existing pathogen which is accelerated by the new pathogen and more complications happened. In this study, we look at the burden of HIV/HCV viremia and the efficacy of treatment in reducing the severity of HIV/HCV co-infection patterns. Disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium are two equilibrium states determined in the absence of drugs. The basic reproduction number is computed and the stability of the disease-free equilibrium of the model is analyzed using it. Here we have also incorporated the optimal drug therapy to control the co-infection disease progression. The efficacy of treatment has also been found to influence the natural progression of HCV in HIV/HCV co-infection. The numerical results suggest that the HIV viral load impacts the severity of the HCV infection impressively. This research is significant to develop antiviral therapy strategies to control HIV/HCV co-infection. The most effective way to control the co-infection with the minimum side effects is to take the combination of three medications with optimal dosing.

The wealth index based on household assets and amenities is been increasingly used to explain economic variations of health outcomes in the developing countries. While the variables used to compute the wealth index are easy to collect and time- and cost-effective, the wealth index tends to have an urban bias, uses arbitrary weighting, does not provide per capita measures and is a poor measure of inequality. We used micro data from two of the large-scale population-based surveys, the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, 2017–18 and the India Human Development Survey, 2011–12 that covered over 42,000 households each and collected data on household consumption, assets and amenities in India. We examined the variations and inequality in health estimates by consumption per capita and asset-based measures in India. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression model, concentration index, and concentration curve were used in the analyses.

Biomarkers are increasingly integrated into population-based surveys to provide reliable estimates of the prevalence of specific diseases. The Demographic and Health Surveys have recently incorporated blood pressure measurements; however, little is known about the extent of agreement between measured and reported levels of hypertension in India. The objective of this study was to examine the extent of agreement between self-reported hypertension and the results of standard blood pressure measurements, as well as to explore the risk groups and factors associated with inconsistencies in self-reported and biomedically measured hypertension.

This study aims to examine the effect of administration of shorter and longer versions of questionnaires on key indicators such as age displacement, birth displacement, age heaping, and skipping questions on antenatal care (ANC) visits and use of contraceptive methods in India using National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 data. At the individual level, the effect of the adoption of the shorter and longer versions of the questionnaires on the age displacement of women and children and skipping of the key questions is insignificant. However, the results from the two-level logistic regression model reveal that at the primary sampling unit (PSU) level, work pressure, depending on the number of eligible women in a household, emerges as a confounder in skipping certain questions, namely ANC [1.18 (p < 0.09)] and contraceptive use [AOR = 1.17 (p < 0.05)]. To expand the coverage of NFHS in providing state- and district-level estimates since 2015, the overall sample size was increased from 88,562 households and 89,777 eligible women in 1992–93 to 6,01,509 households and 6,99,686 eligible women in 2015–16. As a strategy to reduce workload and non-sampling errors during the survey, a nested design and modular approach were adopted to provide estimates of maternal and child health indicators at the district/state level and sexual behaviour, HIV/AIDS, and women's empowerment at the state level. It was hypothesised that a longer version of the questionnaire canvassed in the state module may be detrimental to data quality issues. The findings of this study establish the effectiveness of adopting a modular approach in large-scale surveys, depending on the scale of investigation. However, the differential workload calls for expanding the duration of surveys in PSUs, where the number of eligible women is higher. State level variation in the key data quality indicators may be partially explained by differentials in the training of investigators by the agency and use of translators.

Historically, managerial effectiveness is a vital construct, which has been acknowledged by management practitioners in corporate and by researchers in academia. Synchronically, workplace spirituality is another key issue that has been recognised as a valuable concept in the organisational and management context; however, the concept lies in its infancy and neophyte stage, and there is a dearth of empirical studies in this newly developing area. Keeping these views in mind, this study is an attempt to explore the relationship between workplace spirituality and managerial effectiveness among Indian managers. Data have been collected through the questionnaire-based surveys. On the basis of correlation and regression analysis, results indicate that workplace spirituality can be recognised as a key driver of managerial effectiveness. Further, findings may also be helpful to organisations in developing spirituality at workplace to enhance managerial effectiveness.

Reverse logistics (RL), which refers to the distribution activities involved in product returns, has recently received much attention because many companies are using it as a strategic tool to serve their customers and can generate good revenue. An efficient reverse distribution structure may lead to a significant return on investment as well as a significantly increased competitiveness in the market. Therefore, analysis of the interaction among the major barriers, which hinder or prevent the application of reverse logistics, is a crucial issue. Existing models have focused on diagnosing these barriers independently. As a result, the holistic view in understanding the barriers is not accounted for. This paper utilizes the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) methodology to understand the mutual influences among the barriers so that those driving barriers, which can aggravate few more barriers and those independent barriers, which are most influenced by driving barriers, are identified.

Ramesh Soundararajan and Kuldeep Singh. 2016. Winning on HR Analytics: Leveraging Data for Competitive Advantage. SAGE Publications, Pp 244, ₹425, ISBN: 9789386042415.

IntroductionHCV is the most common virus affecting the world’s 16 million injection drug users (IDUs). It is estimated that close to 3 million IDUs are living with HIV and some studies indicate that over 90% of IDUs infected with HIV are also infected with HCV. The main objective of the study is to determine the correlates of HIV, HCV, and HIV/HCV co-infection among injecting drug users in three states of India.MethodsData were obtained from a bio-behavioural survey- Integrated Behavioural and Biological Assessment (2009–10) (n=1977) in the high prevalence of HIV states of India among injecting drug users, Manipur, Maharashtra, and Nagaland. The respondent-driven sampling method was used to collect the eligible respondent. Dependent variables for this study was HIV prevalence, HCV prevalence, and HIV/HCV co-infection. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistics regression were used for the analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of HIV, HCV and HIV/HCV co-infection varies from 15 percent to 45 percent among IDUs. It was reported that there was the significant association between HIV, HCV and HIV/HCV co-infection and socio-demographic and risky injecting behaviour. Further Multivariate analysis shows that these infections were more probable among IDUs,1–5 years of schooling, widowed/separated/divorced, longer duration of drug use and drawing-up drug solution from a common container. Further, Longer duration between first drug use and first injecting drugs use (AOR=2.1, p<0.05) and draw up drug solution from a common container (AOR=1.6, p<0.10) were more likely to have HIV/HCV co-infection.ConclusionThe study concludes that HIV, HCV, and HIV/HCV co-infection were highly prevalent among IDUs because of their risky injecting behaviour. HIV prevention program should also focus on the prevention of coinfection with HIV/HCV.

IntroductionViolence and mobility are increasingly being recognised as critical risk factors contributing to the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections worldwide. The objective of the study is to assess the independent and combined associations of mobility and physical violence with sexual risk behaviours and HIV/STI prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs) in urban Andhra Pradesh, India.MethodsA cross-sectional survey the Behavioural Tracking Survey (BTS) –2014 conducted with key populations FSWs (n=2400), in undivided Andhra Pradesh state in India was used here. Bivariate, Chi-square, and Binary logistic regression statistical techniques were used for analysis.ResultsApproximately 18% of FSWs in urban Andhra Pradesh reported ever experienced physical violence, out of them, 69% experienced physical violence in the past one year and 52% travelled outside for sex work in the past one year. Mobile FSWs were more likely to report physical violence compared to their counterparts (72% vs. 62%, p < 0.048). Approximately 14% reported that they are HIV positive. FSWs from Urban Andhra Pradesh reported that those who have faced physical violence were more likely to have STI and HIV (4.177 and 3.127) as compared to their counterparts. Although FSWs facing both mobility and physical violence were not significantly associated, are two times more likely to have HIV seropositive. ConclusionThe findings conclude that mobility and violence were independently associated with sociodemographic, risky sexual behaviour and STI/HIV infection. Remarkably, the combined association of mobility and violence posed greater STI/HIV risk than their independent effect. These results indicate that there is a need for the provision of an enabling environment and safe spaces for FSWs who are mobile, to enhance existing efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

IntroductionMen who have sex with men (MSM) in India are a core risk group for HIV. Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with increased sexual risk-taking behaviours in many cultures, in particular among MSM. This study illustrates the prevalence and correlates of Alcohol use among MSM by their sociodemographic, sexual risk and other characteristics in Andhra Pradesh, India.MethodsData from a Behavioural Tracking Survey 2014 conducted with key populations MSM in undivided Andhra Pradesh state in India was used. The survey was conducted in the three districts (Warangal, Karim Nagar, and Nalgonda). A stratified random sampling method used to select the MSM for the survey. The total 1200 MSM were selected for the study. Descriptive statistics (proportions) and bivariate analysis were used to describe the strength and association of MSM’ socio-demographic/behavioural characteristics and the dependent variable. For the bivariate analysis, the p-value was calculated by using the chi-square test. Binary logistics regression was used to determine the factor associated with ever consumption of alcohol among MSM.ResultsIn Andhra Pradesh, of the 1200 MSM who were interviewed, around 69% of MSM had ever used alcohol. Approximately 31 percent MSM reported that they had experienced discrimination at public places and 11.2 percent of said that they are mentally depressed. There is the significant association between ever used of alcohol and sociodemographic, sexual risk and other characteristic (p<0.05). Multivariate logistics regression demonstrated that currently married (AOR=1.6 p<0.05), Panthi MSM (AOR1.7 p<0.05), wanted to experiment (AOR=2.0 p<0.01), was attracted towards MSM (AOR=2.9 p<0.01), consistent condom use (AOR=1.7 p<0.05). High discrimination in Public places (AOR=1.4 p<0.05). It is also reported that MSM who were in any depression, 2.1 times more likely to be affected by alcohol consumption.ConclusionsHIV-related prevention Programme among MSM in India should also focus on alcohol use and related problems in multilevel context.

IntroductionInjecting Drug Users in India are at the duel risk of needle sharing and risky sexual behaviour, becoming more vulnerable to STI and HIV. Although injecting drug users constitute a risk group in themselves, there is also an overlap between drug addiction and those involved in sex work. Individuals who fall into both categories are therefore particularly vulnerable to HIV and are perhaps doubly stigmatised. Thus, studying the interface of injecting drug use and risky sexual behaviour is important to curb the pace of STI/HIV epidemic among IDUs.MethodsData were obtained from two rounds of integrated biological and behavioural assessments (IBBA) conducted in 2006–07 and 2009–10 where 2,075 IDUs in round-1 and 1977 in round-2 were sampled. Data from both rounds were pooled. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were used for the study.ResultsData from 4052 IDUs from 6 districts of Manipur, Nagaland, and Maharashtra, were analysed. The mean age of IDUs in round-1 was 26 years and 29 years in round-2. The majority of the IDUs were illiterate, unmarried, employed in two consecutive rounds. IDUs’s duration between first drug use to first injecting drug use ≥2 years were 14 times higher during round-2. HIV and any STI symptoms in the round-2 show the declining pattern. IDUs having the main regular partner and shared needle/syringe were less likely to consistency in condom use with different type of female partners across the rounds. Logistics regression analysis of experienced any STI symptom in the past 1 year indicate that IDUs, literate (AOR=1.878, p<0.10), age at first injecting drugs 26 and above (AOR=2.192, p<0.05) and sharing needle/syringes in the past month (AOR=2.218, p<0.01) were significantly more likely than their counterparts. IDUs, ≥30 years (15.951, p<0.01), literate (3.415, p<0.01) and shared needle/syringes in the past one month were significantly more likely to have HIV.ConclusionsHarm reduction and needle exchange program should also focus on the risky behaviour of injecting drug users through peer-based approach.