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Aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic affected cancer service delivery and the feasibility of following the standard treatment guidelines. The present paper describes the use of clinical care guidelines for cancer management in routine practice and the approach adopted towards cancer care during the COVID‐19 pandemic in India. Methods: A web‐based survey was done in 107 hospitals (including public and private health facilities) that hosted Hospital‐Based Cancer Registries under the National Cancer Registry Programme. The participants comprised Principal Investigators of these registries, who were also medical, surgical, and radiation oncology clinicians. The survey was done between May 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021. Participants were provided with a web link for the survey questionnaire, confidential login, and password. Results: The study found high utilization of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) during practice, with eight out of ten physicians constantly to referring them. The study reported lack of knowledge, skills, and training to administer the treatment based on the guidelines followed by organizational infrastructure and affordability of treatment by the patients as the factors hampering utilization. International clinical guidelines were preferred when compared to national guidelines. The COVID‐19 pandemic decreased the use of CPGs, wherein six out of ten clinicians reported their use. Conclusion: Stakeholders who formulate clinical guidelines must consider the practical aspects and feasibility of implementing such guidelines during a pandemic and similar situations. This should be coupled with adequate changes in care practice to ensure optimal care delivery and a continuum of cancer care in routine and pandemic‐imposed situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) estimates are often unavailable at fine spatial resolutions due to the lack of dense climatic networks. The present study was taken up to develop a methodology for obtaining a gridded Penman-Monteith (PM) ET0 dataset for Karnataka State, India, through spatial interpolation of estimates obtained at climate stations. Three interpolation techniques, Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Kriging, and Point-Based Sentinel Hospitals Area Distance (P-BSHADE), were employed to derive PM ET0 estimates. Considering the historical climate records of 67 stations located in Karnataka State for the period of 2006–2016, the interpolation methodologies were evaluated using a cross-validation procedure. Results showed that the performance of IDW was better with significant error reduction at validation sites. Subsequently, the IDW algorithm was used to derive daily PM ET0 values at 0.25° × 0.25° grids over the Karnataka State, India. Finally, the comparative analysis of developed PM ET0 gridded data product against three global ET0 products indicated the developed gridded ET0 to be most accurate across different agroclimatic zones. Web links of the developed product have been created in an effort to share the data on ET0, which is a critical input in a variety of studies in earth sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether a one-time, extensive, but temporary shock to cash supply can affect the adoption of digital payments. We exploit the 2016 demonetization episode in India, which overnight discontinued 86% of cash in circulation. Using novel administrative data from retail debit card transactions, we identify a 12% increase in digital payments in areas adversely affected by the cash shortage, which persisted well after the restoration of cash supply. Examining mechanisms, we find a limited role for social networks and stronger support for learning by doing. Further, information frictions hinder the immediate adoption of digital payments. (JEL E5, 023) Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on return migration governance in India. It discusses the challenges faced by distressed migrant returnees, particularly those in low-skilled and informal sectors, and examines the programs and policies available for their reintegration. The article emphasizes the need for reintegration models that cater to the diverse needs of male and female returnees and calls for more research and effective policies in this area. It also discusses the health, economic, and mobility challenges faced by migrants during the pandemic and the impact of border closures and anti-migrant sentiment on their lives. The article highlights the importance of comprehensive support for migrants and effective reintegration measures, as well as the need for addressing the social and psychological aspects of reintegration. It also discusses the challenges and opportunities related to return migration in developing countries, with a focus on India, and suggests using regional platforms to address migration issues. The article concludes by discussing India's potential role in global migration discussions and the existence of forums like the Colombo process and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue. [Extracted from the article]

Homelessness comes with a slew of challenges and a never‐ending struggle for survival. This study examines the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on the homeless population of urban India. The study reflects on the experiences of the homeless in the major cities of India during the first wave of the pandemic as well as explores the aspect of their rights and the role of government policy in this regard. The methodology of the study is qualitative in nature, where secondary data collected from various sources such as news articles, blogs, books, journals, and reports are put to analysis for deriving the findings. The study reveals the sufferings of the homeless in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Their fight is not merely with the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus but also with hunger, unemployment, and neglect faced by them. The study highlights the fact that their rights are being compromised due to drawbacks relating to policy implementation. The study concludes with certain suggestions such as, addressing the loopholes in policy implementations and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By looking at the September 1949 devaluation dilemma faced by the governments of Pakistan and India, this article argues that it was an early episode of divergence between them following partition. The reasons why Pakistan did not devalue when India did so have remained largely obscured in the historiography. Deeply contested, the decision was a determining event through which the state staked its claim for economic sovereignty, internally and externally. It led to a 17-month-long official trade deadlock, especially in the eastern region of partitioned Bengal. It ended when the two governments established an exchange ratio for the two rupees, no longer at par with each other. This interactive delinking of currencies was symptomatic of the improvisational decoupling of the colonial subcontinent's post-colonial states. In tracing its trajectory, this article contributes to the inconsiderable literature on why devaluation did not happen in Pakistan, revises the rationale offered, and presents the event as a contingent exercise in economic decolonization, generative of a post-colonial sovereign difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology has become an inevitable part of learning these days and the popularity of blogs and web forums is increasing exponentially. The purpose of blogging is to encourage discussions on a particular topic or concept, thereby throwing more light on the point of discussion. These discussions generally focus on knowledge sharing and acquiring, but in a way, they help the participants and the readers to enhance their language skills like listening, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary both directly and indirectly. The present study consolidates the opinions of the researcher about the use of blogs as educational technology and the opinions of the learners about the role of blogs in their language learning aspects. The result shows that blogs have a considerable impact on one’s language proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on how traditional methods of information gathering and retrieval in libraries have been overtaken by the rapid development of information communication technology (ICT) and the information explosion. Topics include the acceptance of this change by academic libraries to meet the ever-changing needs of research and development, the availability of most library resources in electronic format, and the importance of electronic resources.

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The main aim of this study was to analyze the contents and interactivity of academic library portals in India. The study was confined to a hundred selected academic library websites. A checklist along with a data sheet was used as the tool for data collection and Microsoft Excel was used as the tool for data analysis. The analysis revealed that the websites have an almost identical pattern of contents and interactivity. The majority of the websites used interactive applications. Facebook is the most preferred application followed by Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The websites preferred the extreme top right corner of their homepages to provide links to the applications and web objects. This study is useful for developing design standards for library websites and portals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

URL citations analysis is one of the methods for web impact assessment. This study classifies URL citations and identifies the motivational factors behind such citations received by higher education institutions in India. Spearman and Chi-square analyses were used to highlight the relationship between the institution groups and website categories. Chi-square test reveals that the National Institutes of Technology had more impact in each category of websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This study aims to examine the performance of Indian research Institutions' websites using webometrics by investigating their visibility, traffic ranks, number of links, time on site, Indian/Foreign users and page ranks besides focusing on the two designed hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach -- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) directory (www.csir.res.in/external/heads/aboutcsir/lab%5Fdirectory.htm) is used to identify the research institutions in India. The directory lists 40 research institutions across India. However, Alexa did not offer required information for some of the websites due to very high traffic ranks, and accordingly the list is reduced to 21 research institutions. The data collected were analysed and tabulated to reveal findings in accordance with the desired objectives. Findings -- The results reveal that global traffic ranks, number of page views, number of links and time on site of Indian research institutions are low. However, the page ranks are to some extent satisfactory. The traffic ranks of Indian research institutions differ significantly, whereas no major difference in the page ranks is found. Further, the results show that Indian research institutions' websites have not been able to attract foreign visitors given the calibre and reputation of these institutions. Originality/value -- The results of this study will be useful for website administrators of research institutions in India and across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When constructing websites, designers usually rely on style guides, prior experience and their own intuition to determine where to position particular web objects on a web page. This position may vary based on the type of web site and institutions: This paper aims to study the pattern and analyse the various aspects of the location of web objects and links of university web sites in Tamil Nadu. A total of 43 universities in Tamil Nadu were considered which includes, 17 affiliating universities, 5 unitary universities and 21 private universities. The analysis of the data represents the location of web objects and the pattern adopted by the universities in Tamil Nadu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]