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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]

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]

The paper first presents a historical record of the caste system in India, shedding light on the socioeconomic disparities and discrimination that persisted for centuries. It then delves into the genesis and evolution of the Reservation System, highlighting its constitutional foundations and subsequent amendments. The paper outlines the intended goals of the Reservation System, emphasizing its role in promoting the social justice, equality, and empowerment of the marginalized communities in the society. The paper critically assesses the potential impact of a comprehensive Caste Census on the accuracy and relevance of reservation policies. An analysis of the implications of the Caste Census on the Reservation System follows, considering both potential positive outcomes and challenges. The study explores the prospect of identifying new beneficiaries who may have been historically excluded, as well as the risk of exacerbating social tensions or reinforcing stereotypes. The paper also investigates the implications for political representation, resource allocation, and the overall socioeconomic development of the marginalized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakhangba is considered to be one of the foremost deities in Meitei pantheon. This deity, especially in his lairen (serpentine dragon) form, is integral to the cultural sensibilities and rituals of the Meiteis in Manipur. Taking the centrality of Pakhangba in Meitei politico-cultural space into perspective, this paper presents a reading of (Lai)ren Pakhangba lore beyond the cosmological and cultural underpinnings. Simultaneously, it examines if the lore of lairen -- ensconced in the collective ethos of the people -- and the symbolic presence of this deity in both spiritual and secular space be explained as an expression of the 'collective unconscious'. This paper establishes Pakhangba and his lore as a psychocultural connective that binds and evokes the indigeneity and identity of the people. At the same time, it foregrounds the centrality of nurturing and promoting such psychocultural connective in -- beyond evoking a shared ancestry and pasts -- imagining a more viable and tangible polity that veers away from a single-ethnicity based or territory-oriented politics and polity that undermine the centuries-old politico-cultural history of Manipur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on the issue of high employee turnover in the Indian tech industry. An integrative review is conducted to analyse the past and current state of literature, as well as prepare a research agenda for future studies. Design/methodology/approach: A pool of 72 articles published between 2010 and 2022 is reviewed with a special focus on Indian tech employees. This study elucidates the extent and impact of employee retention strategies through content analysis. Findings: Two broad perspectives have been established in the literature: the reasons for quitting and the explanations for staying. By means of a comprehensive review, this paper combines these two aspects of literature and suggests factors under organization's control to retain competent tech employees. Originality/value: The study is designed to integrate the two theoretical viewpoints of employee turnover literature by consolidating the reasons behind quitting behaviour and staying intention. Codes combining the two aspects are presented as a valuable resource to retain tech talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper shed light on how small cap companies acquire funds. It focuses on a new trend available for small companies and for private investors instead of an old option or traditional way of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to raise money. The study focuses on changes happening. It justifies it for different reasons like new technology, too many rules for Initial Public Offerings, uncertain stock markets, wanting more control over their business, and thinking about growing for a long time. To understand these reasons better, the research referred to information from financial reports, academic studies, and market analysis. It focuses on small companies and private investors in India. The study suggests that small companies are now looking at other trending options to acquire money, like crowdfunding platforms and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), instead of just doing Initial Public Offerings. These alternatives have different advantages for the small cap companies like fewer rules to follow, more control over their business, and a focus on long-term growth. The research study focused on new trends or patterns of raising funds for companies like direct listings and using SPACs instead of Initial Public Offerings In nutshell this research helps us to know how small companies are changing their way of acquiring money. It gives insights that can help entrepreneurs, investors, and financial experts make better decisions in today's complex financial world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper covers the plastic recycling and disposal process which is carried out by chemical and the mechanical means where several technologies and steps are involved. India and the world have witnessed substantial growth both in the production and consumption of plastics. In absence of appropriate waste collection and segregation processes, the management of waste especially for the discarded plastic used for packaging has become a challenging task. Growing plastic pollution is affecting ecosystem as well as human health. This paper provides an overview to of all the challenges due to plastic pollution, for recycling and disposal, ways to mitigate, interplay of plastic recycling and disposal and awareness among the humans over the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Stockbrokers' frauds in India frequently occur, causing investors significant financial loss. This study aims to unfold the various dubious practices adopted by stock brokers in the recent past to defraud investors and the necessary corrective regulations passed by the market regulator to prevent and detect fraud. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conduct exploratory research using a collective model of literature review, case studies and regulatory changes. Findings: The authors find tightening the system's loopholes and strengthening the regulatory system using technology helps in the early detection and prevention of fraud. Media activism and investors' awareness play a role in reducing incidences of fraud. Research limitations/implications: This study unfolds the practices followed by stock brokers to defraud investors, indicative of regulatory gaps and enforcement lapses. Regulators are evolving a robust system to curb these practices and make them on par with international standards. But, it has a long way to go. Practical implications: Robust fraud detection and prevention mechanism is desirable to restore investors' confidence in the stock market. Regulators should focus on investors' protection and education and whistleblowers' protection. Compared to the market regulators worldwide, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has less power to identify, detect and punish fraudulent brokers and needs to be empowered. Social implications: Besides the regulatory changes, strict enforcement and investor campaigns are required to increase public awareness and restore trust in the stock market to combat the recurrence of fraud. Originality/value: This paper can be helpful to regulators, investors and financial intermediaries like stock brokers and aid in strengthening the reliability of capital markets and restoring investors' confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NPT recognised Nuclear Weapons States have made no serious attempt to disarm and only do lip service to nuclear disarmament ever since they agreed to do the same in good faith. They have not only retained their nuclear weapons but also kept increasing their nuclear arsenals. Furthermore, their nuclear capability is often used as a tool in pursuing their geostrategic objectives. The paper argues that states viewed as strategic allies are supported in their nuclear ambitions whereas other states, despite their genuine security concerns, are actively and collectively discouraged from developing a deterrent. India is a prime example in point which has been given a special status outside NPT. The paper aims to critically examine the evolution of nuclear nonproliferation regime and how geostrategic interests and great power rivalry overshadow this regime. Using Indo-US nuclear cooperation driven by Sino-American competition as a case study, this paper examines the effectiveness of the international non-proliferation regime using Krasner's organised hypocrisy model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented growth of 'Artificial Intelligence' (hereinafter referred to as AI) has brought immense benefits but at the same time has posed complex challenges that has impacted users' lives, including privacy and data security, particularly, children who are vulnerable to these problems. This paper examines privacy of children in the era of AI and the legal framework's adequacy in protecting children's privacy, focusing on India, the world's most populous nation in 2024,1 with over 833.7 million² internet users, accounting for more than half of its population. With the advent of AI, unprecedented accumulation, processing, and analysis of massive datasets has become possible by algorithms applying predictive analytics on discrete datasets. Nevertheless, AI's pattern recognition ability has blurred privacy boundaries which has enabled it to feed on sensitive information such as that concerning health, emotions, interests, and behaviours. Due to innate curiosity and digital immersion, children are more susceptible to privacy violations in this 'AI-driven' digital era. Since children possess a limited understanding of privacy risks, they are more likely to share information online. Consequently, there is an urgent need to address the issue concerning the increased digital footprint of children and the associated conflict between the 'age of consent' and the 'age of contractual capacity' for the purpose of fixing the 'digital age' of the child. Such a requirement can be potentially addressed through legislative intervention by enacting a comprehensive piece of legislation to regulate the ubiquitous collection of data. Facial recognition, predictive analytics, autonomous systems, and other AI applications, could be the reason for the apprehensions that systemic discrimination could occur and governance is also at stake that points out the need for transparency and accountability. While AI brings with itself exponential growth, there is also a need to underscore the importance of protecting children's right to privacy, given their vulnerability. A comprehensive legislative framework, responsible corporate policies, and increased awareness can help strike a balance, allowing children to harness AI's benefits while safeguarding their fundamental rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the experiences of middle-class working mothers from the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) sector in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences of work from home are studied in the backdrop of the ideal worker model at work and the adult worker model at home. Further, the study aims to identify the need for sustainable, inclusive practices for working mothers in Indian organizations to break the male breadwinner model in middle-class households. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach to collect data from 39 middle-class mothers working in MNCs in four metro cities in India. The semi-structured, in-depth interviews focused on their experiences of motherhood, care and work before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: The pandemic made it evident that the ideal worker model in organizations and the adult worker model at home were illusions for working mothers. The results indicate a continued obligation of the "ideal worker culture" at organizations, even during the health crisis. It made the working mothers realize that they were chasing both the (ideal worker and adult worker) norms but could never achieve them. Subsequently, the male breadwinner model was reinforced at home due to the matrix of motherhood, care and work during the pandemic. The study concludes by arguing the reconstruction of the ideal worker image to make workplaces more inclusive for working mothers. Originality/value: The study is placed in the context of Indian middle-class motherhood during the pandemic, a demography less explored in the literature. The paper puts forth various myths constituting the gendered realities of Indian middle-class motherhood. It also discusses sustainable, inclusive workplace practices for mothers from their future workplaces' standpoint, especially in post-pandemic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several chinks in the armour of public health infrastructure across the world. However, the impact of the pandemic has been assessed primarily from the perspective of the 'privileged' members of society. The experiences of the 'other' world inhabited by the marginalised communities, who have had their livelihoods crushed under the weight of the pandemic, have been scarcely documented. As thousands of migrant workers were more scared of death caused by hunger rather than the disease itself, the various steps taken by different countries to curb community transmission have unveiled the ugly side of these measures. For example, as several states such as the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat imposed lockdowns, border closures, quarantines, inter alia, the most vulnerable section of the human population has been the migrant workers, especially those individuals who were employed in the unorganised sector. Thus, the global health crisis has unravelled deep-rooted deficiencies, racial biases, and an overall lack of concern and empathy for the lesser privileged, apart from the growing socio-economic divide between the rich and the poor. This research paper aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant workers in the informal sector by exploring the measures imposed by the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat and analyse how their fundamental rights, including the right to development, were compromised. Through this paper, the author provides a five-point strategic framework that can be adopted globally to prevent such instances in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Protecting crops from various threats, including vermin, pests, animals and rodents, is essential for sustaining agriculture. In India, especially in regions like Rajasthan, animal attacks result in significant crop losses, up to 40%. This section underscores the importance of safeguarding crops against these threats. Methods: According to our sustainable agriculture assessment and cognition of the primary issue of the community that was conducted across multiple rural sites within the Sawai Madhupur district of Rajasthan from 2020 to 2023. This paper employs a comparative method to conduct a comprehensive review of animal-repellent systems, along with delving into interdisciplinary research in related fields to identify key factors influencing their effectiveness and proposes a novel holistic farm protection solution system. Result: The proposed system offers robust crop protection while aiding environmental conservation and preserving local wildlife in Rajasthan, India. This paper underscores the importance of adopting IoT-based technologies for sustainable agriculture. It is a valuable resource for researchers, agronomists and various agriculture stakeholders to implement these advancements. This system holds promise for enhancing crop security, minimizing resource waste and ensuring food chain stability for generations to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanizing villages are erstwhile rural villages that are spatially enveloped and are characterized by their dual relation to the state, which expresses itself as an issue of citizenship; of land ownership; of governance; and building regulations. This paper transcends the current focus on villages in Southern China, by comparing village urbanization between China and India through four narratives of village extensions. Four parallel readings are offered, namely that urban villages are characterized by; shared tenure rooted in their rural past; inherited administrative boundaries that are re-imbued with new legal designations; emulation of traditional practices; and sustained modes of self-governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holistically, after the green revolution, India has been a global agricultural powerhouse of various crops and in present most of the farmers adopt the traditional irrigation methods but challenging task is in utilizing minimum water resource for more productivity per crop in diversified Indian environmental conditions. Water is a precious & scarce resource in many areas of the country due to traditional agricultural irrigation & industrial use. Hence, to limit water loss & wastage in farming it is important for maximum water application efficiency. Indeed, Systematic Irrigation System (SIS) for farming is need of hour and hence, attempt is made for development of SIS using computational device, and NodeMCU & Sensor technology are illustrated in this article. The SIS prototype has developed deploying ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC development board and various sensors such as humidity, temperature, soil moisture, PIR & rain sensor . Graphic User Interface is developed in Blynk platform. This prototype has been tested in the laboratory successfully for application efficiency and has found good performance as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The withdrawal of India from negotiations on the world's largest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), in November 2019 was a major setback for proponents of regional economic unity. This paper tries to evaluate India's concerns and also the way forward for India. A review of trade between RCEP countries post-implementation is done to analyze India's stand against joining the block. India decided to opt out of the agreement because of adverse trade balance, impact on the dairy sector, economic slowdown, experience with Free trade agreements (FTAs), China factor, data localization, rules of origin, and the experience of ASEAN countries with Sino-FTA have been some of the factors responsible for this decision. Bilateral trade agreements with Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Rep.and ASEAN were already in place. So, trade between India and 12 RCEP member countries would not have changed after India's inclusion in RCEP. There was fear of a massive surge in imported manufactures from China and dairy imports from Australia and New Zealand. This paper also evaluates the long-term repercussions of this decision and whether India missed out on becoming part of the global value chain n having greater market access through this block. India's experience following protectionist policies did not yield the desired results in the past. So, an in-depth analysis has been done to validate if India has made a mistake by not joining RCEP or if India's concerns and fears were justified and its regional future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest is a natural habitat for a variety of fauna and flora, and helps to maintain the ecosystem equilibrium. However, wildfire incidents and deforestation lead to forest degradation. Moreover, most of the existing methods, to preserve the forest resources, are ineffective due to their large establishment cost, more power consumption, and poor coverage. This paper brings out a sustainable solution by developing a forest protection system (FPS) that uses internet of things (IoT) technology together with long range (LoRa) communication. The work focuses on the development of an IoT framework for the detection of any intrusion into the forest as well as the detection of fire incidents in the vicinity of the equipment. Powering the equipment through solar energy makes the system cost-effective. The system is examined in terms of acquisition of data from sensor nodes pertaining to forest protection, relaying the same to the cloud using LoRa wide area network (LoRaWAN) technology and analyzing using cloud based visualization tools. The developed system has been deployed at Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, Mulugu district, Telangana, India for validation in the forest environment. The obtained results have shown that the system has an accuracy of 97.14% for intrusion detection and 100% for fire detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines religious syncretism in India's Northeast with reference to reformed Heraka. It is perceived, contact of different cultural practices enforces natives to reinterpret and redefined beliefs and practices in conformation to appropriated culture. Historically, birth of Heraka was rooted in resistance against the British occupation, Christian proselytisation and intrusion of other neighbouring communities. To retain indigenous religious practices, reformation took its turn with introduction of new set of rules. In the flow, Heraka appropriated temple, idol and pilgrimage culture into its fold, and scrutinised Christian proselytisation under its radar. In its essence, Heraka is the by-product of Paupai-tenase, Christianity and Hinduism. This paper assesses through constructivist paradigm on how Heraka is perceived to be or not to be of indigenous religion. It is argued that there is a dilution in claim reformed religion, though, has reformed old practices, but with amalgamation in the construction of syncretic religious identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) occupied a unique place in the Indian federal structure as encoded in Article 370 of the Indian constitution. Incorporating Art. 370 in Indian Constitution reflected the recognition of the unique history and circumstances of J&K's accession to India. However, the article proved a roadblock in the Indian state's march to dictate and structure the politics of the state subservient to the perceived national interest, hence the unfailing attempts to gradually dilute it culminating in its total abrogation recently. The paper attempts at deconstructing the Indian state's preoccupation with weakening Art. 370 by arguing that it represented the project of extending homogenization with the ultimate objective of exercising maximum control in a security-sensitive border state. The paper contends that the efforts at homogenization proved counterproductive; it far from bringing stability has caused more political fragility in the state, thus feeding the very dynamics that it has been seeking to contain. In conclusion, the paper offers deepening federalization as the likely pacifier for the festering conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India accounts for about one-quarter of people contracting tuberculosis (TB) disease annually and nearly one-third of TB deaths globally. Many Indians do not navigate all care cascade stages to receive TB treatment and achieve recurrence-free survival. Guided by a population/exposure/comparison/outcomes (PECO) framework, we report findings of a systematic review to identify factors contributing to unfavorable outcomes across each care cascade gap for TB disease in India. Methods and findings: We defined care cascade gaps as comprising people with confirmed or presumptive TB who did not: start the TB diagnostic workup (Gap 1), complete the workup (Gap 2), start treatment (Gap 3), achieve treatment success (Gap 4), or achieve TB recurrence-free survival (Gap 5). Three systematic searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1, 2000 to August 14, 2023 were conducted. We identified articles evaluating factors associated with unfavorable outcomes for each gap (reported as adjusted odds, relative risk, or hazard ratios) and, among people experiencing unfavorable outcomes, reasons for these outcomes (reported as proportions), with specific quality or risk of bias criteria for each gap. Findings were organized into person-, family-, and society-, or health system-related factors, using a social-ecological framework. Factors associated with unfavorable outcomes across multiple cascade stages included: male sex, older age, poverty-related factors, lower symptom severity or duration, undernutrition, alcohol use, smoking, and distrust of (or dissatisfaction with) health services. People previously treated for TB were more likely to seek care and engage in the diagnostic workup (Gaps 1 and 2) but more likely to suffer pretreatment loss to follow-up (Gap 3) and unfavorable treatment outcomes (Gap 4), especially those who were lost to follow-up during their prior treatment. For individual care cascade gaps, multiple studies highlighted lack of TB knowledge and structural barriers (e.g., transportation challenges) as contributing to lack of care-seeking for TB symptoms (Gap 1, 14 studies); lack of access to diagnostics (e.g., X-ray), non-identification of eligible people for testing, and failure of providers to communicate concern for TB as contributing to non-completion of the diagnostic workup (Gap 2, 17 studies); stigma, poor recording of patient contact information by providers, and early death from diagnostic delays as contributing to pretreatment loss to follow-up (Gap 3, 15 studies); and lack of TB knowledge, stigma, depression, and medication adverse effects as contributing to unfavorable treatment outcomes (Gap 4, 86 studies). Medication nonadherence contributed to unfavorable treatment outcomes (Gap 4) and TB recurrence (Gap 5, 14 studies). Limitations include lack of meta-analyses due to the heterogeneity of findings and limited generalizability to some Indian regions, given the country's diverse population. Conclusions: This systematic review illuminates common patterns of risk that shape outcomes for Indians with TB, while highlighting knowledge gaps—particularly regarding TB care for children or in the private sector—to guide future research. Findings may inform targeting of support services to people with TB who have higher risk of poor outcomes and inform multicomponent interventions to close gaps in the care cascade. Tulip A. Jhaveri and team report findings of a systematic review to identify factors contributing to unfavorable outcomes across each care cascade gap for tuberculosis disease in India. Author summary: Why was this study done?: India has the highest tuberculosis (TB) incidence, accounting for about one-quarter of people with TB disease and nearly one-third of TB deaths globally. Many Indians with TB do not traverse all care stages needed to receive treatment and achieve an optimal long-term outcome, with serial losses of people across these stages referred to as the "care cascade." Understanding why losses of people with TB disease occur across the care cascade is crucial to inform interventions to prevent unfavorable outcomes. What did the researchers do and find?: We conducted 3 systematic searches to identify papers published from 2000 to 2023. We extracted information from these studies on risk factors for unfavorable outcomes for each care cascade gap, as well as reasons reported by people with TB who experienced unfavorable outcomes and were surveyed by researchers. Some factors contributed to losses at multiple care cascade stages, including male sex, older age, poverty-related factors, history of prior TB treatment, lower symptom severity or duration, undernutrition, alcohol use, smoking, and dissatisfaction with health services. Other barriers included: lack of TB knowledge and transportation barriers to clinic contributing to lack of care-seeking (Gap 1), poor accessibility of testing and failure to identify people eligible for testing contributing to non-completion of the diagnostic workup (Gap 2), early deaths from diagnostic delays and poor recording of contact information contributing to losses of people before treatment (Gap 3), lack of TB knowledge and depression contributing to unfavorable treatment outcomes (Gap 4), and medication nonadherence contributing to unfavorable treatment outcomes and TB recurrence (Gaps 4 and 5). What do these findings mean?: Reasons for losses of people with TB disease across the care cascade are complex, vary by care cascade gap, and involve patient- and health system-related barriers. India's TB program should target additional services to people with higher risk of poor outcomes and develop multicomponent interventions to address the diverse challenges faced by people with TB. Study limitations include lack of meta-analyses (i.e., estimation of the average effect of each risk factor by combining findings across studies), and caution is required when applying findings across India's diverse population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A smart home energy management system plays an important role in improving the efficiency of an energy distribution system and also helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the power utility company. For a developing country like India, one of the main challenges faced while integrating an energy management system and renewable energy technology is the migration cost faced by the user from the existing system. The existing energy policy of the nation or the community should be reformed in such a way that the user who is willing to adapt to an energy management system should be properly rewarded. Smart appliances and IoT-enabled devices reduce wiring complexity in any conventional home and the smart metering facility aids in the bidirectional communication between consumers and utility companies. But how does it take care of user privacy? What are the reasons behind the user's negligence on-demand response schemes in India? Through a case study, it was observed that the power consumption of domestic consumers in India increased over the years. It was also observed through an energy survey of 200 low-tension domestic consumers that a simple reengineering of lighting loads can save up to 4.68 Megawatt-hour of energy in a year. The paper also identified the negative impact of the inclining block rate billing scheme by comparing the bimonthly energy consumption pattern of consumers and also proposed a new billing scheme. The paper also reviews the types of optimization methods available for load scheduling. This paper is an attempt to enlighten readers on the importance of adopting a sustainable home energy management system, as a socio-economic commitment towards a green future. Highlights: The connected loads in Indian homes are increasing day by day and so the electricity bill A smart green HEM system helps to reduce the carbon footprint Novel demand response programs policies should be formulated Harvesting renewable energy will have multiple applications in a home Dimming lighting loads considerably reduces usage cost [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pines play a significant role in forest biodiversity globally and generate huge forest litter. Dry pine needles due to low ignition temperature and high frictional force with the ground catch fire quickly. Annual forest fires in the northern states of India greatly impact the Indian economy besides causing huge loss to biodiversity, livelihood, and environment. Pine needles are also considered unfit for fodder consumption due to presence of tannins. Although the presence of softwood lignin in pine needles makes it difficult to degrade easily, the presence of holocellulose (68.5%) containing 45–51% cellulose makes this biomass a potential substrate to be used in pulp-making industries for low-grade paper sheets. The good fiber length of pine needles (1.3–1.4 mm) with a diameter of 30–32 μm, maybe considered important property for paper making. The use of pine needles in the pharmaceutical and food industries are due to the presence of secondary metabolites (α-pinene, β-pinene, caryophyllene etc.). The various other potential applications of pine needles are for producing bio-ethanol (yield, 3.98%; purity, 94%), biogas (yield, 23.1 L kg−1), smokeless briquettes (calorific value, 18.77 MJ kg−1), biochar (calorific value, 25.6 MJ kg−1), bio-composites (tensile strength, 21–60 MPa), and bio-pesticides. This paper comprehensively reviews the current applications of pine needles along with its future prospective applications that can have the dual advantage of providing employment opportunities to the people along with environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lie-detection tests are traditionally carried out by well-trained experts using polygraph machines. However, it is time-consuming, invasive, and, overall, a cumbersome process, not admissible by the court of law. Trained individuals can easily flaunt these tests. On the other hand, facial thermal imaging could be more effective as it is noninvasive and could be a stealth method of tracking the facial blood flow patterns, which have been proven to detect deceit. This paper presents a method based on facial thermal imaging to detect deception in human subjects. The major issue in such research is the lack of proper real-life databases which emulate the crime scenes. In this paper, first, we have developed a database based on almost real-life theft incidents with due diligence using isolated subjects over a period of time at a government hospital under the plea of free health checkup. The experiment has been conducted at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India, with proper ethical committee approval. The participants are selected at the behest of the police department with habitual crime records. Most of them have been repeatedly charged with petty crimes of pick-pocketing and stealing. They are invited individually at different instances of time under the plea of medical checkup where they have been enticed to steal cash. It is followed by a two-stage process, a friendly interaction followed by a slightly tougher interrogation. Their forehead and periorbital region skin surface temperature are recorded by a hidden thermal camera. Upon analysis, conspicuous changes in the temperature profile and blood flow pattern have been observed in the individuals who stole money and those who did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Purpose] This article addresses the lack of legislation in India to govern digital currencies, as well as the legality of Bitcoin in comparison to Russia's ban on other digital assets for payment regulation, highlighting the necessity for effective legislation once all around the world. It further delves into potential misuse of private cryptocurrencies in a variety of ways while placing upon the need for both countries to form a new digital currency regulatory authority. [Methodology/Approach/Design] This paper probes into the existing legal regulations for Cryptocurrency in India, Russia and other countries by using primary and secondary data throughout the paper. The primary data have been taken from legitimate government sources such as Russia's federal law and other bills and laws enacted in India, such as the "Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019" and "The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021." Various judgments like the case of Internet and Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank of India and Dwaipayan Bhowmick v. Union Of India and Ors. have been taken out from Manupatra which is an online database for legal research. Government reports and notifications from the Indian, Russian and US government have also been examined. The secondary data include numerous news articles from Times of India, The Mirror, India Times, The Moscow Times, Telegraph, The UK News and other new sites. Lastly, articles by various researchers like Bohme et al, Dyhrberg and Kim have also been thoroughly analysed. [Findings] It was concluded that legalising Cryptocurrency through codified laws, appropriate approval for digital currencies through regulatory authorities, establishing clear definition of 'cryptocurrency', uniform taxation for all types of Cryptocurrencies, updation of penal laws and setting imprisonment for cryptocurrency regulation violation seem to be some effective solutions to reignite the Indian and Russian Economies. [Practical Implications] The practical implication lies in the fact that the use of cryptocurrencies is increasing on a daily basis, but neither the national government nor the world organizations has made any steps to control the market for virtual currencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most nuclear dyads are characterized by some degree of nuclear and conventional asymmetry. This paper argues that these asymmetries create an environment in which deliberate nuclear first use (DNFU) can be rational. This possibility has been discarded in the formal literature on nuclear escalation because of the common reliance on the assumption of mutually assured destruction (MAD). This paper develops a formal model that traces how and under what circumstances two types of DNFU are rational. First, nuclear imbalances and advancements in counterforce technologies create a damage limitation incentive for a strong actor. Second, conventional asymmetry creates an incentive for the coercive use of nuclear weapons by the weaker player. Moreover, this paper illustrates that these asymmetric conditions are a relevant characteristic in important and very different nuclear dyads: DPRK–US, Pakistan–India, and Russia–US. Thus, the model demonstrates the potential core drivers of DNFU in today's nuclear landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the developed economies, recent political economy scholarship has highlighted the growing role of intangible assets (brand equity, software, business processes, patents etc.) in corporate portfolios. Much of this literature has emphasized how intangible assets erect barriers to entry, produce artificial scarcity of key inputs, enhance the pricing power of firms and thus lead to greater and greater levels of concentration. Being as they are monopoly rights and privileges, intangible assets represent the relational power of their owner vis-à-vis those excluded from their ownership. While much of this literature has focused on the developed world, this paper turns its gaze to the case of a developing country and analyzes the patterns and trends of intangible assets for a sample of Indian firms for the period 2000–2022. The analysis reveals a substantial acceleration in the weight of net intangible assets relative to net physical assets, especially after 2008. It also suggests that the largest and most powerful corporations are the ones that have contributed to this spike. Ranked by assets, sales and ownership category, the results show that intangible asset accumulation has been the strongest in the highest echelons of the corporate hierarchy. Moreover, the patterns of intangible asset accumulation have been such that they have not been restricted to the traditional "rentier" sectors in the sense that their presence in the "productive" sectors has been as important if not more so. By focusing on firm-level patterns of intangible asset accumulation, the results show the internal and necessary connections between accumulation and value capture that undergirds modern day capitalism in the Southern peripheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between owner-manager or leader's ambidextrous leadership style and its effect on human resource management (HRM) practices, contextual ambidexterity and knowledge-intensive small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) strategic agility. Design/methodology/approach: This study presents an in-depth qualitative case study analysis of two knowledge-intensive SMEs from India's information technology and health-care products industry serving a range of global clients. Using the theoretical lenses of empowerment-focused HRM practices, ambidextrous leaders, contextual ambidexterity and strategic agility, semi-structured interview data of leaders, managers and employees of the case organizations were analysed. Through a two-staged analytical process, we abductively developed a novel conceptual framework at the intersection of the above theoretical lenses. Findings: The findings suggest that the knowledge-intensive SME's strategic agility, ambidexterity and empowerment-focussed HRM approach was influenced by the owner-manager or leader's ambidextrous leadership style and their philosophy towards managing people and had a positive impact in creating a culture of trust, participation, risk-taking and openness, and led to delivering innovative products and services as well as several positive employee-level outcomes. Originality/value: Recent literature reviews on HRM In SMEs highlight several gaps, including the impact of owner-manager or leader's philosophy of managing people in shaping HRM practices and employee outcomes. This paper thus adds to the existing literature on HRM and knowledge-intensive SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries across the world are grappling with how to deal with the rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its uses. In this article we analyse three such jurisdictions: the UK, Singapore and India. A common theme that prevails across these jurisdictions is the focus on principles and guidelines instead of straitjacketed regulations that tend to be more inflexible. Another common theme is the reluctance to adopt AI tools that serve to replace human decision makers. Some of these approaches are still evolving – particularly in a country like India where the burgeoning case load may yet make way for automated resolution for small value claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify the factors affecting the entrepreneur's choice of the dairy value chain and evaluate the impact of the value chain on farm performance (profit). Design/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected from dairy entrepreneurs in India, covering nine states. A multinomial treatment effect model (controlling for selection bias and endogeneity) was used to evaluate the impact of the choice of the value chain on entrepreneurs' profit. Findings: Dairy entrepreneurs operating in any recognized value chain other than the value chain driven by the consumer household realize a comparatively lesser profit. Dairy farmers have established direct linkages with customers in urban areas – who could pay premium prices for safe and quality milk. Food safety compliance is positively associated with profit and entrepreneurs (who have undergone formal training in dairying) preferred partnerships with a formal value chain. The prospects of starting a dairy enterprise are slightly higher in villages compared to urban areas. Research limitations/implications: Dairy entrepreneurs can make a shift in accordance with the study's findings and boost their profitability. It aids in comprehending how trainees (who obtained advice and training for raising dairy animals from R&D organizations) and non-trainee dairy farmers make value chain selections, which ultimately affect profitability. However, purposive sampling and a small sample size limit the universal implications of the study. Social implications: Developing entrepreneurial behavior and startup culture is at the center of policymaking in India. The findings imply that the emerging value chain not only enhances the profit of dairy farmers by resolving consumer concerns about food safety and the quality of milk and milk products but also builds consumer trust. Originality/value: This paper offers insight into how the benefits of dairy entrepreneurs vary with their participation in the different value chains. The impact of skill development/training programs on value chain selection and farm profitability has not yet been fully understood. Here is an attempt to fill this gap. This paper through light on how trained and educated dairy entrepreneurs are able to establish a territorial market by approaching premium customers – this is an addition to the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper develops a model for enhancing R&D productivity for Indian public funded laboratories. The paper utilizes the productivity data of five Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories for analysis and to form the constructs of the model. Design/methodology/approach: The weighted average method was employed for analyzing the rankings of survey respondents pertaining to the significant measures enhancing R&D involvement of researchers and significant non-R&D jobs. The authors have proposed a model of productivity. Various individual, organizational and environmental constructs related to the researchers working in the CSIR laboratories have been outlined that can enhance R&D productivity of researchers in Indian R&D laboratories. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to find the predictability of the productivity model. Findings: The organizational factors have a crucial role in enhancing the R&D outputs of CSIR laboratories. The R&D productivity of researchers can be improved through implementing the constructs of the proposed model of productivity. Research limitations/implications: The R&D productivity model can be adapted by the R&D laboratories to enhance researchers' R&D involvement, increased R&D outputs and achieving self-sustenance in long run. Practical implications: The R&D laboratories can initiate exercises to explore the most relevant factors and measures to enhance R&D productivity of their researchers. The constructs of the model can function as a guideline to introduce the most preferable research policies in the laboratory for overall mutual growth of laboratory and the researchers. Originality/value: Hardly any studies have been found that have focused on finding the measures of enhancing R&D involvement of researchers and the influence of significant time-intensive jobs on researchers' productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three articles were originally presented as papers on a panel organized by Robert Latham, at the Socialist Studies Conference at York University in 2023. While more or less focused on Marxism in academia, the articles deal with different regional contexts: Hyun Ok Park deals with South Korea, Robert Latham with the US, and Raju Das with India. [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]

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 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 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]

Climate change is one of the most critical socio-economic and environmental problems in India. Although India's per capita emission is very low compared to other developed nations, the economic impacts are very high as millions depend on climate sensitive sectors for instance, agriculture and forestry etc. Given the above context, this paper discusses the status of climate change, its economic impacts, especially for agriculture and forestry, climate change and financial gaps and other climate policy initiatives in India. In addition, this paper also discusses the four aspects such as climate change and macro-economic impacts, distributional aspects, social cost of carbon, and finally finance and technological aspects. There arises an urgent requirement to conduct a vulnerability assessment for reducing future poverty and inequality associate to climate change in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

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]

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: 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: 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]

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]

This paper investigates the effects of common empanelment of hospitals by all insurers on the quality and cost of healthcare in India. Common empanelment is a process of selecting and accrediting healthcare providers by insurance companies and government agencies to ensure high-quality and cost-effective services. The paper examines the role and challenges of the Health Network Management Organization (HNMO) in managing the empanelment process and ensuring standardization, accreditation, and regulation of empaneled hospitals. The research methodology consists of a literature review and analysis of primary and secondary sources from various international organizations. The paper identifies the challenges faced by HNMO, such as a lack of adequate resources and expertise, unclear guidelines and protocols, limited coordination and cooperation among insurers, a lack of trust and transparency among hospitals, insufficient incentives and sanctions for hospitals, and a lack of data and information systems. Despite these challenges, the paper demonstrates that HNMO plays a crucial role in ensuring standardization, accreditation, and regulation of empaneled hospitals. To address the challenges, HNMO should focus on improving its resources, expertise, guidelines, protocols, coordination, cooperation, trust, transparency, incentives, sanctions, data, and information systems. The paper concludes with policy implications and recommendations for implementing common empanelment of hospitals by all insurers in India, emphasizing the need for HNMO to address its challenges and enhance its effectiveness and efficiency in managing the empanelment process. [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]

The National Education Policy promotes moving from the conventional content-heavy and memorization learning practice towards holistic learning/integrated learning. It imparts a creative and multidisciplinary curriculum that focuses equally on curriculum and assessment. All educational establishments assess students using written examinations, quizzes, seminars, term paper writing, and course projects. A semester typically includes 4-5 courses, and students must earn credits for these courses by scoring a good Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). As course projects offer depth knowledge/holistic learning/lifelong learning of a course for the student, many courses include course projects as one of the activities in the course. If all the courses are intended to include course projects as a mandatory pedagogy, it will be difficult for students to acquire in-depth knowledge and required skills while also dealing with stress. So we are proposing an integrated learning framework by applying the theory and practices of two core courses- Software Engineering and Web Technologies to develop a web application. This integrated learning focuses on developing software development and software testing skills in computer science for undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor of engineering degree. This framework alleviated the pressure on students during placement and created job opportunities in software development. The framework consists of three important phases- The first phase includes the identification of the problem as a need for customers, writing requirements and analyzing the same. Students apply modular design principles and break down the codebase into distinct modules. This technique enhances code organization, reusability, and maintainability. The second phase focused on developing the front end by harnessing the power of Angular, a leading web framework, to craft a sleek and interactive user interface. The backend is built using Node.js, which serves as the foundation, enabling the software system to cater to highperformance server environments. These modules communicated seamlessly through well-defined APIs, facilitating the integration of various components within the application, ultimately delivering a seamless and responsive user experience. An industry expert conducted a workshop on Angular This paper was submitted for review on Sept 10, 2023. It was accepted on Nov, 15, 2023. Corresponding author: Padmashree Desai, Department, K.L.E. Technological University, Karnataka India. Address: Hubblii-580031 (e-mail: padmashri@kletech.ac.in). Copyright © YYYY JEET. and React to get hands-on experience. The third phase focused on software testing using appropriate testing tools such as Selenium, Jmeter, TestComplete and Appium to test the web application. A software testing workshop was conducted for students by industry experts to expose the students to designing test cases, test plans, and testing strategies. The hands-on experience on testing tools was provided during the workshop. Faculty reviews are conducted on each phase, and rubrics-based assessment is done on each phase. Approximately sixty teams created web-based applications for real-world scenarios. Positive aspects of the framework in feedback indicated that more than 87% of the students agreed that they could apply Software engineering principles and practices such as requirements management. modular design and testing in web applications. Also, more than 85% of students acquire skills from code-to-web design mastery by developing web applications in Angular Node.js and backend implementation. This framework helped to improve teamwork, presentation and communication skills. Confidence in software development improved to a greater extent. The design and implementation of the framework met the stated outcome of the courses. The student's academic performance improved by 10% compared to the previous year when students were not involved in the integrated project development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]