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In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in understanding the Massive open online courses (MOOCs) due to its gaining popularity. Even though the number of online platforms and programs has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a high rate of dropout and non-completion. In this work, the expectation-confirmation model is combined with MOOC features such as perceived openness, perceived reputation, and other factors i.e., perceived enjoyment, and perceived computer self-efficacy to investigate the learner's continued intention to use MOOC. A survey was undertaken and the data was collected from 383 students pursuing their degrees (undergraduate and post-graduate) in Karnataka state, India. The collected data were analyzed with structural equation modelling in Smart PLS 3. The study confirms a significant influence of confirmation and perceived usefulness on satisfaction, and direct significant influence of perceived computer self-efficacy, satisfaction, and perceived usefulness on continuance intention. Also, the results demonstrated the significant influence of confirmation on perceived enjoyment and usefulness and the effect of computer self-efficacy on usefulness. The findings in this study indicate that the MOOC platforms should focus on confirming learner expectations and the usefulness of courses to ensure student satisfaction and continuance of courses.

Pterostilbene is a natural compound that can be found in various food plants such as blueberries, grapes, and peanuts. It has also been reported to be extracted from Pterocarpus indicus, a tree species native to India and Southeast Asia. Pterostilbene exhibits various pharmacological activities such as antioxidants, anti-proliferation, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory activities with favorable pharmacokinetic properties, such as high oral bioavailability and longer half-life. The anti-inflammatory effect of pterostilbene has been reported to contribute to its therapeutic effects in many chronic inflammatory diseases. Besides, pterostilbene has anti-cancer activity on various types of cancers due to its ability to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Hence, in this review, we discuss the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities of pterostilbene in preclinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to study the impact of consumer empowerment on customer engagement behaviours (CEBs) and their effect on customer value in the FinTech industry of India. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out to collect data from 380 Indian FinTech app users using a survey questionnaire. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method was applied to test the conceptual model. This is one of the first research studies during the COVID-19 pandemic to show that customer-empowered behaviours predict positive CEBs such as reviews and testimonials, which then contribute to customer value. The indirect effects indicate that CEB mediates the relationship between customer empowerment and value. This study also operationalizes and validates customer engagement behaviour as a formative higher-order construct formed by four dimensions such as customers' social media influence, form/modality, the scope and channel of engagement. To create customer value, FinTech practitioners and e-marketers should foster online communities and identify and manage customers' need for control and empowerment for a particular service or product under study thus guiding them in designing customized marketing strategies. The study directs academicians and researchers to build engagement models that can enforce positive CEBs namely e-word of mouth, customer reviews and testimonials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to explicate the factors determining customers' intention to use budgeting apps since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey in South India was conducted to collect data from 285 FinTech users. The data were analyzed using partial least square regression to estimate path coefficients and the PROCESS macro technique to identify moderation effects. Firstly, app engagement and self-efficacy were found to have a positive effect on the intention to use budgeting apps. Secondly, individuals who use FinTech services less frequently and those who use it to pay for a variety of expenses were found to have a greater effect on usage intentions of customer engagement, perceived trust, and perceived ease of use. Therefore, customization, real-time suggestions, providing tools for data visualization, smart data insights, and artificial intelligence-based recommendations and advice would assist customers in prudence money management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to understand the effect of market and firm-level concentration on return on equity in the Indian life microinsurance industry (LMI). This research is one of the first attempts to empirically test structure–performance issues in India. Using data on 14 companies that remained active in the LMI market during 2009–2019, we demonstrate that firms in the Indian LMI market scored better on profitability measures whenever competitive pressures were lower. We calculate Herfindahl–Hirschman concentration indexes (HHI), market share and entropy measures and use panel data techniques to find a positive effect of concentration and a negative effect of market share. We conclude that LMI-specialised insurers in India perform better than diversified insurers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India faces a formidable challenge of providing universal health coverage to its uninsured population in the informal sector of the economy. Numerous micro health insurance (MHI) schemes have emerged as health financing mechanisms to reduce medical-illness-induced poverty. Existing research shows that the purchase of health insurance is most likely to be determined by health status, expected healthcare expenditure, and past health experiences in addition to socio-economic variables. We add to the understanding of various factors influencing enrolment in MHI from an Indian perspective. Methods: A survey was carried out to collect quantitative data in three districts in the state of Karnataka, India. Results: We show that education does not matter as significantly as experience does, in the determination of new insurance purchases. In other words, the importance of new insurance is not understood by those who are merely educated, but by those who have either fallen ill, or have previously seen the hazards of usurious borrowing. Conclusion: Our study provides deeper insights into the role of usurious borrowing and past illness in determining insurance purchases and highlights the formidable challenge of financial sustainability in the MHI market of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The biggest challenge in the Indian life insurance industry is mis-selling and unfair business practices. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of relational selling behaviour on investor decision making in life insurance market in India. This study also aims to elucidate the mediating role of trust in predicting the purchase of life insurance policies by investors. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was carried out to collect quantitative data using a validated structured questionnaire. A total of 813 policyholders of life insurance companies operating in Karnataka, South India, were chosen. The data were analysed using the partial least square method of structural equation modeling. Findings: The process of investors' life insurance buying decision is directly influenced by interaction intensity, co-operative intentions of agents, sharing of overt and covert policy information, and indirectly through the partial mediation of trust. Also, trust fully mediates the effect of agent disclosure and personal rapport on decision making by investors. The importance‒performance map analysis highlights the pivotal role of overt policy information in investors' decision making. Practical implications: The financial mis-selling in India can be curtailed significantly if the insurance companies insist on responsible and relational selling by their sales agents. The companies would also strategically gain by investing in trust-building programs that enhance quality interactions and honest disclosure of overt and covert policy information, unpretentious intention to co-operate in the policy selection, and emphasize emotional connection and personal rapport with customers. These genuine actions and behavioural manifestations would certainly facilitate appropriate decision making by the investors. Originality/value: There is a paucity of research in India which explicates the role of relational selling behaviour in insurers' decision making. As such, this article expands the scope of relational marketing research in insurance by assessing the relational determinants of investor decisions as well as the role of trust as the mediator in influencing insurance decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We look at technical efficiency and productivity changes in the life microinsurance (LMI) portfolio of insurance companies in India. The central objective is to empirically examine the 'tug of war' between efficiency and product diversity in the Indian insurance market. The data used in this research is available in the Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India). First, we emphasise that four-fifths of LMI insurers in our sample were technically inefficient. Second, through the use of the data envelopment approach (DEA), Malmquist total factor productivity index (MTFP), and Tobit regression analyses, we demonstrate that insurers could improve managerial ability by organising inputs in the production process more effectively. Finally, we provide empirical support for the strategic focus hypothesis by demonstrating that product diversification has adverse effects on the technical efficiency of insurers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose Evaluating a portfolio of agricultural loans has become an important issue in recent years primarily due to a large number of loan defaults. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing credit repayment behavior of farmers in Karnataka.Design/methodology/approach The study is based on secondary data of 590 farmers collected from a private bank in the state of Karnataka, India. Binary logistic regression and multinomial regression analysis was carried out to estimate the probability of non-payment of a loan.Findings The results of the regression confirm a significant relationship between non-repayment of agricultural credit and characteristics of borrowers such as the age, years of banking relationship, yield of the crop, distance to bank branch, size and tenure of the loan, farm size and leverage and efficiency ratio.Practical implications The factors predicted by the model do certainly help in improving the decision-making process in agricultural lending. A rigorous assessment of family responsibilities, farm size, credit-to-asset ratio, interest burden on the farmers and farm income is suggested to reduce the probability of doubtful assets.Originality/value The studies that predict default risk in agricultural loan are limited in India. This is one of the few studies that estimate the determinants of substandard and doubtful categories of credit in a private sector bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the health problems of 197 female beedi rollers in Patna, Bihar, India to ascertain the effects of beedi rolling on health. The study found that more than 70% of the beedi rollers suffered from eye, gastrointestinal and nervous problems while more than 50% of the respondents suffered from respiratory problems, mostly throat burning and cough. More than 75% of the respondents faced osteological problems. Total RBC, WBC and platelet counts of the beedi rollers were significantly lower in comparison to the control subjects. Differential leucocyte count showed significantly risen lymphocytes and eosinophils and lowered neutrophils and monocytes in the beedi rollers as compared to the control group. Haemoglobin levels were lower among beedi rollers compared to the control group. SGPT (ALT) enzyme concentration, a parameter of liver dysfunction was significantly higher in the beedi rollers as compared to the control group. Thus, the study concluded that beedi rolling may cause significant health hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) are human filarial diseases belonging to the group of neglected tropical diseases, leading to permanent and long-term disability in infected individuals in the endemic countries such as Africa and India. Microfilaricidal drugs such as ivermectin and albendazole have been used as the standard therapy in filariasis, although their efficacy in eliminating the diseases is not fully established. Anti-Wolbachia therapy employs antibiotics and is a promising approach showing potent macrofilaricidal activity and also prevents embryogenesis. This has translated to clinical benefits resulting in successful eradication of microfilarial burden, thus averting the risk of adverse events from target species as well as those due to co-infection with loiasis. Doxycycline shows potential as an anti-Wolbachia treatment, leading to the death of adult parasitic worms. It is readily available, cheap and safe to use in adult non-pregnant patients. Besides doxycycline, several other potential antibiotics are also being investigated for the treatment of LF and onchocerciasis. This review aims to discuss and summarise recent developments in the use of anti-Wolbachia drugs to treat onchocerciasis and LF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural finance invalidates the rationalistic assumptions of the efficient market hypothesis by proposing a realistic explanation for overreaction and underreaction. These phenomena are caused by investors making financial decisions based on their emotions without realizing them. This study attempts to establish the effect of investors' emotional intelligence on behavioural biases, namely, herding, overconfidence bias, and disposition effects, and its consequences for the churning frequency of mutual fund portfolios. This quantitative cross-sectional study was undertaken to collect data from 499 mutual fund investors using a self-administered questionnaire. We found that the disposition effect has a negative impact and that overconfidence bias positively affects the churning frequency of mutual fund portfolios. Furthermore, emotional intelligence, particularly its subconstructs, affects herding bias and overconfidence bias, ultimately impacting the churning frequency of investors. An investor with a higher level of self-motivation is likely to have a disposition effect and herding bias. Investors with disposition impact may be encouraged to reorganize their portfolio if there are any schemes that have been providing negative returns for more than two years or that are not projected to offer significant returns in the future. By understanding how they stack up on each emotional intelligence metric, investors and financial advisors may focus on avoiding the biases that could jeopardize long-term portfolio returns., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicting interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The extensive adoption and usage of emerging technologies furthered by the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has reduced direct face to face communications. New FinTech (financial technology) apps and technologies are flooding the Indian digital payments market and competitors are striving hard to attract and retain their customers. Especially when customer engagement behaviours (CEBs) are digital in nature, it is essential to gauge the intrinsically driven customer motivations which drive a positive CEB. The objective of this paper was to empirically test the influence of customer-based antecedents such as emotions, moral identity, self-concept, communal focus, perceived cost and perceived benefits on non-transactional experiential customer engagement behaviours (CEBs) and CEB's effect on customer advocacy in the FinTech industry. Methods: Data from 380 financial app users in south India were gathered by administering a survey that captured customer predispositions, CEBs, and customer advocacy. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using smart PLS (partial least squares) 3.0 was applied to test the theoretical model. Results: Results indicate that CEB fully mediates the relationship between self-concept and customer advocacy. The positive CEBs get formed through customer predispositions leading to referral/advocacy behaviours. Conclusions: This paper provides directions for FinTech practitioners, marketers, technologists, and academicians to devise marketing strategies customized to customer needs and factors. This is one of the first research studies to demonstrate and empirically validate the CEB model for the FinTech industry during the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2022 Nayak Kini A and Basri S.)

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an important cancer in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics and clinical presentations of patients in a multiracial population consisting of three major Asian races: Malays, Chinese and Indians., Methods: Consecutive patients with HCC were prospectively studied from 2006 to 2009. HCC was diagnosed principally on multiphasic computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans of the liver. The tumor was staged according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification., Results: Altogether, 348 patients were diagnosed with HCC. There were 239 (68.7%) Chinese patients, 71 (20.4%) Malays and 38 (10.9%) Indians, with the median age of 62.5 years and the male to female ratio of 3.4:1. The predominant etiology in Malay and Chinese patients was hepatitis B virus infection (>60%) and in Indian patients was alcohol intake (26.3%) and cryptogenic cause (29.0%). Hepatitis C was seen in 18.3% of Malays, but less than 10% in Chinese and Indians. BCLC staging was: Stage A, 120 (34.5%); Stage B, 75 (21.6%); Stage C, 84 (24.1%); and Stage D, 69 (19.8%). A larger proportion of Indian than Chinese and Malays patients (44.7%) presented with stage D disease. Portal vein invasion was noted in 124 patients (35.6%) and extrahepatic metastases in 68 (19.5%). Surgical resection and radiofrequency ablation with curative intent was carried out in >90% of stage A patients and transarterial chemoembolization in 49.3% and 21.4% of stages B and C patients, respectively., Conclusions: HCC is most common among Chinese, followed by Malays and Indians in Malaysia. The etiology of HCC shows a peculiar racial pattern., (© 2014 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)