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Engagement has been defined as an attitude toward work, as a positive, satisfying, work‐related state of mind characterized by high levels of vigour, dedication, and absorption. Both its definition and its assessment have been controversial; however, new methods for its assessment, including artificial intelligence (AI), have been introduced in recent years. Therefore, this research aims to determine the state of the art of AI in the study of engagement. To this end, we conducted a systematic review in accordance with PRISMA to analyse the publications to date on the use of AI for the analysis of engagement. The search, carried out in six databases, was filtered, and 15 papers were finally analysed. The results show that AI has been used mainly to assess and predict engagement levels, as well as to understand the relationships between engagement and other variables. The most commonly used AI techniques are machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), and all publications use structured and unstructured data, mainly from self‐report instruments, social networks, and datasets. The accuracy of the models varies from 22% to 87%, and its main benefit has been to help both managers and HR staff understand employee engagement, although it has also contributed to research. Most of the articles have been published since 2015, and the geography has been global, with publications predominantly in India and the US. In conclusion, this study highlights the state of the art in AI for the study of engagement and concludes that the number of publications is increasing, indicating that this is possibly a new field or area of research in which important advances can be made in the study of engagement through new and novel techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to decentre/decolonize our understanding of capitalist development in the Global South call for more complex and differentiated categories of work that acknowledge the significance of both non‐waged and reproductive labour. These categories would allow us to more clearly 'see' the varying intersections of gender, class and caste within this world of work. Even as the literature on work in the Global South acknowledges the importance of forms of non‐waged work, there is still more work to be done to sufficiently incorporate the labour of social reproduction. In this paper, which emerges from an effort to apply a feminist social reproduction lens in the field, we propose understanding work through four conceptual dyads: waged productive labour, non‐waged productive labour, waged reproductive labour and non‐waged reproductive labour. Through an in‐depth description of three specific cases from a time‐use survey we conducted in rural Punjab, India, we argue not only that all four dyads are required to encompass the world of work but also that this more expansive conceptualization can help us produce richer analyses of the intersections of class, caste and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adopt a Southern feminist epistemology to critically appraise the ways in which media discourse on gendered organizing during the Indian COVID‐19‐induced migrant crisis resists or reinforces hegemonic caste hierarchies. To contextualize this work, we briefly historicize scholarship on feminist organizing around land rights, hunger, and violence, while noting the politics of contagion and pollution narratives plaguing the pandemic discourse in India. After conducting a qualitative content analysis (QCA) followed by a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of media discourses across three tiers (international, national, and local), we found that international and national tiers of discourse largely deployed a savarna gaze that worked to 1) Reinforce brahminical and technocratic pandemic narratives and 2) Delegitimize Dalit marginal organizing feminist work and Dalit sensibilities through seven overlapping metrics of erasure. On the other hand, local tier of discourse confronted the savarna gaze, amplified voices of Dalit and Muslim women by centering their narratives of resistance, and tackled the exacerbation of casteist oppression under the pandemic in the service of emancipation. Local discourses also highlight how marginal organizing during the first pandemic lockdown involved provision of essential resources and services (food, medical care, security) for mostly Dalit and Muslim migrant workers, and women intersectionally facing domestic violence and savarna violence. Despite the brahmininal structural oppression, Dalit feminist praxis' emblematic resistance of oppressive structures, during and beyond times of crisis, constitutes what we call the work of deep care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on group‐based hope has predominantly focused on positive intergroup outcomes, such as peace and harmony. In this paper, we demonstrate that hope experienced towards group‐centric political outcomes, such as a victory in a conflict and defeating the enemy, can be detrimental to peace. In Study 1, conducted among Israeli Jews, hope for victory over the Palestinians was uniquely associated with more support for extreme war policies, whereas hope for peace generally showed the opposite associations. In Study 2, we replicated these results among Muslim Pakistanis regarding the Pakistan–India dispute. Notably, in both Studies 1 and 2, only hope for victory significantly predicted personal violent extremist intentions. In Study 3, conducted with a representative sample of Israeli Jews, we found three latent profiles of hope: victory hopers, peace hopers, and dual hopers (hoping for both peace and victory). Finally, in preregistered Study 4, we longitudinally investigated how hopes for victory and peace changed from a relatively calm period in 2021 to the Israel–Hamas War of 2023, utilizing a Bivariate Latent Change Score analysis. Increases in hope for victory during the highly intense war explained the increase in support for violence. We discuss implications, limitations, and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper addresses petrography, geochemistry and Ar‐Ar geochronology of a significant number of mafic dykes from the Paleo‐ to Neoarchean Bundelkhand Craton in central India. The majority of the dykes are NW‐SE oriented (with a few NE‐SW and ENE‐WSW) with tholeiitic, sub‐alkaline and basalt to basaltic andesite composition. The trace element geochemistry of these dykes indicates an island arc setting during emplacement. The Ar‐Ar mineral dating (plagioclase) of three representative dykes reveals an emplacement age between 1.53 and 1.46 Ga. This finding and earlier reports (2.1–1.73 Ga) point to sustained mafic magmatism throughout the Bundelkhand Craton in a preferred structural orientation between 2.1 and 1.46 Ga. Mafic magmatism was episodic and can be linked to the perpetual subduction accretion processes between the central Indian Archean continents during the development of the Columbia supercontinent. The mafic dykes were emplaced at 45° to the maximum compression direction (E‐W), that is, along the line of no finite longitudinal strain. This time equivalent widespread NW‐SE and NE‐SW trending mafic dyke system is also relatable along the adjacent continents (Singhbhum, Bastar) and thus opened up a new paradigm for the dyke's emplacement across the Indian cratons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for vehicles in India is on a continuous rise, primarily attributed to increasing income levels. The Indian government has initiated steps to decarbonize the transport sector, offering incentives for alternate vehicles' adoption. This study introduces a qualitative framework, employing a causal structure to comprehend the dynamics of vehicle demand. The framework takes into account critical feedback loops that influence the demand for alternate vehicles and, consequently, the overall vehicle demand. The causal loop diagram for vehicle demand encompasses five key domains: socio‐economic development, infrastructure development, environmental awareness, fuel supply market and alternate vehicle technology. Notably, economic activity, urban sprawl, vehicle demand, alternate vehicle technology improvement, and the sustainability and fuel constraints linked with internal combustion engine vehicles emerge as the critical aspects governing the dynamics of the model. The leverage and intervention points influencing the vehicle demand are also identified. Further, based on the evolving interaction of the various reinforcing and balancing loops, this work identifies three distinct phases of the evolution of vehicle demand dynamics in India, namely, the emerging phase (2020–2040), the growth phase (2040–2060) and the stagnation phase (2060–2080). The paper discusses the crucial features of these phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the impasse climate‐informed development practices currently find themselves in. This is represented by the fact that while "solutions" to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance capacities for adaptation and resilience are increasingly adopted around the world, we have enough evidence to suggest that strategies adopted "from above" have been unable to engender transformations towards more just and liveable futures. Situating the paper within recent calls for a "post‐adaptation" turn in the field, I propose a generative critique of climate‐informed development through the lens of care as a place from where to begin thinking and practicing development differently. The aim of this critique is not to discard or discredit development practices as necessarily tainted or flawed but to make them accountable to a whole set of concerns and cares going into their stories of success or failures. Throughout the paper, I therefore speculatively ask the reader to think though the possibilities that may be opened when we stop treating climate‐informed development projects as neutral and undisputable "matters of fact," engaging with them instead as necessary and non‐innocent "matters of care." Thinking through a tryptic notion of "matters of care," as at the same time a neglected doing necessary for the sustenance of life, an affective state, and an ethico‐politics, I look at examples from semi‐arid areas of India to give visibility to those practices, relations, and emotions of care that have been marginalised by mainstream development circles. Through this shift in perception, a deeper understanding of vulnerability as a state of shared fragility emerges, one that grounds an ethico‐politics of climate‐informed development to concrete circumstances and becomes the foundation upon which more inclusive practices can be built upon. Situated within a post‐adaptation turn, this paper propose a generative critique of climate‐informed development through the lens of care. The aim of this critique is not to not to discard or discredit development practices as flawed but to make them accountable to whole set of concerns and cares going into their stories of success or failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study aims to rank the performance of Indian private sector banks on the basis of their financial capability. The study is focussed on those banks which are listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), for the period from 2014–15 to 2018–19. The financial performance of selected Indian private banks is ranked using a hybrid Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique, that is, AHP‐TOPSIS. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to determine the weights of 10 financial performance pointers, and further Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to provide rankings and benchmarking of the private sector banks. Thereafter, overall ranking is given to the selected banks using interval‐valued TOPSIS (IV‐TOPSIS) for a combined period of 5 years. Sensitivity analysis has been performed to check the robustness of the method and its impact on the final ranking of the banks. Results showed that HDFC bank is the top performer and is ranked first for all the years consecutively during the period 2014–2019 and has set a financial indicator benchmark for other competitor banks. South Indian Bank showed the worst results in each year and stood last in the overall ranking. The IndusInd bank is followed after HDFC bank by improving its performance from 2014–19. With a slight margin, Kotak Mahindra Bank ranked after IndusInd. Through the AHP‐TOPSIS technique, each year the private sector banks ranking differs among themselves depending upon the financial performance pointers. Based on interval‐valued TOPSIS (IV‐TOPSIS), it was found that the overall HDFC was the top‐performing bank and South Indian Bank was the worst‐performing bank among all other banks. The results obtained from sensitivity analysis were found to be consistent with IV‐TOPSIS. The paper used the AHP technique, which is subjective in nature, and the results depend on the opinion of the experts. This study will assist the investors who want to channelize their funds in private banks having shares enlisted in BSE. It will accommodate banks to compare and judge their financial performance along with improving their performance and planning their future strategy. AHP‐TOPSIS utilized by past researchers is unable to bring out the cumulative performance for banks, but in this paper, IV‐TOPSIS is utilized, which can be effectively used to evaluate the cumulative performance of banks. The study tries to fill the gap in the literature by providing the overall ranking to private sector banks in India on the basis of financial indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of public expenditure efficiency has drawn the attention of both policymakers and researchers globally. The paper attempts to measure the efficiency of government expenditures on the social sector, especially health and education, among the major Indian states using various data envelopment analysis. The paper also attempts to understand what drives public expenditure efficiency. The results suggest that there is a wide variation in the efficiency of public spending as well as scope for resource‐saving at the subnational level in India. It finds that states are spending their resources more efficiently on education than on health and the overall social sector spending. It also finds that quality of governance, economic growth, and mothers' schooling affects the efficiency of education, health, and social sector with governance to have a larger effect compared to other factors. Overall, the study suggests that improving governance could yield better outcomes from public expenditure. Highlights: The paper looks at understanding the issue of public expenditure of efficiency of education, health, and overall social sector over the 15 year period since the year 2000, broadly covering the millennium development goal period at the subnational level in India.By using data envelopment analysis, the study derives the efficiency scores for major states for three‐time periods for input‐oriented, output‐oriented, and nonoriented conditions.The results broadly suggest that there is wide divergence in terms of efficiency levels across the states and also finds some spatial patterns. States in Western region appear to be more efficient than compared to other regions.Overall, the states appear to be spending efficiently on the education compared to health.In terms of what explains such divergences in efficiency levels, the study looks at broader determinants‐overall governance‐with conditional variables such as level of incomes and mothers' schooling.The econometric results suggest that it is the level of governance that affects the efficiency levels at the subnational level in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new correlation measure called perspective correlation measure as a complement to the existing objective correlation measure to detect contagion. Incorporating the effects of currency returns on correlation estimates, we first demonstrate theoretically that the correlation experienced by two investors given a country pair can be different. This is because the correlation measures are inherently distinctive, determined purely from the point of view of the investor, the foreign exchange returns between the two countries for the investment period and the currency in which the investor counts his or her returns. The same has been evidenced from an empirical examination of weekly closing stock index returns data from January 1996 to December 2017 for India and its three developed counterparts, namely, the US, the UK and Japan. Our results indicate that India does not offer diversification benefits to developed country investors but the converse is true. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational technology designs in developing countries mostly focus on making knowledge resources widely available, through MOOCs, repositories and computer‐based tutoring. The use of digital media for cognitive augmentation, particularly interactive designs that help learners understand modelling topics in STEM, is underexplored. We report a 3‐year design study examining this potential in the Indian context, testing two iterations of an interactive system, Touchy‐Feely Vectors (TFV). The design supports learning vectors, a modelling topic pre‐university students struggle with. Virtual lesson‐plans were co‐designed with teachers to augment — but not replace — their existing practices, and to address classroom and resource constraints. Pre‐post testing of TFV‐1 (a computer‐based prototype) showed that it helped students develop a more integrated vector concept, and improved their reasoning. Field‐implementation of TFV‐2 (a textbook‐linked touch‐screen based design) in 6‐classrooms (3‐Control, N=135; 3‐Experimental, N=131) showed that it fostered cognitive engagement in average‐students and geometry‐algebra integration (model‐based reasoning) in good‐students. These results, along with a requirements analysis based on textbooks, indicate that the interaction possibilities supported by different representational media critically shape student reasoning. The study also illustrates a systematic approach to design and test digital media systems that support cognitive augmentation in developing countries. Lay description: What is already known about this topic: Computational modelling is central to model‐based reasoning (MBR) in contemporary scientific practice. Education needs to change to support this new way of thinking. However, it is not clear how this could be done systematically in developing countries.Textbooks are thus not replaceable in developing nation contexts, and any digital media designed to help develop model‐based reasoning in students would need to work with textbooks and existing teaching/learning practice. It is unclear how this could be done.When learning basic model‐based reasoning using static textbook media, students struggle with core MBR topics like vectors. What this paper adds: The paper reports a 3‐year design‐based study, where a vector simulation system was developed (Touchy‐Feely Vectors), which addressed the following issues. Addressing 2 above, the study illustrates a design that builds on static textbook media and associated practices.Addressing 3 above, a 2‐phase field test of the design (N = 266) showed that the system changes student reasoning, towards better integration of algebra and geometry, while reasoning with vectors.Addressing 1 above, the study provides a new model to implement the learning of modelling using interactive simulations, in developing country classrooms.Addressing 1 above, the study offers a clear model for designing such interventions in developing country contexts.More broadly, the study reveals how the nature of the medium used to present science content changes student cognition and reasoning. Implications for practice and/or policy: For curricula: The design we present can be extended easily, to develop similar systems for other topics. The design also illustrates how teachers adopt technology when they participate in the design.For policy: This design provides a workable policy alternative to the costly model of the digital medium replacing current media and its teaching/learning practices.For Research and Pedagogy: Our results suggest that researchers and teachers need to examine the capabilities and constraints of different media while analysing learning difficulties, and develop ways to address these issues [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the entomological efficacy and the residual activity of indoor residual spraying with Fludora® Fusion 562.5 WP‐SB, a combination formulation containing clothianidin, a neonicotinoid and deltamethrin, a pyrethroid, against the main rural malaria vector, Anopheles culicifacies s.l., in India in a small‐scale trial. Methods: In three study villages, suitable households were randomly allocated to five treatments: Fludora® Fusion 562.5 WP‐SB (target dose 225 mg active ingredient AI/m2); clothianidin 70 WG (target dose 200 mg AI/m2); K‐Othrine 250 WG (deltamethrin, target dose 25 mg AI/m2); Ficam VC 80 WP‐SB (bendiocarb, target dose 400 mg AI/m2) and unsprayed control. Insecticides were sprayed by hand compression sprayers with control flow valves and 8002E nozzles. Post‐spray cone bioassays were done on insecticide‐treated walls using a colonised, deltamethrin‐resistant strain of An. culicifacies. Mosquitoes were collected from treated rooms by different methods. The insecticide content on filter papers collected from the sprayed walls was determined by chemical assay to assess the spray quality. Results: The ratios of applied to target doses of insecticides were within 0.84 to 1.4, showing a good spray quality. The cone bioassays revealed residual action lasting 7 months for all insecticides without significant differences in mortality between different surfaces treated nor between the four treatment arms (P > 0.05). Considering all entomological parameters such as indoor resting density, excito‐repellency, blood‐feeding inhibition and delayed mortality, the overall efficacy of Fludora® Fusion WG‐SB was equal or better compared with other insecticides. Conclusions: Fludora® Fusion showed overall equal or better efficacy than deltamethrin and bendiocarb alone against a pyrethroid‐resistant malaria vector population and can be considered as an alternative product for management of pyrethroid resistance in malaria vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present seismic zoning maps of the National Capital Region (NCR) of India in terms of uniform hazard spectrum (UHS) amplitudes using three different attenuation equations to model the contributions of local earthquakes around the region and distant earthquakes in northwestern Himalaya (NWH) and Hindu Kush Subduction (HKS) sources. Our results show that the shape of design spectra must depend on the nature of contributing earthquake sources, their relative activity, the potential to create large magnitudes, and their geographical placement relative to the site selected for hazard computation. Our results also show that specifying strong motion amplitudes for use in engineering design by means of peak ground acceleration and a standard spectral shape may result in significant underestimation of intermediate and long‐period ground motions critical for buildings higher than four to five stories and hence should not be used. We present zoning maps for nine possible combinations of three different local geological site conditions (sediments, intermediate sites, and basement rock sites) and three different soil site conditions ("rock," stiff soil sites, and deep soil sites). One of these maps can be readily used to extract the UHS amplitudes of the pseudo relative velocity spectrum (PSV) at any site in the NCR by specifying the local geological site‐condition parameters from a high‐resolution surface geological map of the region and determining the local soil site conditions by experiments limited to the site alone. The paper also provides a geological map of NCR on a scale of 1:1 million for a rough idea of the local geological parameters for a site of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine and compares perceptions, initiatives, and challenges perceived by manufacturing industries in India in respect of green marketing. The data were collected from a sample of 700 manufacturing industries employing a random sampling method. The present study results found that there is a high degree of acceptance of green marketing in the Indian industry, irrespective of the sector. The exploratory factor analysis extracted four factors that show green marketing practices: environmental concern, green promotional initiatives, green customer trust, and green marketing challenges. The findings suggested that all sample industries are concerned for the environment and believe that green marketing is significant for sustainable development. The study suggests that businesses should view protection of the environment as a market opportunity rather than solely as a means of complying with mounting environmental challenges and regulations. Green marketing should become the norm rather than the exception in a developing country like India. It can save the globe from environmental degradation and contribute to the long‐term growth of industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was a growing realization that Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are overarching, ambitious, complex, and less impactful. Consequently, the 193 member countries of the United Nations (UN) came out with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a well‐thought‐out global development agenda in the year 2015. By involving the private sectors in the designing of SDGs, UN has rightly identified their potentials in offering solutions to the most relevant sustainability challenges. SDGs came into force in January 2016 across the globe when corporate social responsibility (CSR) was already legalized in India. There has been a whooping investment of approximately Rs. 15,000 crores by nearly 20,000 companies every year under CSR in the country. However, it is argued that the contributions to SDGs are not substantial. Based on review of relevant literature, the current paper makes a modest attempt to explore the connections between CSR and SDGs in contemporary India. Further, it critically examines how CSR in India contributes to SDGs. The paper also analyses the underlying reasons for the inadequate engagement of CSR with SDGs. Despite CSR practices in India having linkage with the SDGs, the outcomes are not as per the expectation as a number of firms operate with less involvement and strategic efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By tracing specific moments in the history of the more‐than‐human landscape constituting the food geography of western Avadh, a long settled agricultural heartland in the Indo‐Gangetic plains, this paper challenges the neat formulations of the Anthropocene laying out decisive global impacts of humans on the environment. Building upon the concept of the 'patchy Anthropocene', we show how outcomes are shaped by an imbrication of humans and non‐humans—where powerful human actors seek to coerce people and corral the environment into their projects of remaking the landscape, but also where recalcitrant ecologies and resistant people thwart these intentions, especially during the colonial encounter. Contestations across power hierarchies and unintended outcomes litter the wake of the Anthropocene — as we show, efforts to save the non‐human cow in the last decade have intensified processes associated with the Great Acceleration. Instead of treating the trajectory of food geographies like western Avadh as outliers and marginal to the normative process of defining change, we argue for treating it as constitutive of the norm. Only through such a process of decolonisation, by 'provincialising the Anthropocene', can we hope to push for epistemic justice, ecological sustainability and a more equitable world. By tracing the history of the more‐than‐human landscape constituting the food geography of western Avadh, a long settled agricultural heartland in the Indo‐Gangetic plains, this paper challenges the neat Anthropocene formulations of decisive global impacts of humans on the environment. We show how powerful human actors seek to coerce people and corral the environment into their landscape remaking projects, but also how recalcitrant ecologies and resistant people thwart these intentions. We also describe unintended outcomes – efforts to save the nonhuman cow in the last decade have intensified processes associated with the Great Acceleration. Only through decolonisation and 'provincialising the Anthropocene', can we hope to push for epistemic justice, ecological sustainability and a more equitable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial discrimination is a common phenomenon against the northeastern people of India on the mainland. They are prejudiced and othered mainly because of their very identity—mongoloid features—and by assuming their Chinese affiliations. The outbreak of COVID‐19 has exacerbated discrimination, violence, and othering across the globe. The case of northeasterners living in the mainland of India is not different either. Racial discrimination and the othering experienced by northeasterners have not yet been studied extensively, especially in the context of the pandemic. Against this backdrop, the present paper examines the othering experiences of northeasterners living in Delhi by analysing nineteen qualitative interviews. We also have attempted to unveil their experiences of being othered before the pandemic. The participants were recruited based on inclusion criteria. The findings of the paper underline othering as the everyday experience of northeasterners living in Delhi. The worst forms of othering and discrimination amid the COVID‐19 pandemic resulting in stigmatisation and bullying, insecurity and helplessness, and mental and emotional strains are evident in the participants' experiences. The instances of growing racism in India against northeasterners evidence the stereotypical attitude of the mainstream population towards them and urges legal measures to prevent it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the post‐COVID period, demand augmenting policies were needed and have been exercised by the Government of India to prevent the Indian economy from falling into recession. However, these demand augmenting policies seem to be inflationary as in the recent past high inflation has been observed in India. Thus, optimum combination of monetary and fiscal policies is needed to simultaneously achieve the objectives of demand growth and price stability. This paper proposes combinations of the two policies based on the results of a sign‐restricted vector autoregressive (VAR) modelling framework. The experimentation was performed using sign restrictions on macroeconomic target variables viz. demand growth and inflation rate while leaving the policy variables free to suggest proposed stances to achieve desired objectives. On the basis of the empirical findings, the proposed stances of monetary and fiscal authorities were then compared with the actual stances and requisite correction in the policy behaviours has been suggested in terms of improvements to the magnitude and frequency of contraction and expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are the engines of economic growth, drivers of structural and spatial transformation processes, and the generators of wealth. However, city finances in India are in an abysmal state, and its urban local bodies are progressively losing fiscal autonomy. The problem is deeply rooted in the hierarchy set up defined as per the fiscal federalism framework adopted by the nation. The objective of the paper is to critically review India's federalism, discuss its prevailing expenditure‐revenue assignment framework, and analyse the key issues in fiscal decentralization. This paper overviews the entire public finance system in India, brings out the anomalies in expenditure and revenue assignments between the higher levels of government and the urban local bodies, and addresses the areas of concerns at the urban local government level. It also suggests policy measures to put Indian urban local bodies on a strong footing in the public finance map of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social adjustment, and feeling isolated, is one of the critical issues faced by the Hijra's from our society, due to sexual prejudices and stigmas. However, no one bothers how they actually feel, how they see themselves? The idea behind the paper is to identify the impact of looking‐glass self (self‐concept) on happiness, self‐esteem, and satisfaction with life, among transgender from Hijra community, to accentuate the reality of how they feel, what is their self‐concept, and its relationship with the mentioned constructs. The current study was conducted in India; snowball sampling is used to contact the respondents of the mentioned category, and variance‐based structural equation modeling techniques on second‐order construct, using two‐stage approach, were used to study the relationships between the constructs used for the current study. The outcome of the study depicts that there is a presence of significant relationships between the mentioned variables, which show that the respondents are strongly maintaining their self‐concept but that does not mean anyway that they are also happy and enjoying the social treatment given to them. This study is for the social workers, government as well as for the society, who pretends as a flag bearer of quality and promotes diversity in India. It will be an eye‐opener for all those who really want to support such marginalized community as they have already achieved a place in the gender column under the gender category as other "Third Gender." The current study is original and contributes in understanding the truth behind the real journey of the mentioned community. How they feel, what they expect is still untapped; this paper will raise voice for them to contribute in respectful living in Indian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Independent" sex work outside red light areas in big cities in developing countries is an understudied phenomenon. Through a survey of independent sex workers in Delhi, India, this paper sheds light on the governance of independent prostitution. It shows that in the sex work industry, which is informal in nature and faces a complex legal architecture, regulatory intermediaries (RIs) drive both regulation and responsibilization strategies. On behalf of the state, the police act as regulatory intermediaries, implementing hierarchical regulation. In red light areas, sex workers' collectives and solidarity networks operate as RIs on behalf of workers. But in independent sex work, it is pimps who act as intermediaries for workers, driving their responsibilization strategies. Independent sex workers take up the services of pimps even though they charge hefty fees, in large part because pimps can negotiate their protection from the police. I examine several characteristics of the relationships between prostitutes, pimps, clients, and the police, and refine the RIT model of regulatory intermediaries (Abbott et al. 2017) in the context of prostitution in a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion, that is, access of excluded households and small firms to financial products and services, is seen as a way to promote more inclusive growth by providing the previously unbanked with access to means for savings, investment, consumption smoothing, and insurance. Financial technology (Fintech), that is, using software, applications, and digital platforms to deliver financial services to consumers and businesses through digital devices such as smartphones, has become recognized as a promising tool to promote financial inclusion. The present paper investigates the developments of financial inclusion and Fintech in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries and India to identify the ways that Fintech is contributing and can potentially contribute to increased financial inclusion. It also examines potential risks arising from use of Fintech, highlights differences in the strategies and implementation of financial inclusion and Fintech between India and ASEAN, and draws lessons and policy recommendations from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the structure and functioning of agricultural markets and the policies and institutional space, smallholder farmers in India often face the risks of strategic failures, which force them to either opt for distress selling, operate as fringe retailers or participate in the existing supply or value chains on given conditions. In this perspective, this paper examines if smallholder farmers' collectives can potentially strengthen their market position vis‐à‐vis other individual players and enable them to explore strategic options in a greater way. On the basis of the structure–conduct–performance theory and field experiences from two selected villages of West Bengal (India), the paper finds that the collectivization of smallholder farmers helps in exploring a larger set of strategic options for better outcomes. Further, the choice of the strategy set varies across the collectives depending on their composition, functioning, and resource endowments. Nevertheless, there is a possibility of strategic failures because of intra‐ as well as intercollective conflicts and competition from other players. The success in this regard would, therefore, depend on how the collectives democratically resolve such conflicts and develop capacity and capabilities to enhance their competitiveness for greater strategic success. Besides, addressing market imperfections through policy and institutional interventions would also be crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an empirical attempt to assess the relations among business cycles, financial cycles, and economic uncertainty for India during the period January 2003 to January 2020. Empirical findings from the vector autoregression model suggest a bidirectional causal relationship between the real and financial markets. Further, the aforementioned markets are found to influence the uncertainty index in India. We employ the Granger causality test in the frequency domain which exhibits the dynamic nature of causal relations, while our novel fractal connectivity approach reveals the long‐run correlation structure among all three variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing non‐performing assets (NPAs) and to meet the higher funding needs, India witnessed the biggest consolidation in public sector banks. In India the surging NPAs is long witnessed concern and major economic reforms were initiated in Indian banking to curb the issue. The recent merger has brought in a major policy concern with this consolidation which is availability of loans to smaller businesses. The paper analyses the impact of banks consolidation on Indian economy by considering both positive as well as negative aspects of banks mergers. The paper also presents the history of Indian banking and recommending a way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic congestion is a serious problem in today's world and it happens because of urbanization and population growth. The traffic reduces the transport efficiency in the city, increases the waiting time and travel time, and also increases the usage of fuel and air pollution. To overcome these issues this papers propose an intelligent traffic control system using the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). The vehicles or nodes present in the IoV can communicate between themselves. This technique helps in determining the traffic intensity and the best route to reach the destination. The area of study used in this paper is Vellore city in Tamilnadu, India. The city map is separated into many segments of equal size and Ant Colony Algorithm (AOC) is applied to the separated maps to find the optimal route to reach the destination. Further, Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to calculate the traffic density and to model the heavy traffic. The proposed algorithm performs better in finding the optimal route when compared to that of the existing path selection algorithms. From the results, it is evident that the proposed IoV‐based route selection method provides better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of financial performance and board characteristics on corporate social responsibility expenditure (CSR expenditure hereafter). The study is based on a natural experimental design where the Government of India made it legally mandatory for companies meeting certain criteria to spend at least 2% of their average profits in the preceding three financial years towards corporate social responsibility in the companies Act 2013. It examines the propensity of companies to spend towards corporate social responsibility over and above the legal mandate. This study analyze two different schools of thought in the field of corporate social responsibility varying in their assertions. The first school of thought asserts that firms engaged aggressively in CSR expenditure would be viewed positively by the customers/prospective customers. The second school of thought asserts that CSR expenditure reduces the profit of the firm that could have been used productively for asset acquisition, and business expansion. The first school of thought focuses on the good corporate citizenship hypothesis whereas the second school of thought focuses on the efficient utilization of scarce resources hypothesis. Using a dataset of companies listed on NSE 500 index, we found a positive and statistically significant relationship between CSR expenditure and accounting‐based firm performance but a negative relationship with market based firm performance. Size of the firm has a positive relationship with firm performance, alluding to the presence of "size" effect. Board size, board independence and cumulative attendance in board meetings exhibit mixed results with firm performance. Note: A slightly different version of this paper was presented in the 15th ICBF‐2022 conference held at IBS Hyderabad in the online mode. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the reviewers and participants whose suggestions helped improve this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands have historically been considered hindrances to development, with 'reclamation' considered the appropriate management practice. This is no different in India, where most cities are built on wetlands. This study examines the case of fast urbanising Kozhikode City on the south‐west coast of India by overlaying political and developmental interventions of the city with its ecological realities. While pre‐colonial settlements in the region were predominantly along the coast leaving the marshy inland areas, the need for resource mobilisation by colonial forces led to the development of Conolly Canal through the wetlands. The spoil bank of the canal spawned the development of roads cutting across the wetlands, a process continuing to this day, with consequent ribbon development. Wetland loss due to reduction in depth, core area loss, fragmentation and salinity intrusion have gone hand in hand with the city's rapid urbanisation. While the looming threat of climate change is forcing Kozhikode's planners to revive the canal, wetlands that sustain the canal (and the city) are buried too far beneath the piecemeal undertakings that have shaped the city. This paper reconstructs the environmental history of the city, the canal and the wetlands from the establishment of the city to the present, spanning a period of 500 years. Determinants of urban growth including canal construction, transport network development in line with the spoil banks and rapid urbanisation processes are chronicled to understand the interconnectedness between ecology, urban sprawl and the rationality of disaster preparedness. In this context, the future development proposals for the region are examined especially with the wetlands as the backdrop. We employ mixed methodologies to track this history including satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), archives and interviews with senior citizens. This framework can be applied to other cities to understand the metabolic relationship of urban growth with ecology and its changing history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The development of human capital is a priority for most nation states, accelerated by the COVID‐19 global pandemic. In the context of reimagining a "new normal" post‐COVID, we reconsider the concept of human capital, and focus on knowledge, skills, and training of individuals in order to capture aspects of inclusive development. Purpose: This paper shows how the perspective of women, informal sector workers, representing some of the most marginalized workers in society, informs and improves our understanding of human capital and its development and utilization. Methods and approach: Our findings are derived from field‐based research conducted over the summer of 2021 in which multiple (virtual) focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with selected members of the Self‐Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India. Findings: Through our FGDs, the participants provided new perspectives and insights into our knowledge of human capital, emphasizing the importance of social protection programmes, gender equity, ongoing training opportunities, decentralized supply chains, and income security. Perhaps most significantly, the benefits accrued to women through being organized have been key to unlocking their human capital potential. Policy implications: Our research highlights themes that are often overlooked in the literature or are beyond the scope of more narrow conceptualizations of human capital. We show that human capital is tightly interwoven with other forms of capital (community assets), and hence efforts to build the former cannot be achieved in isolation from attending to the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of digital transformation programs requires careful allocation of software developers to a variety of digital products and services with different levels of modularity. This paper investigates how deadline orientation (an individual‐level preference of developers for completing work close to deadlines) and architectural modularity (a characteristic of products) influence central outcomes in software development. We argue that architectural modularity positively interacts with deadline orientation to influence software quality and the job satisfaction of developers. Our empirical analyses, using rare and high‐quality data from 131 software developers and 29 product owners working at a captive software development center in India of a leading global software firm, confirm our hypotheses. We contribute to the literature on software development by showing that the fit between the technological characteristics of the software product (i.e., architectural modularity) and people factors (i.e., the temporal work style preferences of developers) plays an important role in shaping both software quality and job satisfaction. Our study has wider implications for the literature on software development, temporal work styles, and architectural modularity. It is instructive for practitioners tasked with hiring or allocating software developers for software products with varying technological characteristics in their digital transformation efforts. Highlights: The success of digital transformation efforts often requires the development of new software in a quick and iterative manner with high quality and the ability to retain software developers through high job satisfaction.The study considers two key factors in software development: deadline orientation, defined as the preference for doing work shortly before deadlines versus an alternative approach of doing most of the work either upfront or with a steady pace throughout, and software modularity.The study finds that ensuring a fit between developers' deadline orientation and software modularity is important, as deadline‐oriented developers will produce higher‐quality software and will be more satisfied with their job in regard to software with high architectural modularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among several devastating natural hazards, flooding is a common and serious threat to society causing huge loss of lives, properties, and infrastructure throughout the world. The intensity and frequency of this extreme weather event are expected to increase due to significant changes in the present‐day climate and land use and land cover (LULC) pattern. India has a very systematic and organized structural program and policies but lacks proper implementations, and adverse effect of climate change and the extreme event goes on in society. This paper is an analysis of floods in India and hazards due to climate change and LULC change patterns. Three models, namely "Eco‐biogeography‐based optimization (EBO), Random forest (RF), and Support vector machine (SVM)" were used to obtain the final output to prepare a "Flood susceptibility map". The result was validated through the "Receiver operating characteristics (ROC)" with "Area under curve (AUC)" values. The future rainfall scenario has been estimated by considering the "General circulation models" through different "shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs)". The values of AUC are 0.915 (EBO), 0.887 (RF), and 0.869 (SVM), respectively. After consideration of different SSPs, the result shows that there is an increasing tendency of flood hazards in the projected period. Among all the employed modelling approaches, the EBO model has notable potential in delineating the possible flood‐prone regions for effective flood planning and management. Decision‐makers can benefit from country‐specific information and regional planner to implement sustainable and long‐term measures to overcome this type of hazardous situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically explores dynamic risk impact of extreme volatility between stock and foreign exchange markets in emerging markets. Based on CoVaR analysis, we construct networks to investigate the nonlinear and dynamic evolution characteristics of risk contagion. The results show that stock and foreign exchange markets exhibit asymmetric tail dependence. All networks present small world network characteristics. The risk tolerance impact is more noticeable than risk overflow and stock markets are more sensitive to risk contagion. In the minimum spanning tree (MST), Korean stock market and foreign exchange markets of India and China are critical nodes in the minimum path of risk overflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the innovative alternatives to the traditional cooperative structure has been the new generation cooperatives or cooperative companies, known as producer companies (PCs) in India since the early 2000s. This paper examines the impact of PCs on the member farmer livelihoods, which is not well studied, with the help of member and non‐member farmer interview survey in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is found that though the PCs were inclusive of small farmers in their membership, the PC interface with members for farm inputs was not very strong and the output linkage was poor, reaching only a small proportion of member farmers. The Sufal Bangla public supermarket franchise by some PCs was found to make a large difference to the PC performance and its impact on member farmers. The small size of membership in most case study PCs hindered the equity size, leading to working capital and market interface constraints. Therefore, it is important to encourage members to contribute more equity and to reward their output linkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapy process research focuses on understanding how therapy is conducted by professionals in the field. It is a nascent field of psychotherapy enquiry in India. This paper explores how novice therapists in India perceive their clients, and how this influences the process of therapy. In depth interviews were conducted with ten novice therapists, with less than six years of practice experience, from Mumbai, India. The data was thematically analysed. The data revealed that therapists' perceptions of their clients were defined by socio‐demographic features of age and gender, along with presenting complaints and personal attributes. Participants had defined beliefs about good clients as contrasted with difficult ones. Distinct preferences for particular client types were identified. The antecedents to these beliefs were attributed to the therapist's worldview, their training and the supervision received. These views, and the conceptualisation of the client, influenced the choice of client, the process of therapy and how they proceeded with sessions, and their methods of referral. The data from the study has implications for therapist training, supervision and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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When sanitation is first conceived, its scope is restricted to the removal of human waste using methods such as cesspools, open ditches, pit latrines, bucket systems, and the like. Today, it refers to a more comprehensive concept that encompasses the elimination of solid and liquid waste, the hygiene of food, as well as personal, domestic, and environmental cleanliness. Sanitation is one of the fundamental factors that determines both quality of life and the indicator of human growth. Infections can be avoided altogether by adhering to proper sanitation practices, which stop the contamination of water and soil. As a result, the concept of sanitation is broadened to encompass not only personal hygiene but also the cleanliness of the home, the provision of clean water, the removal of waste products (including feces and urine), and the disposal of waste water. The government of India has implemented the Swachchatam Sarvekshan programme and begun developing protocols like as ODF, ODF+, and ODF++ in order to guarantee the long‐term viability of inclusive sanitation infrastructure and the efficient application of these facilities. In light of this, the purpose of the current article is to investigate the state of urban sanitation and the management of septage in a few select small towns in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The information used in the paper has been collected through filed survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while balancing the three dimensions of sustainability, are latent about the pathways to achieve it. The transition may involve trade‐offs between the different dimensions of sustainable development, like balancing the socio‐economic dimension with environmental limits. The paper attempts to demonstrate some of these channels for the leather value chain in India, which is a conspicuous source of precarious labour and polluting industrial processes. Interacting the firm's objectives with value chain governance, we introduce four quadrants for the transition to sustainability. Combining voices from the field with a novel dataset, we provide evidence of the intersections between socio‐economic and environmental sustainability illustrative of countries in the global South. The precarity of work and inadequate upgrading of the production process co‐exist in most firms. We find that firms tend to hover around baseline economies of lower costs, work precarity and hazardous processes while exhibiting inertia for a transition. However, a few units are either transitioning or have nearly attained decent work practices and progress to cleaner technologies. The sustainability transition demands engagement in the social and economic upgrading of production processes and organisational practices. It is multi‐dimensional, ameliorating precarious labour and upgrading to cleaner technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive research on waste management has primarily remained confined to metro cities and focused on economic and environmental issues. The present study explores waste management in smaller urban areas from an institutional standpoint, mapping formal and informal players onto a two‐dimensional framework: institutional type and institutional strength. The analysis is based on data accumulated through in‐depth interviews and focus group discussions in three towns of India. Despite the absence of formal acknowledgment, it establishes a continuum between formal and informal actors whose efforts to collect waste and provide public goods and services are mutually supportive. Although the informal sector is ranked lower, there is little variation in institutional strength between the formal and informal sectors. A formal‐informal hierarchy hinders informal waste collectors from moving up the value chain. The paper argues against separating the formal and informal actors in urban policy and planning. A waste management system that is formally integrated is required to extract greater economic value from waste and to strengthen the informal‐formal continuum. This should enhance both the wages and working conditions of waste workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) are highly threatened by fisheries, there are few studies that examine gear and fishery effects on catch composition and abundance across India, one of the top elasmobranch fishing nations globally. We assessed elasmobranch diversity, abundance, catch rates and fishery characteristics using landing surveys in Malvan on the central‐western coast of India, a major multi‐gear, multi‐species fishing centre, over three sampling periods from February 2018 to March 2020. We sampled 3145 fishing trips and recorded 27 elasmobranch species, of which nearly half are categorised as "Threatened" by the IUCN. In addition, we documented historical records by compiling information from identification guides, research papers, articles and reports. During the study period, the catch was dominated by small‐sized coastal species like the spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) and the scaly whipray (Brevitrygon walga). Trawlers accounted for 64.9% of the catch, highest by number, and captured smaller‐sized individuals. Nonetheless, artisanal and gillnet fisheries had higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) for rays (5.1 ± 1.0) and sharks (10 ± 1.0), respectively, and captured significantly larger‐sized individuals. Through generalised linear models, we found seasonal, gear and fishery effects on the abundance and size of commonly caught species. The presence of neonates and gravid females of multiple species also suggests nursery grounds in this region. Historically, 141 species have been recorded in this region, and a comparison with current catch suggests a shift in elasmobranch community structure and potential mesopredator release. This study emphasises the importance of gear and species‐specific research for conservation planning at the local level and suggests the need for management strategies with fisher cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cambodia is expected to graduate from least developed country (LDC) status in the near future, at which time it will be required to make patents available for pharmaceutical products and processes to meet its obligations under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Given its impending transition from LDC status, there is a need to balance Cambodia's intellectual property (IP) policies and regulations with public health priorities to ensure access to affordable life‐saving medicines. This will be critical to achieving universal health coverage, one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. This paper examines Cambodia's IP laws and regulations to identify provisions which could reduce access to affordable generic medicines when it starts to grant patents for pharmaceuticals. It systematically compares Cambodia's IP laws and regulations applicable to patents with those of Thailand and India—two developing countries which have had some successes in preserving access to medicines despite the introduction of pharmaceutical patents. It identifies lessons for Cambodia from the experiences of Thailand and India in implementing TRIPS and using TRIPS flexibilities such as compulsory licensing to ensure access to a sustainable supply of affordable generic medicines. India's experience of implementing TRIPS offers a practical and valuable lesson in applying TRIPS for the greatest public benefit. Thailand, although it has not utilised TRIPS flexibilities as extensively as India, also offers valuable lessons in adapting and interpreting IP law to ensure sustainable access to generic medicines, especially in relation to compulsory licencing. Key recommendations for reform for Cambodia include strengthening the use of preventive and remedial TRIPS flexibilities and removing criminal sanctions for patent infringements. Cambodia should reject any TRIPS‐plus provisions in its patent legislation, avoid membership of bilateral or plurilateral trade agreements that include TRIPS‐plus provisions and avoid signing patent treaties and agreements designed to facilitate the granting of patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming communities have played a vital role in making plant genetic resources available to commercial plant breeders for development of new varieties of plants. They are instrumental in ensuring sustainability of agriculture, which is a must to meet the demands of an increasing world's population. Despite the above the contributions of farming communities are undervalued. Agriculture‐based economies cannot do justice with these communities by treating them as steward of biological resources only. Attempts have been made in different jurisdictions to protect commercial plant breeders as well as farmers using different options available under the TRIPs Agreement. But, in no jurisdiction, farming communities have affirmative rights equal to or better than commercial plant breeders due to the demands of privatization of seed industries and technological developments in agriculture sector. An attempt has been made by the Government of India under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 to recognize the enormous contributions of farming communities and give them protection at par with commercial plant breeders. In fact, the Act recognizes the long‐due customary claims of farming communities. The paper examines the rights of farmers as customary rights particularly in light of the UNDROP, 2018. It critically examines the recent decision of PPV&FR Authority in Kavitha Kuruganti case to understand PepsiCo's concerns and its contradictions with customary rights of farmers in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for protecting traditional knowledge (TK) has been long established, and as a result, international negotiations are being conducted to protect TK internationally. Many international authorities appreciate India's efforts to create unique ways to protect TK. For instance, India was the first nation to set up Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, which helps scrutinise Patent applications on TK. Recently, Dr Shashi Tharror MP brought a private bill titled 'Protection of TK'. Even though it's a bill, it still needs to be analysed because it serves as a reference point while formulating legislation by the union government or any state government. Hence, the paper aims to critically analyse the bill to point out its shortcomings of the bill. The bill gives TK holders hope since it asserts that it will protect TK from misappropriation. This bill can aid in commercialising TK. However, it is doubtful that the TK holders would gain from such commercialisation as specific provisions in the bill tend to favour outsiders more than the tribal or indigenous communities. It is identified that many crucial concepts about TK, such as 'dynamic or changing' or 'traditional context', which are necessary for stakeholders, authorities, and the judiciary to properly appreciate the nature of TK, have gone undefined. Also, it begs the question of why such a significant, essential component of TK is missing when the word 'community' is excluded from the definition of the term "knowledge society." In essence, it is possible to argue that the bill has been inadequately written without enough weight on the philosophy of TK and its jurisprudential comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural transformation in most currently developing countries takes the form of a rapid rise in services but limited industrialization. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to structurally estimate productivity growth in service industries that circumvents the notorious difficulties in measuring quality improvements. In our theory, the expansion of the service sector is both a consequence—due to income effects—and a cause—due to productivity growth—of the development process. We estimate the model using Indian household data. We find that productivity growth in nontradable consumer services such as retail, restaurants, or residential real estate was an important driver of structural transformation and rising living standards between 1987 and 2011. However, the welfare gains were heavily skewed toward high‐income urban dwellers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on technology affordance rarely considers the role of social structures in shaping the interaction between human actors and technology. In this paper, we draw upon the concept of social positioning to explore how socialized affordances of technology adoption, as well as their impact in work and social life, are shaped by the social positions that human actors occupy within multiple social structures. We do so by examining the adoption of mHealth devices by community health workers in India. The study generates theoretical implications for research on affordances of technology and social structures by integrating social positioning of actors in the analysis of a digital practice, and enriching IS research by incorporating the broader social arrangements and power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of controlling turbidity, dissolved oxygen, ammonium‐ion concentration, and water‐temperature to maintain the desired water quality in an intensive aquaculture plant. The research is carried out to fit into the present scenario of intensive aquaculture in India. The plant model along with uncertain parameters are derived using physical laws and the data acquired from an aquaculture pond in Assam, India. A pre‐compensated multi‐variable quantitative feedback theory (QFT)‐based fully populated robust matrix controller is proposed to mitigate the control challenge. A novel method is used to design the pre‐compensator to enhance the diagonal dominance of plant transfer function matrix. The desired robust stability, reference tracking, and sensitivity specifications are fulfilled by the proposed QFT‐based robust controller despite the parametric uncertainty. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through numerical simulation. A comparative study against a H∞$$ {H}_{\infty } $$ controller shows that the proposed controller strategy gives a satisfactory performance compared to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that, first, the effects of monsoon rainfall shocks on agricultural yield in India are highly asymmetric: yield falls strongly after droughts, whereas excessive rainfall has only little effects. Second, our key novel finding is that the short‐lived yield loss after a widespread drought elicits a persistent decline (increase) in wages (food prices), which lasts for up to five years. Third, affiliation to the same National Sample Survey region (and thus to the same state) seems to be a key determinant of internal migration, whereas distance appears more relevant for food arbitrage trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to enhance understanding of how self‐initiated expatriates (SIE) adjust to new cultural contexts in the under‐explored Indo‐Japanese inter‐Asian context. A literature review identified that Asian focal case studies are under‐developed, especially regarding the important interactions between major advanced Asian economy and emerging Asian economy settings. Therefore, the study developed an illustrative case of advanced economy Japanese SIE managers' lived experience in Indian emerging economy cross‐cultural management situations. Deploying a social constructivist epistemology using interpretive analysis, the current study found clear evidence of an interplay of hitherto under‐recognized common Indo‐Japanese spiritual values with roots in Buddhism surfacing in the Japanese SIE's adjustment. The paper offers important insights to complement extant theory on the individual‐level factors influencing SIE adjustment in an inter‐Asian context. The study contributes to international human resource management literature by surfacing contextualized understanding of the role of traditional spiritual values in SIE adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept and design of the 2 kWp polycrystalline floating photovoltaic (PV) system for agricultural irrigation purposes are presented in this paper. The well‐known major advantage of the floating PV system is its installation in the presence of water, which leads to cooling of the PV system that improves its efficiency. In addition to that, the floating PV system reduces the wastage of cultivation area required for its installation, and also, it reduces evaporation of water (for 20% of float cover) by the factor of 22.23 cm/year. But the floating PV systems face some confrontations such as low electrical reliability and reduced life of the mechanical structure due to nearby water surface. As an attempt to overcome the above issues, a small‐scale floating PV system prototype in a water reservoir at Kothavadi village, Tamil Nadu, India has been developed. The system comprises of a floater, mechanical structure, PV module, supporting anchor, under water cable, and motor. The power generated out of this proposed system is utilized for pumping the water from a nearby bore well, and pumped water is stored in the same reservoir where the floating PV system is installed. The water in the reservoir can be used by the farmer for their necessity. In this study, the energy production (month by month) is monitored. Furthermore, the economic analysis and PV modeling have been performed along with some maintenance aspects. The study helps the scientists and engineers to comprehend the performance and commercial viability of floating PV for rural farmers. It is anticipated that this work will inspire and direct farmers to install a floating PV irrigation system as a perfect alternate for the conventional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]