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Background: Health care providers worldwide are rapidly adopting electronic medical record (EMR) systems, replacing paper record-keeping systems. Despite numerous benefits to EMRs, the environmental emissions associated with medical record-keeping are unknown. Given the need for urgent climate action, understanding the carbon footprint of EMRs will assist in decarbonizing their adoption and use., Objective: We aimed to estimate and compare the environmental emissions associated with paper medical record-keeping and its replacement EMR system at a high-volume eye care facility in southern India., Methods: We conducted the life cycle assessment methodology per the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14040 standard, with primary data supplied by the eye care facility. Data on the paper record-keeping system include the production, use, and disposal of paper and writing utensils in 2016. The EMR system was adopted at this location in 2018. Data on the EMR system include the allocated production and disposal of capital equipment (such as computers and routers); the production, use, and disposal of consumable goods like paper and writing utensils; and the electricity required to run the EMR system. We excluded built infrastructure and cooling loads (eg. buildings and ventilation) from both systems. We used sensitivity analyses to model the effects of practice variation and data uncertainty and Monte Carlo assessments to statistically compare the 2 systems, with and without renewable electricity sources., Results: This location's EMR system was found to emit substantially more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than their paper medical record system (195,000 kg carbon dioxide equivalents [CO 2 e] per year or 0.361 kg CO 2 e per patient visit compared with 20,800 kg CO 2 e per year or 0.037 kg CO 2 e per patient). However, sensitivity analyses show that the effect of electricity sources is a major factor in determining which record-keeping system emits fewer GHGs. If the study hospital sourced all electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind power rather than the Indian electric grid, their EMR emissions would drop to 24,900 kg CO 2 e (0.046 kg CO 2 e per patient), a level comparable to the paper record-keeping system. Energy-efficient EMR equipment (such as computers and monitors) is the next largest factor impacting emissions, followed by equipment life spans. Multimedia Appendix 1 includes other emissions impact categories., Conclusions: The climate-changing emissions associated with an EMR system are heavily dependent on the sources of electricity. With a decarbonized electricity source, the EMR system's GHG emissions are on par with paper medical record-keeping, and decarbonized grids would likely have a much broader benefit to society. Though we found that the EMR system produced more emissions than a paper record-keeping system, this study does not account for potential expanded environmental gains from EMRs, including expanding access to care while reducing patient travel and operational efficiencies that can reduce unnecessary or redundant care., (©Cordelia Kwon, Lernik Essayei, Michael Spencer, Tom Etheridge, Rengaraj Venkatesh, Natrajan Vengadesan, Cassandra L Thiel. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 06.02.2024.)

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-based English textbooks and question papers in developing second-language higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive analysis establishes a causal relationship between learning objectives and second language (L2) writing proficiency. Content analysis is used to compare and analyze tabulated data for textbooks and question papers for the English language by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and CBSE. This method categorizes the materials and their assessments under HOTS and lower-order thinking skills to ascertain the relationship between learning objectives and L2 writing proficiency. Findings: The study highlights teaching material and assessment shortcomings and their alignment with learning outcomes to enhance students' writing skills. It underscores the need for HOTS-focused materials, discussing their impact on writing skills. The study also explores how textbook-question paper mismatch hampers Bloom's taxonomy-based cognitive skills. Practical implications: This research illuminates the efficacy of teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL) writing skills to improve the quality of education, which has real-world implications. The study highlights flaws in the educational system in India and suggests curricular and pedagogical changes. Originality/value: The research examines NCERT and CBSE ESL textbooks and question papers to align teaching and assessment methods. The results aim to improve education through ESL writers' HOTS.

The pulp and paper industry is critical to global industrial and economic development. Recently, India's pulp and paper industries have been facing severe competitive challenges. The challenges have impaired the environmental performance and resulted in the closure of several operations. Assessment and prediction of the performance of the Indian pulp and paper industry using various parameters is a critical task for researchers. This study proposes a framework for performance assessment and prediction based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Artificial Neural Networks, and Deep Learning (DL) to assist industry administration and decision-making. We presented a case study based on eight industries to demonstrate the methodology's applicability. This study analyses and predicts industry performance based on sample data observations over 30 years. The result suggests the DEA-DL-based efficiency prediction has an overall MSE of 0.08 compared with the actual efficiency. Furthermore, the efficiency rankings are compared between the three techniques. The results suggest that the integrated DEA-DL method is primarily accurate in most scenarios with the actual values. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive analysis of environmental performance for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, cow dung is widely utilized to create formulations that serve as effective plant growth enhancers with antimicrobial properties. The cow dung-derived handmade paper manufacturing process produces two waste-liquor streams, a Raw Liquor (RL) produced through the dewatering of the cow-dung slurry and a Black Liquor (BL) produced during the soda pulping of dewatered cow dung. The present study explored the potential of these waste streams to be used as plant biofertilizers for germination and cultivation of Vigna radiata seeds (mung bean, IPM-02-03 variety). An in vitro assay for seed germination efficiency and a pot study for plant growth promotion (PGP) activity were used to assess this potential. The in vitro assay demonstrated that nutrient-rich RL, with its 100% seed germination efficiency (better than the 85.7% of tap water) was an effective biofertilizer for seed germination. In contrast, BL yielded poor seed germination efficiency. The pot study showed that water irrigation led to good seed germination, survival, plant rooting and shooting, but it was probably deprived of nutrients for inducing good grain yields. When water was replaced with RL, it was able to replicate the results, but with good grain yields. In contrast, BL produced poorer germination, seed survival and PGP results. The poor biofertilization efficiency of BL was most probably due to the nutrient losses and toxic chemicals produced in the harsh pulping process. The results showed that RL, though considered a waste stream, is sufficiently nutrient-rich to act as an effective biofertilizer for germinating mung bean seeds and promoting plant growth and grain yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation is one of the most difficult areas of educational pursuits. The most common type of evaluation and assessment is through a written examination. The majority of the time, questions is drafted right before the examination without going through a quality control process, which might cause confusion or incorrect interpretation of the questions by the students. Students' self-confidence and self-esteem grow as a result of their increased understanding of the question paper's structure, and they then affirm their ability to complete the task. The design of the question paper is prepared, with consideration given to the objectives, the various forms and types of questions, and the various content areas, a projected time, Level of difficulty anticipated. In order to enhance the standard of student evaluation and assessment, this article focuses on offering instructions and a scientific technique for creating effective question papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-based English textbooks and question papers in developing second-language higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive analysis establishes a causal relationship between learning objectives and second language (L2) writing proficiency. Content analysis is used to compare and analyze tabulated data for textbooks and question papers for the English language by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and CBSE. This method categorizes the materials and their assessments under HOTS and lower-order thinking skills to ascertain the relationship between learning objectives and L2 writing proficiency. Findings: The study highlights teaching material and assessment shortcomings and their alignment with learning outcomes to enhance students' writing skills. It underscores the need for HOTS-focused materials, discussing their impact on writing skills. The study also explores how textbook–question paper mismatch hampers Bloom's taxonomy-based cognitive skills. Practical implications: This research illuminates the efficacy of teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL) writing skills to improve the quality of education, which has real-world implications. The study highlights flaws in the educational system in India and suggests curricular and pedagogical changes. Originality/value: The research examines NCERT and CBSE ESL textbooks and question papers to align teaching and assessment methods. The results aim to improve education through ESL writers' HOTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines new forms of study-abroad expertise on social media and their role in mediating Indian student mobility to Germany. Firstly, it explores how mutual-support Facebook and WhatsApp groups—used by prospective international students in India to support each other through the process of applying to German universities—have contributed to the emergence of new forms of education consultancy, offered by Indian students or graduates of German universities, whom I call 'Student Guides'. In addition, it shows how some Indians studying in Germany have started 'Study in Germany' YouTube channels, aimed at aspirant student migrants, and have become important 'study-abroad influencers'. The paper analyses how these new forms of study-abroad expertise offer prospective international students social and cultural capital important for successful student migration, apart from shaping their imaginative geographies of Germany, and embedding them in cultures of mobility. Furthermore, the paper highlights how these new forms of study-abroad expertise intersect with, and critique, a more 'traditional' study-abroad expert: the professional education consultant. The paper draws on a digital ethnography of 'Study in Germany' Facebook and WhatsApp groups and YouTube channels, as well as interviews with the YouTubers, Student Guides, and Indian students in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing internationalism, there is a shift in research patterns in developing countries, especially China and India, generating vital and contemporary research areas that are beginning to challenge the existing Western‐dominated research literature in social sciences. Yet, many of the new ideas within conceptual papers by the social sciences are not empirically validated, let alone operationalized. This is where the group concept mapping method can play a role in bridging the gap between phenomenal conceptualization and having an empirically valid model that can then be operationalized. The group concept mapping process involves five steps: create statements, sort statements, run multidimensional scaling (MDS) of sorted units, run cluster analysis, and label the clusters. This approach allows for the collective thoughts of a pre‐defined group to be collected and organized into a tangible output with academic rigor. This paper offers an overview of the group concept mapping methodology, discussing the processes of the method, how the method can be utilized fully within the business and broader social science context, and the strengths, weaknesses, and practical implications of group concept mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative analysis of scientific articles published in the Journal of Agrometeorology (JAM) between 2008 and 2022 was conducted using SCOPUS database and a variety of scientometric indicators. Various metrics were utilized to examine aspects including yearly research output, highly referenced sources, author rankings, contributions and profiles, cooperation trends, highly contributing nations, most cited papers, commonly searched keywords and worldwide collaboration mapping. This study employs biblioshiny for analysis and only looks at data that is available in Scopus database. With an h-index (17), a g-index (21) and 3238 total citations across the study period, the journal demonstrated considerable influence. With the greatest number of research publications (n=46) and the greatest number of citations (236), Pandey V stands out among other authors. In terms of the number of papers and citations, India emerged as the leading nation, with the Punjab Agricultural University in the lead with 744 publications. Four clusters were found by co-citation network analysis, with Allen RG being the most quoted author among them. The study also highlighted the fact that Indian authors worked together the most. This analysis is important for assessing the influence of the JAM and offers insightful information about noteworthy research trends and developments in the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: News items like "A whopping 2 lakh gullible investors were cheated......." amply illustrate the extent of problems and hardships caused by financial frauds related to Ponzi schemes, collective investment schemes (CIS), unregulated deposit schemes, etc. In India, over the years, many Ponzi and unregulated investment schemes have taken place, causing huge economic and financial loss to Indian economy. This paper aims to examine why investment such schemes like Ponzi schemes and CIS become popular, how such schemes got operated in different periods and what could be done to safeguard the interests of investors. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is done based on secondary data and research work of various researchers, organisation and institutions, which are available in the public domain. Findings: This paper has tried to analyse various characteristics of such fraudulent schemes, like their modus operandi, promotional activity, background of promoters and legal process involved in recouping financial loss of millions of investors. This paper also examines the demand-side factors that are responsible for popularity of those schemes in India. Noting the regulatory changes and other initiative taken by regulatory authorities to control the supply of unregulated investment schemes, this paper indicates potential actions, which could be undertaken to make people aware about the risks and issues related with such fraudulent schemes. Originality/value: This paper gives an overview about various aspects of unregulated investment schemes, which have duped numerous people at different point of time. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research work is original and has not been published in any other journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the evolution of the postmodern novel in Indian writings in English, with a specific focus on The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. Through a close analysis of the novel's themes, structures, and techniques, the paper argues that The Great Indian Novel represents a significant shift in the trajectory of Indian literature, moving beyond the constraints of colonial and nationalist narratives. Drawing on the theories of postmodernism and postcolonialism, the authors examine how Tharoor's novel challenges traditional notions of history, identity and power, and instead offers a complex and nuanced vision of India's past and present. The study also considers the reception of The Great Indian Novel, both within India and abroad, and discusses its impact on the broader field of Indian literature. Overall, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the postmodern novel in India and its role in shaping contemporary literary discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Efficient and reliable public road transportation systems are essential for ensuring accessible and sustainable mobility for the vast population of India. With a rapidly growing population and increasing urbanization, India faces significant challenges in providing affordable, safe, and efficient road transportation services. This paper aims to analyze the key challenges and explore opportunities for improvement in the public road transportation sector in India. As the paper begins, it emphasizes the importance of public road transportation for both urban and rural populations. In addition to facilitating economic growth, it provides essential services. Despite this, India's public road transportation system faces several challenges. Furthermore, the lack of reliable and standardized public transportation is a major concern. Private buses and unregulated informal transport operators dominate the road transportation sector, leading to issues of overcrowding, irregular schedules, and inadequate passenger comfort and safety measures. To address these challenges and improve public road transportation in India, the paper explores potential opportunities and solutions. It highlights the need for increased investment in road infrastructure development, including the expansion of road networks, improved road design, and enhanced traffic management systems. Additionally, the integration of technology, such as intelligent transportation systems and realtime information systems, can optimize operations and enhance the overall passenger experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Bibliometrics refer to documents and citation-based measures that measure different aspects of performance of a journal, including impact, output and prestige. Objective The aim of this study was to collect bibliometric data of various Indian dermatology journals as well as Indian journals from other disciplines, in order to compare relative performances. Methods Journal metrics pertaining to various Indian journals, both from dermatology [Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology (IJDVL), Indian Journal of Dermatology (IJD), Indian Dermatology Online Journal, Indian Journal of Pediatric Dermatology and International Journal of Trichology] and other disciplines [Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), Indian Journal of Pediatrics (IJP), Indian Journal of Ophthalmology and Indian Journal of Pharmacology] were sought. Data pertaining to the following 8 metrics during the year 2021 was collected: Journal Impact factor, SCImago Journal Rank, h5-index, Eigenfactor score and normalized Eigenfactor Score, Journal Citation Indicator, Scimago Journal and Country Rank H-index, CiteScore and Source Normalized Impact per Paper. Results Among Indian dermatology journals, for the year 2021, IJDVL had the highest impact factor (2.217) and h-index (48). IJD led in terms of prestige metrics such as SCImago Journal Rank (0.403), Eigenfactor score (0.00231) and Source Normalized Impact per Paper (1.132). IJDVL underperformed with respect to an average dermatology journal on all three prestige metrics. Among selected journals from other disciplines, two (IJMR and IJP) had impact factor exceeding five, despite lagging behind IJDVL two years ago. Most had normalized scores exceeding 1, indicating better performance than an average journal from their respective fields. Limitations Non-inclusion of altmetrics related data Conclusion IJDVL is one of the leading Indian journals in the field of dermatology, followed closely by IJD. A rise in IJDVL influence is evident over the past decade, as evident by various metrics. However, the progress still trails behind the average of global dermatology journals as evident by the field-normalized journal metrics, indicating potential for further growth of journal influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to gain insight into managers' perspectives on the concept and practice of workers' participation in management (WPM) in Indian organizations. WPM is a critical ingredient in organizational effectiveness. However, the most fundamental aspects of WPM, such as the attitudes, expectations of managers and the factors facilitating or hindering the participation process, are less explored. This paper attempts to answer those questions concerning WPM in the context of Indian organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses data from 138 managers of Indian public and private sector organizations. Data were collected through an online survey as well as through semi-structured interviews. The study explores potential benefits, roadblocks and supporters from the managers' perspective. Further, to test the hypothesis, the author used multiple regression analysis. Findings: The paper demonstrates managers' perception of workers' participation at the board level as the most beneficial and supportive compared to joint consultation and joint decision-making; however, at the same time, it is the one having the most roadblocks in the present Indian Labour laws. Workers, unions and managers' lack of legislative support and intention fuel the fire. The study also found that implementation of WPM is primarily based on statutory norms, and public sector managers are more willing to take the workers on board than managers of private sector organizations. Practical implications: This research is of practical significance as it extracts new visions for policymakers in India already planning to implement four new labor codes, namely, wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. The data from the study will facilitate the Indian labor ministry to lay down policy decisions concerning WPM. Further, the government can acclimatize this analysis to plug the ambiguities in the present WPM system. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to give insights into the manager's perspective regarding the WPM using a scenario-based approach. In addition, this paper offers valuable suggestions for policymakers to restructure and streamline the country's existing and overlapping labor laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasting of load is essential for operating power systems. India recently witnessed one of the worst power crisis with the highest ever power demand of 207 GW on April 29, 2022. The demand in the month of May and June 2022 was estimated to reach 215 GW. The peak demand this year 2023, according to the electricity ministry, is predicted to be around 230 GW from April to June. The inability to meet certain fundamental issues as power can take a toll on any country's economy. Proper prediction helps in proper decision making and planning. The main objective of this paper is to predict day ahead electrical load demand for Assam. Statistical and Machine Learning Algorithms has been studied. The study has been carried out using real-time data for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the different hyper parameters of the deep learning models and their effect is seen on the learning efficiency. A novel stacked forecasting model is proposed using neural networks as base learners and CatBoost as the meta-learner. The performance of the proposed model has been evaluated and compared with individual models in terms of training time and accuracy using different error metrics namely MAE, MSE, RMSE, MAPE and R2 score. A comparison of the proposed prediction model with the prediction models available in literature has been presented. The conclusion states that both the statistical and machine learning algorithms used in this study act as useful tools for daily load forecasting with considerable accuracy; yet machine learning algorithm outperforms the statistical methods. The entire work has been done in Google Colaboratory using Python as the programming language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elections are a critical aspect of democratic governance, providing citizens with the power and right to express their views. A secure voting system with innovative features can improve this process. Blockchain technology is considered a disruptive innovation, and its potential for enhancing the evoting system is significant. The modern voting system is focusing more on blockchain technology to strengthen and secure the process. Blockchain is a reliable, decentralized database that can offer increased security compared to electronic voting machines (EVMs). This research paper presents a detailed study of the design, smart contracts, evaluation of action, and survey on the acceptance of blockchain-based e-voting systems. It examines the requirements for such a system and provides an understanding of the model. As the acceptance of information technology-based services and products increases, future innovation in the e-voting system may depend on blockchain technology. The survey conducted in this paper explores the differences in opinion based on gender, age, and profession among eligible voters from India regarding the acceptance of blockchain technology-based secure e-voting systems. The analysis of these differences sheds light on the potential for blockchain-based e-voting systems to enhance trust and security in the voting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropospheric systems are widely used by military forces as they provide long-distance, real-time communication. Slow-fading propagation loss reduces link availability and limits its data-carrying capacity. Beam pointing dynamics provides knowledge of favorable heights at different times of the day in different seasons and a useful steering range. Beam steering, based on the beam pointing dynamics of the link, can overcome slow fading. The main contributions of this paper are the derivation of a realistic and accurate tropospheric channel model obtained by making important modifications to Dinc's ray-based model. This paper also presents a method for determining beam pointing dynamics using the modified model. Beam pointing dynamics for two different links located in India have been determined in this paper using real-world data obtained from the Indian Meteorological Department. Another significant contribution of the paper is presenting the prospect of dual data streaming on tropospheric links using a fixed beam and a dynamically steered beam, based on the examination of beam pointing dynamics obtained for the two links. The main result presented in this paper is the comparison of powers received from the most favorable heights in a steerable beam system with the powers received in conventional fixed-beam systems for different days of the year. It has been shown that a higher received power can be achieved with beam steering. Another important result shown is the comparison of the achievable data rates for a single fixed-beam system and a dual-beam (one fixed beam and one dynamically steered beam) system. It has been shown that almost double the data rate is achievable in a dual-beam system. The method for the determination of beam pointing dynamics and the possibility of dual data streaming presented in this paper can significantly enhance the availability and capacity of tropospheric links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scholarship and discussion on urbanization and urbanism are restricted to the exploration of a few metropolitans and global cities. In this way, especially in India, several cities and towns do not fit into the understanding of knowledge produced from metropolitan or large cities. Taking the case of Dharamshala a small town in the Western Himalayas, this paper discusses how debate and conceptualization of urban processes, level of urbanization and scale of economies bypass thousands of small towns not only in India but across the global South. The paper draws attention to the categorization of the urban into small and big, metropolitan and non-metropolitan, unable to provide a comprehensive theory or concept to conceptualize activities and processes that coexist in binaries. Employing an ethnographic approach it discusses the ambiguous statistical criteria, infrastructural facilities, social and cultural dynamics, informality and illegality of Dharamshala. Building on this, the paper asserts that small towns and big cities have a lot of similarities in processes and activities, they may be different from each other at the level of size and scale. Drawing any kind of hierarchy among cities and towns that have the foundation in size (population and geographical) and scale (economies) and positioning them in 'subaltern' positions does not produce a comprehensive framework nor contribute to Southern urban theory but position small towns in between position of metropolitan's cities and urban theories. Noting such debates and discussions, the contribution opens a fresh perspective to study small towns beyond their size and scale and focuses on the processes and activities that contribute to an understanding of Indian urban transition, thereby expanding Southern urban theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till now, studies have determined the existence of process innovation using survey data; however, in this paper, we use secondary data to empirically establish its presence in low-tech industries. Our empirical approach consists of data envelopement analysis in the first step followed by regression analysis in the second step. We use a cross-sectional dataset, i.e., Annual Survey of Industries, 2017–2018 for our study. Our results suggest that among Indian low-tech firms, investment in computer equipment and software is the most popular strategy to trigger process innovation followed by investment in plant and machinery. We find that these factors have a greater impact on firms that export products and import inputs, than on firms that export products but do not import inputs. In other words, the export-import orientation of firms induces a differential impact of these factors on process innovation. One policy implication from the study is that government should encourage and incentivize low-tech firms to improve the capabilities of its labour force. This is the first paper in the Indian context that uses secondary data to empirically determine the existence of process innovation in low-tech industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is significant for measuring the strength of national and global economies in urban profiling areas. GDP is significant because it provides information on the size and performance of an economy. The real GDP growth rate is frequently used to indicate the economy's health. This paper proposes a new model called Pearson Correlation-Long Short-Term Memory-Recurrent Neural Network (PC-LSTM-RNN) for predicting GDP in urban profiling areas. Pearson correlation is used to select the important features strongly correlated with the target feature. This study employs two separate datasets, denoted as Dataset A and Dataset B. Dataset A comprises 227 instances and 20 features, with 70% utilized for training and 30% for testing purposes. On the other hand, Dataset B consists of 61 instances and 4 features, encompassing historical GDP growth data for India from 1961 to 2021. To enhance GDP prediction performance, we implement a parameter transfer approach, fine-tuning the parameters learned from Dataset A on Dataset B. Moreover, in this study, a preprocessing stage that includes median imputation and data normalization is performed. Mean Square Error, Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean Square Error, Mean Absolute Percentage Error, Median Absolute Error, and determination coefficient (R2) evaluation metrics are utilized in this study to demonstrate the performance of the proposed model. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed model gave better results than other regression models used in this study. Also, the results show that the proposed model achieved the highest results for R2, with 99.99%. This paper addresses a critical research gap in the domain of GDP prediction through artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. While acknowledging the widespread application of such algorithms in forecasting GDP, the proposed model introduces distinctive advantages over existing approaches. Using PC-LSTM-RNN which achieves high R2 with minimum error rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of paper is to study a deep learning strategy for recognizing Indian Sign Language (ISL) using convolutional neural networks CNN. Sign language recognition has become a crucial tool for enhancing communication and accessibility for the deaf in India. ISL is a visual-gestural language used by the deaf population in India, and it is a visual-gestural language used by the deaf community in India. Gesture based communication Application is a characteristic language that involves various methods for articulation for correspondence in day-to-day existence. This paper presents a Programmed interpretation framework for token of manual letters in order in English communication via gestures. It manages pictures of uncovered hands, which permits the client to cooperate with the framework in a characteristic manner. In proposed system a deep learning model using CNN with ISL (Indian Sign Language) Dataset is used. The model consists of preprocessing the dataset to extract features from the image, then train a CNN to recognize the signs and gestures with audio. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is capable of achieving accuracy in recognizing ISL signs and gestures with accuracy of 0.868, recall 0.856, precision 0.863, and F-score is 0.884 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The labor force participation rate of women in India has decreased despite economic growth, which has limited the advancement of their rights unlike in most other countries. This paper examines the determinants of labor force participation by gender in rural and urban areas using a probit model with data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) for 2011–2012 to analyze the factors that restrict workforce participation. The estimation results are presented below. First, the marital status of males, both rural and urban, has a significant impact on their participation in the workforce due to family support. In contrast, females face multiple restrictions based on marital, caste and religion, demonstrating that sociocultural factors have limited their participation regardless of regional factors. Second, in rural areas, the educational years of female workers negatively affect labor participation, but the constraints of marriage are weaker than in urban areas. Women in lower castes participate more in the rural labor force, which is interpreted as a result of their livelihood in the industrial structure consisting of agriculture. On the other hand, the caste system negatively affects female participation in urban areas. Finally, these results indicate that the low-labor participation of females is the result of a complicated process influenced by various factors, including regional effects and patriarchal cultural values in India. Therefore, it is necessary to provide employment opportunities and encourage economic incentives for more women to enter the labor market spontaneously, considering regional effects in policies, in order for women to emerge as one group of social leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the understanding of the professional code of ethics of Indian Professional Management Accountants in Business (PMAIBs). It further delves into their individual, job and organizational characteristics as determinants of their understanding of the code. Design/methodology/approach: This study relies on data from 247 responses to a survey-based questionnaire. Overall scores and sub-scores of the level of understanding of the code were calculated based on questions grounded in IESBA Code and ethical dilemmas. The drivers of these scores were then examined using one-way ANOVA, OLS, Probit and ordered probit regressions. Findings: This study found considerable heterogeneity in Indian PMAIBs' understanding of their professional code of ethics and substantial scope for improvements. PMAIBs were stronger in Application, Resolution and Threats but weaker in Theory and Principles. Further, PMAIBs who had ranked themselves higher on code-familiarity, had higher moral maturity, hailed from western India and worked for foreign-listed, foreign-owned firms were found to have a higher level of understanding of the code. Highly educated elderly professionals and professionals with more responsibility areas exhibited a lower level of understanding of the code. Research limitations/implications: Insights from the study can help professional bodies, employers and academics identify and segment PMAIBs based on their ethics-training needs and customize interventions, which can benefit businesses and society through reduced corporate ethical failures. Considering the risk implications of Indian PMAIBs' inadequacies in understanding their code of ethics, the Indian professional accounting organization (ICAI-CMA) should mandate ethics in continuing professional development and expedite its long pending convergence with the IESBA code, a global benchmark for professional accountants. Originality/value: This paper assesses the understanding of the professional code of ethics of PMAIBs, which is crucial yet amiss in the accounting ethics literature. While ethical decision-making is extensively researched, how well the professionals understand their code is yet unexplored. Research on PMAIBs, despite their unique ethical vulnerabilities and increasingly vital role in organizations, is still dormant. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining PMAIBs from India, an emerging economy under-represented in accounting ethics literature. India offers an important and rich setting for the study due to its large size, fast growth, deep integration with the global economy, high perceived corruption levels and poor ethical behavior of its firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on positive organizational scholarship, this study aims to examine the role of faculty engagement in mediating the relationship between quality of work-life (QWL) and organizational commitment. The paper also analyses how spiritual leadership moderates the relationship between QWL and faculty engagement. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected through structured questionnaires from undergraduate and postgraduate teachers working in various business schools across major cities in India. The sample was selected through the snowball sampling technique. The sample size was 486, and analysis was done through the structural equation modelling approach using the bootstrapping method. Findings: Findings indicate that faculty engagement mediates the relationship between QWL and organizational commitment among teachers. Furthermore, results show that educational institutions that practice spiritual leadership support higher positive psychological and emotional states of engagement. Research limitations/implications: The paper provides an integrated model of engagement, commitment and QWL through a study of mediation and moderation effects and adds value to the psychology and workplace spirituality literature. There is the future scope for further generalizations of the model in different geographical contexts to analyse the influence of other leadership styles. Practical implications: Furthermore, it would help educational institutions to design QWL strategies for engaging teachers psychologically, emotionally and cognitively by accelerating employees' positive emotions and behaviours. Finally, the paper shows implications for developing the QWL strategies to create a committed and engaged workforce through spiritual leadership. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the academic literature by investigating interrelationships among variables from a positive organizational scholarship perspective. The paper would help practitioners to comprehend the importance of spiritual leadership in educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniaturization of electro-mechanical sensors and actuators has benefited from an advancement in CMOS technology over the years. However, miniaturization of audio speakers has seen considerable development only in the recent times. This paper reviews the developments in micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) audio speaker research and the initial commercial products available in the market. At first glance, it appears that the relatively slow development of MEMS speakers can be attributed to the fact that the principle of actuation has remained unchanged for several decades. Unfortunately, the physics behind audible sound production holds us back from exclusively adopting miniaturized speakers—sound pressure level is directly proportional to the area of the sound radiating surface. Nevertheless, researchers are continuing to explore new avenues for designing and developing MEMS speakers, without limiting themselves to the existing actuation principles. With newly discovered materials and improving technology, the research in MEMS speakers is gaining attention and new products are emerging. A speaker design based on piezoelectric actuation or electrostatics actuation is favorable at MEMS scale. Indian research community is also contributing to advances in MEMS speakers and near-ultrasonic devices. This paper reviews the development in MEMS audio speakers in India and in the world. The tabulated review findings aim to offer readers an overview of the development of micro-speakers and to provide guidance for designing new micro-speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. Bandgap reference circuits (BGR) are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper aims to provide a detailed insight of design of a folded cascode operational amplifier (FC op amp) and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm semiconductor laboratory (SCL) process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. This study work has been supported by MeitY, Govt. of India, through Special Manpower Development Project Chip to System Design. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the two circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. Section 2 shows the design of FC op amp, beta-multiplier circuit and their simulation results. Section 3 describes the comparison of design of conventional BGR and the proposed BGR with other state-of-art BGR circuits. Section 4 gives the comparison of their performance. The conclusion is given in Section 5. Findings: The post-layout simulation of FC op amp show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3-dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5µW. Among the two BGR designs, the conventional BGR generated 693 mV of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 16 ppm/°C the other BGR, with curvature correction generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperate coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C , both results in temperature ranging from −40°C to 125°C. The chip layout of the circuits designed on 180 nm SCL process ensures design rule check (DRC), Antenna and layout versus schematic (LVS) clean with metal fill. Research limitations/implications: Slew rate, stability analysis, power are important parameters which should be taken care while designing an op amp for a BGR. Direct current gain should be kept higher to reduce offset errors. Input common mode range is decided by the operating temperature range. A higher power supply rejection ratio will reduce BGR sensitivity to supply voltage variations. Input offset should be kept low to reduce BGR error in reference voltage. However, this paper emphasis on the flow from schematic to layout using simulation tools. As part of the study, the bonding diagram for tape-out of BGR and FC design in the given SCL frame size with seal ring is also explored, for possible tape-out. Practical implications: Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. The chip layout of the circuits was designed on 180 nm SCL process ensuring DRC, antenna and LVS clean with metal fill using Cadence virtuoso and Mentor Graphics Calibre simulation tools. Social implications: BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper gives a detailed insight of a BGR design using a folded-cascode operational amplifier. The FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror circuit. The paper discuss FC circuit design flow from schematic to layout. Originality/value: FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror. The paper discusses FC design flow from schematic to layout. The circuits were designed on 180 nm SCL technology with 1.8 V of power supply. The post-layout simulation show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3 dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5 µW. BGR were designed using FC op amp. The proposed BGR generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C in the range from −40°C to 125°C in schematic simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous requirement for pre-bleaching processes on kraft pulp, employing a range of compatible enzymes, aims to mitigate the pollution caused by chemical bleaching agents. In the present study, the laccase-producing bacterium Bacillus licheniformis BK-1 was isolated from the Bakreshwar hot spring in India and tested for laccase production using different lignocellulosic substrates. The isolate was found to produce maximum laccase (8.25 IU/mL) in the presence of rice bran as a substrate, followed by 5.14 IU/mL using sawdust over a 48 h period. Laccase production doubled when medium parameters were optimized using a central composite design. The bleaching of rice straw pulp was accomplished using a laccase, xylanase (previously extracted from the same bacteria), and laccase–xylanase mixture. The mix-wood kraft pulp treated with the enzyme mixture at pH 7.0 and 50 °C temperature for up to 180 min reduced the chlorine amount by 50% compared to the control. The results also revealed that the enzyme mixture improved the pulp's optical (brightness 10.39%) and physical (tear index 39.77%, burst index 22.82%, and tensile strength 14.28%) properties with 50% chlorine dose. These exceptional properties underscore the enzyme mixture's suitability for pulp pre-bleaching in paper manufacturing, offering a safer and more environmentally friendly process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper seeks to add a historical perspective to the contemporary debate concerning women's entrepreneurship in India. This study aims to explore the quantitative and qualitative research map of the research field of women's entrepreneurship. Through this exploration, the authors aim to portray the historical and contemporary factors related to women's entrepreneurship development in India, the problems and the opportunities. Future research opportunities are also identified based on the keyword analysis. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a systematic literature review to analyze the historical and theoretical perspectives of women's entrepreneurship in India. The bibliometric analysis portrays the publication landscape, including the most popular journals, authors and countries, citation analysis and keyword analysis. The content analysis reveals the thematic clusters of the research field. Findings: The content analysis of the management literature on women's entrepreneurship reveals four primary clusters from the research: contextual embeddedness in women's entrepreneurship, reasons for starting a business, microfinance interventions and empowerment of women entrepreneurs and marginalization dynamics for women entrepreneurs in India's informal sector. The study also presents implications for policymakers and a women entrepreneurs' development framework. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first to comprehensively analyze the management literature on women's entrepreneurship in India from a historical perspective. The study combines bibliometric mapping and content analysis for a holistic presentation of the research field of women's entrepreneurship in India and future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing migration, the labour migration process and the status of migrant laborers in the informal sector, particularly those working in brick kiln factories. It will shed light on the precarious nature of their work, often characterized by informal and verbal contracts. The paper examines occupational and environmental health hazards affecting the labourers and their impact on their well-being, the vulnerability of women in the precarious work environment and the associated health risks in brick kiln factories in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies primarily on primary data collection, supplemented by secondary literature and documents. Balangir district was chosen as the research region due to its historical deprivation, underdevelopment and the historical prevalence of environmental distress, leading to distress-driven migration. To gather primary data, 40 respondents were selected from five selected blocks in Balangir district, resulting in a total of 200 respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 35 individuals across the selected blocks, with approximately seven participants from each block. In addition, interviews of 10 kids were taken and around 10 key informants including the trade union leaders, intellectuals and civil society activists. Findings: Migrant labourers, including men, women and children, face significant health issues and are exposed to similar occupational health hazards. Internal migrant women workers are more vulnerable as they face critical health risks during pregnancy in host areas due to unfavourable working conditions and limited access to health-care services. Factors such as strenuous work, long working hours, poor nutrition and inadequate maternal care contribute to adverse outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, premature delivery and abnormal postnatal development. Research limitations/implications: The brick kiln industry presents a distressing reality for men who are highly vulnerable to occupational accidents, and women workers are exposed to sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. The prevalence of physical harassment, ranging from leering to rape, is alarmingly high among women. These incidents not only inflict physical harm but also cause severe psychological trauma and increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the existence of laws aimed at protecting women's rights and addressing sexual offences, the workers often remain unaware of their rights. This lack of awareness further compounds the vulnerability of women workers and perpetuates their exploitation in the workplace. Practical implications: To address health issues comprehensively, interventions should encompass the entire migrant population, including men and children. Strategies should focus on improving access to health-care services, promoting occupational health and safety measures, ensuring proper immunization and nutrition for children and addressing the broader social determinants of health. Empowering women with knowledge about reproductive health and rights, raising awareness about available health-care services and strengthening health-care providers' capacity to cater to migrant populations are crucial steps towards addressing health disparities. Social implications: Urgent interventions and policies are needed to address the health vulnerabilities of internal migrant workers and women workers. It is required to ensure health-care accessibility, improving working conditions, ensuring access to maternal care and essential supplements and providing health-care services for both pregnant women and their children, regardless of migration status. Originality/value: The study focused on precarious health and occupational hazards and accidents faced by migrant workers. It highlights women migrant labourer's and children's vulnerability in the Brick Klin sector, which is a value addition to the existing knowledge in social science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrespective of the branch of study, practical/laboratory courses are integral parts of engineering curriculum. These courses develop the knowledge, skill and attitude of the graduates. It is thus necessary to frame the laboratory experiments, to create a student centric learning environment and to have suitable assessment methodologies to enhance the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the engineering students. This paper proposes a framework of the above three from the authors' perspective for a software laboratory. The proposed framework can be extended to the laboratory/practical with suitable modifications in the Course Outcomes. Also in this paper, a methodology is proposed for converting the scales into marks and also the formula for calculating the marks under various heads (record, viva voce and experiment) is given. Rubrics are defined for the Performance Indicators (PIs) as specified in the Examination Reform Policy of AICTE for the Program Outcomes (POs defined by National Board of Accreditation (NBA), India). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine Nigeria's dynamic output and output volatility connectedness with USA, China and India using quarterly data from 1981Q1 to 2019Q4. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted the network approach of Diebold and Yilmaz (2014) and used the normalized generalized forecast error variance decomposition from an underlying vector error correction model to build connectedness measures. Findings: The findings show that the global financial crisis (GFC) increased the connectedness index far more than the 2016 Nigeria economic recession. The moderate effect of the 2016 Nigeria economic recession on the connectedness index underscores the fact that Nigeria is a small, open economy with minimal capacity to spread output shock. For both real output and its volatility, the total connectedness index rose smoothly and systematically through time, thereby leaving the economies more connected in the long run. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to examine Nigeria's dynamic output and output volatility connectedness with the USA, China and India using new empirical insights from the GFC versus 2016 Nigerian recession. The study, therefore, concludes that the Nigerian economy should be diversified immediately as a hedge against future real output shocks, while the USA, China and India should maintain and sustain their current policy frameworks to remain less vulnerable to real output shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically dissects the contemporary policy landscape and its ability to counter precarious work for construction workers in the Indian context. By focusing on the governance challenges faced by welfare institutions and the pre-existing fault lines exposed by the pandemic, the paper argues that social policies are languishing and inefficient to respond to the challenges of growing precarity. The paper uses Breman's conception of 'Footloose labour' to understand informality related to construction workers and Gilbert and Terrell's social policy analytical framework to understand the institutional response. The two major arguments that make the social policy languish are the inability of the policy to alter neoliberal employment relationships and the operational challenges that institutions face in implementing welfare schemes for many footloose labourers. Moreover, the situation is further exacerbated by inherent contradictions of the state which is entangled between promoting economic growth through neoliberal policies while consecutively ensuring labour welfare. If the Institutional challenges persist along with the persuasion of neoliberal reforms, footloose labour is only going to be further marginalized and pushed to limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Itraconazole (ITZ) has been the mainstay of oral antifungal treatment for the current epidemic of recalcitrant dermatophytosis (RD) in India. Recently, a newer formulation of ITZ, super bioavailable itraconazole (SUBA-ITZ), is made available in the market by many pharmaceutical companies. It is important for dermatologists to understand the pharmacokinetic properties of SUBA-ITZ vis-a-vis conventional pellet formulation to use it effectively and safely. Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) has established a special interest group for recalcitrant dermatophytosis (SIG-RD) to strengthen research, continuing medical education, and industry collaboration on the subject. This position statement on SUBA-ITZ by SIG-RD is an attempt to address current pieces of evidence and the position of this new formulation in the management of RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aimed to investigate the cyclical dynamics of the business, credit, and investment sectors in India. This was achieved by utilizing annual data from 1980 to 2021 and investigating the impact of domestic and global financial cycles on the business cycle. The cycles were derived using the Hodrick–Prescott filter, and structural vector autoregression (SVAR) and Granger causality tests were employed to establish the dynamic interactions among these cycles. The results of the study revealed a clear divergence between domestic and global financial cycles. Additionally, the SVAR analysis confirmed the presence of a long-run relationship between business, investment, and credit cycles. Notably, the findings suggest that credit cycles can provide valuable insights to manage business cycles in India. Finally, robustness checks were conducted to confirm the reliability of SVAR findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) chat programs has opened two distinct paths, one enhancing interaction and another potentially replacing personal understanding. Ethical and legal concerns arise due to the rapid development of these programs. This paper investigates academic discussions on AI in medicine, analyzing the context, frequency, and reasons behind these conversations. Methods: The study collected data from the Web of Science database on articles containing the keyword "ChatGPT" published from January to September 2023, resulting in 786 medically related journal articles. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed articles in English related to medicine. Results: The United States led in publications (38.1%), followed by India (15.5%) and China (7.0%). Keywords such as "patient" (16.7%), "research" (12%), and "performance" (10.6%) were prevalent. The Cureus Journal of Medical Science (11.8%) had the most publications, followed by the Annals of Biomedical Engineering (8.3%). August 2023 had the highest number of publications (29.3%), with significant growth between February to March and April to May. Medical General Internal (21.0%) was the most common category, followed by Surgery (15.4%) and Radiology (7.9%). Discussion: The prominence of India in ChatGPT research, despite lower research funding, indicates the platform's popularity and highlights the importance of monitoring its use for potential medical misinformation. China's interest in ChatGPT research suggests a focus on Natural Language Processing (NLP) AI applications, despite public bans on the platform. Cureus' success in publishing ChatGPT articles can be attributed to its open-access, rapid publication model. The study identifies research trends in plastic surgery, radiology, and obstetric gynecology, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations and reliability assessments in the application of ChatGPT in medical practice. Conclusion: ChatGPT's presence in medical literature is growing rapidly across various specialties, but concerns related to safety, privacy, and accuracy persist. More research is needed to assess its suitability for patient care and implications for non-medical use. Skepticism and thorough review of research are essential, as current studies may face retraction as more information emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a financial risk to companies, and those that disregard this will have to deal with losses due to extreme weather events, new regulations, or the disruption of the supply chain. Companies must disclose climate-related financial implications to enable informed decision-making by investors and other stakeholders. Any indifference or disregard for climate-related disclosures will harm the investors who may trade based on insufficient information and prices of securities that do not account for climate risks. In India, disclosures are mandated for companies under the Companies Act 2013 and various Securities and Exchange Board of India Regulations. This paper will explore the adequacy of the current disclosure regime concerning climate change and argue that, although information regarding climate risks falls within the ambit of the current set of mandated disclosures, it is insufficient. The paper concludes by making a case for mandatory climate disclosures under the Companies Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining is an important enterprise that will supply essential minerals for the country's infrastructural development. Mining is a key industry and a development engine in the Indian economy. The epidemic has had both immediate and long-term effects on the labour and industries in India. Short-term effects include the cessation of mineral production, salary loss due to absenteeism and pandemic limitations, unemployment, and the selling of minerals on the market. The reputation and economic health of industries, fresh mineral deposit exploration, and new mining complex development have all been impacted in long-term. Aside from the mining industry-specific impact of COVID-19, the social fabric of the mining workers has been impacted since they are living in an environment of fear and uncertainty. This paper attempts to analyse the effect of COVID-19 on extractive industries in India. It also focuses the steps which taken by the Indian government. The paper concluded with the negative effect of COVID-19 which disrupts the mining sector and the contribution declined during COVID-19. However, for instance from mineral rich-Odisha, the mining sector takes up by its growth in post COVID-19 period with remarkable increment from negative growth to high positive rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to understand the pattern of surface energy fluxes over a periodical scale and energy balance closure using Large Aperture Scintillometer and Micrometeorological tower. The standalone technique as 'Scintillometry' which observes the structure parameter of refractive index based on Monin-Obukhov Similarity theory, has the potential to measure the sensible heat flux precisely. This paper discusses the surface energy balance components and energy balance closure over a period of August 2017 to June 2018. The maximum mean energy fluxes Rn, G, H and LE were observed in September (98.6 Wm-2), May (13.9 Wm-2), June (53.3 Wm-2) and August (82.1 Wm-2), respectively. The overall mean ET was observed at the rate of 1.36 mm day-1 during the study period. This scintillometry technique may further use in evapotranspiration modelling from polar orbiting satellite to geostationary satellite over a heterogeneous and undulated landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the role of institution in the combating crime in India. This study also assesses institutions for controlling property crime in India in the post-reform era. Design/methodology/approach: Crime and socio-economic data are taken from National Crime Record Bureau and the Reserve Bank of India, respectively. Twenty major Indian states are selected for the study purpose for the period of 1994–2019. Fixed effect panel data technique is used for analysis purpose. Findings: Property crime rate declines with economic growth, while it increases with financial development. Findings of fiscal policy instruments are different. Own tax is positively associated with property crime in India, while non-tax fiscal instruments such as fine, penalty, and so on, are inversely related to it. Property crime rate is inversely related to institutional factors like charge sheet and conviction rate. Research limitations/implications: Further research is needed for other crimes in India. State-level data are used here for analysis purpose; however, spatial or cluster analysis techniques might provide more insights for combating crimes in India. Practical implications: This study suggests that economic growth and fiscal instrument along with institutional development are essential to control property crime in India. Social implications: Government should take steps to improve the law-and-order system to control property crime across states. Originality/value: Impact of non-tax fiscal instrument reduces property crime while that of own tax is increases it in India. These findings are unique and added certain insight in the study. Institutional roles are captured its performances like charge sheet and convict rate, which are significantly reduce property crime in Indian states. Least square dummy variable model is applied to capture individual state effects. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0063 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient tax system is vital for the sustainable growth of the nation. In India, indirect taxes constitute major portion of the tax revenues for balancing government budgets. During last few decades Value Added Tax has been seen as a leading income generating source. After prolonged discussions India adopted a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax, which aimed at the removal of cascading effect of taxes through seamless availing of input tax credit. The present paper is an attempt to find empirical evidence on the relationship between Goods and Services Tax revenue growth and economic growth proxy by GDP. The ordinary least square regression technique found that GST revenue growth has a significant and positive impact on economic growth in India during the period Q2:2017 to Q1:2021. The result shows that one per cent GST revenue growth causes 0.56 per cent economic growth. The result of correlation analysis also confirms the association between GST revenue performance and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the discourse on Muslim women's rights in India, aiming to trace how policies concerning Muslim women affect their constitutional rights to equality and non-discrimination. In doing so, this paper explores a colonial continuity of policies in the post-independence era and the subsequent governments. The purpose of this paper is to provide an extensive and nuanced discussion on Muslim women's rights in light of their historical evolution, the existence of personal laws, and the ongoing debates on a Uniform Civil Code. This article concludes that Muslim women continue to struggle for their rights to equal citizenship at the intersection of gender, religion, colonialism, and secularism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between earnings management and financial distress and considers whether this relationship varies based on the severity of financial distress and signs of discretionary accruals (a proxy for earnings management). For this purpose, multiple regression analysis has been employed on a sample of 192 financially distressed Indian firms during the period 2011–2018, counting to 1,272 firm-year observations. Discretionary accruals are estimated by the Modified Jones model and Raman and Shahrur (2008) model, while Altman's Z -score and distance-to-default model are used to detect the degree of financial distress. The findings disclose that the low distressed firms are indulged in higher earnings management than high distressed firms. Also, the low distressed firms are engaged more in income-decreasing earnings management. However, the results are not consistent across both earnings management and distress measures. The findings have significant implications for investors and creditors. They need to be aware of this fact while evaluating creditworthiness of a firm since firms with even a low degree of financial distress can indulge in earnings management to camouflage their true financial condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cities worldwide are at the frontline of environmental challenges during their future planning. Navi Mumbai presents many opportunities to move a city toward sustainability. The land is scarce for development purposes in Mumbai, which has resulted in the creation of the suburban area of Navi Mumbai. As the latter has numerous water bodies and drainage channels, which lie in the ecosensitive zone, to stop organic development, the environmental suitability index along with the accessibility index needs to be assessed to promote future organized growth. The present study investigated the planning of the new areas and assessed environmental suitability and accessibility for various zones seeking future development. The analytical derivation of the environmental suitability index was based on the parameters, subindex, and attributes of environmental issues in that area. The parameters included (1) soil permeability, (2) water-holding capacity, (3) porosity, (4) properties of groundwater and marine water, (5) properties of air, and (6) noise. The entire area was divided into five zones for the current work. The analytical framework was a developed methodology of indices calculated from five monitoring stations obtained from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited, India (CIDCO). The accessibility parameters of the transportation network were measured using alpha indices (α). Finally, a nondominated sorting algorithm was used to obtain final suitability based on the Pareto optimality condition. The development suitability of an area was obtained by computing the environmental suitability index and accessibility index. This computation decides which of the five stations is best for which type of planning. The study developed a dimension-wise suitability index for Navi Mumbai, aiming to streamline the planning process and integrate policies essential for planning to attain sustainable development for Navi Mumbai. During future planning, policymakers and planners have often ignored environmental aspects in ecofragile areas. Hence, planning for new development in ecofragile areas has often been haphazard, piecemeal, and organic. The framework adopted in this paper, combining the environmental suitability index and the accessibility index, intended to assess the area's health and prescribe future actions to reduce the negative environmental impacts of development and regulate the same. The paper showed how data on soil, water, groundwater, air, and noise can be used in a simple mathematical model to compute the environmental suitability index of an area. Similarly, graph-theoretic measures of the whole transportation network can measure the accessibility index of the area. Finally, the development suitability of the area can be calculated by combining the environmental suitability index and the accessibility index. The level of domination result signifies the most suitable station/node for different types of development. Based on the results, policymakers and planners can determine an ecofragile area's future land use development as required. This model can further be adopted by local governing authorities to plan for zoning, zoning regulations, and approval of a proposed development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New forms and practices of journalism evolve and stabilize when they are socially, culturally and institutionally enabled [Bossio, Diana, and Jacob L. Nelson. 2021. "Reconsidering Innovation: Situating and Evaluating Change in Journalism." Journalism Studies 22 (11): 1377–1381], signifying their acknowledgement in the triad of practice, academic research, and education. In the case of news podcasting, the practice is emerging in India, and so is academic research in the domain. However, the third vortex of education is largely missing in this case, as found in the course of the present research. This paper argues the need for podcasting to be included in the curricula of journalism schools in the Indian context. It presents the findings of 24 qualitative in-depth interviews with podcasting journalists and journalism educators in India, highlighting the need of including podcasting in curricula and the challenges to this. These two perspectives are then bridged to present a case for including news podcasting in the training of new journalists. The paper strongly argues that podcasting is a great value addition to journalism curricula, facilitating both aims of a journalism programme-employment and performing the normative function of journalism. Specifically, in India, this inclusion is necessary since news podcasting is a major way of reinventing audio journalism, which has been limited to only the public radio broadcasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the women-centric development schemes and programs launched by the government for the tribal people in India in general and the female members of the Lodha community in particular, and the impact of the development schemes on the livelihood of these women. This microstudy was carried out on the Lodha, a particularly vulnerable tribal group for their extreme backwardness among the tribal communities of India, living in a village named Goaldihi in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The women in this community seem to carry a triple burden of backwardness, firstly for being women, secondly as Scheduled Tribe and thirdly as PVTG, and to remove which the government has planned certain schemes for their development. The realization of the aims of development from the perspectives of millennium development goals reveals a dismal picture. This paper examines the dominant paradigms of development and the state's role in it to understand the trajectory of development practices among a denotified (earlier branded as criminal tribe), traditionally foraging tribe in contemporary India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India generates around two million tonnes of e-waste every year, and it is increasing at a very high rate of 30%. However, due to inefficient handling of infrastructure and limited number of collection centres along with the absence of proper incentive structure for producer and recyclers, 95% of e-waste reaches to unorganized sector for disposal. Consumers are not aware of the need of proper e-waste disposal and in absence of proper motivation and they are not inclined towards recycling process. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the best practices of e-waste take adopted all over the world to implement effective policy interventions for e-waste management in India and other emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: This paper has recommended preventive as well as curative policy interventions on the basis of best e-waste management practices of Germany, Italy and Japan; life cycle assessment of e-waste; and SWOT analysis of Indian electronic product industry. Findings: Preventive measures include a deposit refund scheme wherein a consumer will be responsible for depositing a refundable fees during the purchase of the product. The amount should be arrived at keeping in mind cost involved in handling e-waste and ensure some motivation for the consumers to give back used product. To ensure proper tracking of the product, Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags can be used which will be activated at the time of sale of product and remain so until product reaches some designated recycling space or recycler and consumer is returned back his deposit fee. Subsidy to the producers and recyclers can also be provided by the government to further incentivize the whole process. An example of mobile phones has been used to understand the proposed deposit fees and associated cost structure. Curative measures to reduce the generation of e-waste in long run for managing the discussed issue have also been proposed. Originality/value: This study is an initiative for proposing and implementing best e-waste take back techniques in a developing economy like India by acquiring learnings from best/advanced economies in terms of e-waste take back. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]