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MEDIA MOTIVATION BEHIND WATCHING POPULAR BOOK BASED MOVIES
This dissertation explores the one medium that the youth choose to get influenced by when it comes to watching popular fantasy book based movies. It is based on the assumption that the influencers may be many but ultimately the youth rely on one main medium to make their movie watching decision. The books which the movies are based on, advertising media and user generated word of mouth communication were considered as strong individual influencers. The researcher first aimed at finding out which medium motivated youngsters to watch the first fantasy book based movie of the series and consequently whether the same medium influenced the youngsters to watch the remaining movies in the series. The researcher went on further, to find out which advertising medium most motivated youngsters to watch the movie series irrespective of whether advertising proved to be the strongest influencer or not. The researcher chose the Harry Potter book based movie series, the Twilight book based movie series and the Lord of the Rings book based movie series and restricted the target audience to the age group of 18-25 years. 90 respondents were allotted questionnaires out of which 30 respondents each belonged to the Harry Potter, Twilight and Lord of the Rings category. They were further equally divided on the basis of gender to negate bias. The major conclusion was that user generated word of mouth communication proved to be the strongest influencer when it came to watching the chosen popular fantasy book based movies and brought about the importance of TV ads as the ones with the most potential when it came to influencing those respondents in the advertising category. However the researcher cautions the readers that these findings may be applicable to other popular fantasy book based movies only if they fall in the same category as the ones chosen for this research. -
Media's portrayal of women activists - A comparative case study on Malala Yousafzai & Irom Sharmila /
Media has always played a major role in depicting various sections of the society, various aspects of life and people and thus enabled the common man have various perspectives. Sometimes, media becomes selective and refuses to properly execute certain news. Media can play a useful role in dissemination of information, but it when it comes to the process of portraying the women who have stood up for something, is the efficiency same? -
MEDIATING EFFECT OF PERCEPTION OF POLITICS BETWEEN DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE AND TURNOVER INTENTION OF EMPLOYEES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS
During the past few decades, organizational researchers have increasingly focused their attention on the subjective work issues and their impact on various work related outcomes. One of the most prominently studied factor perception of organizational politics has received much recent conceptual and empirical attention. Political work environment are responsible for a variety of harmful work consequences like higher stress, lower job satisfaction and commitment, diminished worker productivity and higher rate of turnover (Ferris et.al 1989, 2002; Kacmar and Baron, 1999) Some researchers focused on the distributive justice aspect as predictors of important outcomes here they pursued studies from the opposite perspective while they examined Perception of politics (Ferris and Kacmar, 1992; Kacmar , Ferris, 1991). Thus research has demonstrated the independent influences of politics, distributive justice, on turnover intention, job satisfaction etc (Cropanzano et.al 1992; Mcfarlin and Sweeney, 1992). Very few studies attempted in finding out how these elements of fairness influence each other in predicting outcomes. In the current study, the mediating effect of perception of politics between distributive justice and turnover intentions has been examined. This study extends the previous research efforts and fills a gap in the reviewed literature by simultaneously investigating the mediation effect of perception of politics between distributive justice and turnover intention of employees in Information technology organizations. 343 employees from the top 10 IT organization as listed by NAASCOM were involved in the present study. The purposive sampling technique was adopted. Employees with minimum 2 years of experience in the organization was chosen as respondents. The major objectives of the study are, to measure employees perception of politics and employees perception of distributive justice; to study the turnover intention of IT employees; to find if perception of politics mediates the relationship between distributive justice and turnover intentions; to find out the significant effect of distributive justice on the dimensions of perception of politics and finally to find out the difference in perception of politics and distributive justice across demographics. Hypothesis was framed in accordance to the objectives stated. The tools of measurement adopted were (i) Perception of organisational politics were measured with the fifteen item Perception of politics scale (POPS), developed by Kacmar and Carlson (1997).( ii) Five item Perceptions of distributive justice were measured with the Distributive Justice Index, developed by Price and Mueller (1986). (iii) Turnover intention was measured using a categorical item developed by Dilys Robinson, Sarah Perryman, and Sue Hayday, (2004). The Crobachs alpha for perception of politics dimensions and distributive justice were above 0.90. The level of perception of politics and distributive justice was found to be moderate. In terms of the logistic regression analysis performed, it was found that there was partial mediation of perception of politics between distributive justice and turnover intention. The result indicated that, even though the employees perceived their work environment to be political, they will have the intention to stay back, as long as the fairness in distribution of rewards exists. Perception of politics which always carried a negative label showed partial mediation in the relationship between distributive justice and turnover intentions, where it explained only 13.9% of the intention to leave factor. This means, even when the environment is political, employees will stay back in the organization when they experience fairness in distribution of rewards. Keywords: Information technology, Organizational behaviour, Human resource management, Perception of politics, Mediation, Distributive justice, Turnover intention. -
Microindentation Analysis of Bi2Te3 Crystals
Recent trends and advancements in materials research and technology have led to a renewed interest in the growth of crystalline solids with better physical perfection and high purity. The major emphasis of investigations has been on the growth of single crystals and the study of their physical properties suitable for device fabrication. The availability of crystals from natural resources is inadequate to meet the need of industries and also do not give sufficient variety. Although crystal growth has been the subject of absorbing interest for many years, much of the latest developments have been stimulated due to its increasing commercial importance for the fabrication of thermoelectric, optoelectric and nonlinear optical devices. Crystal has an ordered arrangement of atoms or molecules in microscopic scale and the atomic regularity shows up in the internal and external symmetry. The change in crystal shape should be brought about by the difference in controlling mechanisms of the growth dynamics. It is inevitable to investigate the relationship between the growth mechanism and resulting growth morphology. The developments in crystal technology have significant contribution to many areas of basic and applied solid state research. Industries currently rely on bulk grown crystals of a variety of materials. Hence, single crystals have been extensively studied to explore their novel physical properties and potential applications. The first chapter deals with an introduction to the crystal growth, followed by a brief history of semiconducting materials. A detailed account on the properties and applications of bismuth telluride crystals is reported. This chapter concludes with different mechanical properties and scope of the research problem. A review of literature to present theoretical knowledge on growth and characterization of bismuth telluride crystals is given in chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines the experimental procedures and different characterization techniques used for the present work. A detailed study on the vapour and melt growth of bismuth telluride crystals and its mechanical properties is also reported. Chapter 4 is devoted to provide a detailed discussion on the results obtained from experimental research. Final chapter covers the summary and conclusions of this research work. The report ends with a reference section, listed as per the international standards. -
Migration to bangalore : A study of return migration of IT professionals
Bengaluru, Karnataka, is widely known as India s Silicon Valley and an important centre for Information Technology (IT). It is also one of the fastest growing cities in India. Migration to the city has contributed to its growth and this study has focussed on the phenomenon of return migration with specific reference to the return migration of IT professionals to Bengaluru. The main newlineobjectives of the study were to explore some of the factors underlying return migration in general and return migration to Bengaluru in particular, to examine the reasons underlying the decision to migrate, to examine the process of return migration, to describe transnationalism in the context of this return migration and to observe the experience of being back home This study used mixed methods and adopted concurrent triangulation to analyse and interpret the data in the study of the research problem. The framework adopted by Lee was also used to understand the factors that influence the decision to migrate within a broader theoretical framework to study return migration. The researcher explored the factors that influenced the decision to return which were an outcome of the push factors operating from the place of origin and the pull factors operating in the place of destination, India and Bengaluru in this case, both sets of which relate to the socio-cultural, economic and political realms. The newlineresearcher examined the factors that operated as push factors in the host country as well as those that operated as pull factors upon professionals working in the IT sector in the context of return migration to Bengaluru.According to the study, the pull factors being exercised from the city of newlineBengaluru were more relevant in terms of the forces underlying the decision to move. Bengaluru s reputation as a technopole or a high tech cluster has contributed largely to the way in which the migrants have been drawn to the city. -
Mind-Set In Mathematics Learning : Role of Teacher-Student Interaction on Student Engagement, Wellbeing and Achievemrent
Mathematics learning is an integral part of the school curriculum. Children learn basic concepts in mathematics and then gradually reach the abstract level. Challenges in mathematics learning are largely observed after grade seven. Students may show disinterest towards the subject due to several reasons including past learning experiences, teacher-student interaction (TSI), anxiety and self-efficacy levels. If the students cannot connect what they learn, it impacts their interaction in the classroom, and it acts as a reason for losing interest. The literature review reveals the importance of mathematics anxiety, self-efficacy, and utility value and contribute to the construct of mind-set. Student engagement is influenced by mind-set in mathematics learning and TSI, and predicts achievement and wellbeing. The study adopts a mixed-method design with the qualitative study aiming to support the quantitative study and strengthen the validity of the results. The quantitative study sample consists of 774 eighth graders from various English medium schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The qualitative phase seeks to determine the students' perception of mathematics learning through their classroom experiences among 17 students using semi-structured interviews. The tested conceptual model shows an excellent fit. It shows mind-set in mathematics affects TSI, influences student engagement and leads to student-wellbeing. There was no indirect effect for the achievement and other variables. The findings related to the open-ended questions indicate the importance of teachers and content. There is a lack of understanding among students about the practical application of the learning content. The thematic analysis results provided five main themes: student attributes, teacher attributes, classroom environment, content-related and utility value. Integration of the findings leads to the importance of TSI and student engagement in the mathematics classroom. Also, the connection between variables related to mathematics learning and student wellbeing. The results of the study have important implications for developing engaging pedagogies. -
Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence : Impact on Psychological Well-Being of School Teachers
Psychological well-being of school teachers is vital for healthy student engagement and a conducive classroom environment. This study sought to understand the role of mindfulness and emotional intelligence in the newlinepsychological well-being of school teachers. It was conducted in two phases. The first phase, through the survey method, sought to establish the relationship between mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and newlinepsychological well-being of school teachers. 125 female school teachers from Bangalore, India, drawn through convenience sampling, were surveyed. The tools used were the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, Assessing Emotions Scale, Scales of Psychological WellBeing, and demographic details sheet. Results revealed positive and newlinemoderate to strong associations between the variables (r = 0.38 to 0.65). Moreover, mindfulness and emotional intelligence explained 45% of the variance in psychological well-being, as opposed to 42% by mindfulness alone. The second phase was a pre and post-experimental study. After random assignment to study (N = 19) and comparison (N = 29) groups, the study group underwent a seven-session mindfulness-based emotional newlineintelligence intervention through an online platform. The participants were assessed on mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and psychological well-being before and after the intervention. Results revealed that emotional intelligence showed a significantly increased post-intervention, but mindfulness and psychological well-being did not. -
Models for load forecasting and demand response
Increasing pressure on the utilities to accommodate energy efficiency, load management and progress in advanced technology has led to transformations of existing grids into smarter grids. With the development of Smart Grid Technology and the integration of smart meters it is possible to control the equipment installed at the consumer site. Creating awareness among the end- users to participate in load management programs instead of capacity addition is the best solution for maintaining the stability in the grid. Utilities can also encourage consumer participation in load control activities. They can ensure that power is given to a consumer during his priority time. For this, loads have to be categorized, prioritized and then considered for load shedding so that revenue loss and social impacts of load shedding are minimized. It would be beneficial if a consumer's load is not completely shed during load shedding. Amount of power that is shed from a consumer can be limited and consumers can be allowed to adjust their loads based on the availability of power and get incentives from the utilities for their change in load pattern. Consumers are also benefited with the reduced energy charges on the consumed energy during these periods. Review of the recent research work shows that demand response and load forecasting play an important role to relieve the power system from economic and environmental constraints. Various approaches have been used in the past for developing different demand response and forecasting methodologies including neural networks, fuzzy logic and statistical techniques. These methodologies fluctuate in complication, suppleness, and information necessity. In addition, statistical methods such as time series, regression, and state space methods have large numerical deviation in the predicted load series. In general, for accurate modeling of nonlinear and undecided type of load behavior, artificial intelligence-based techniques are employed. Also, these methods concentrate mainly on ordinary system conditions. However, proposing the possible Demand Response strategies to maintain power system security constraints in unpredicted turbulences pose a serious challenge. In the undertaken research, a novel load forecasting method using hybrid Genetic Algorithm Support Vector Regression model has been proposed. The forecast error is around 1-2%. The second part of the work focuses on formulation of demand response strategies based on time of the day and load prioritization. A Unique grading method has been proposed to prioritize the loads and load management during power deficiency by controlling the loads individually using different optimization techniques. The performance of three well recognized population based meta-heuristic algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization, to solve load management at the consumer level in the Smart Grid environment were examined in terms of their efficiency, effectiveness and consistency in obtaining the optimal solution. In the last part of the work the Demand Response model for residential load is proposed to minimize the energy cost of the electricity usage by shifting the loads from peak period to off-peak period with the help of intelligent techniques such as Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. -
Models for load forecasting and demand response /
Increasing pressure on the utilities to accommodate energy efficiency, load management and progress in advanced technology has led to transformations of existing grids into smarter grids. With the development of Smart Grid Technology and the integration of smart meters it is possible to control the equipment installed at the consumer site. Creating awareness among the end users to participate in load management programs instead of capacity addition is the best solution for maintaining the stability in the grid. Utilities can also encourage consumer participation in load control activities. They can ensure that power is given to a consumer during his priority time. For this, loads have to be categorized, prioritized and then considered for load shedding so that revenue loss and social impacts of load shedding are minimized. It would be beneficial if a consumer's load is not completely shed during load shedding. Amount of power that is shed from a consumer can be limited and consumers can be allowed to adjust their loads based on the availability of power and get incentives from the utilities for their change in load pattern. Consumers are also benefited with the reduced energy charges on the consumed energy during these periods. -
Modification of Carbon Based Electrodes as Robust Scaffolds for Electrochemical Sensing of Vitamins and Hormones
Electrochemical sensors are for vitamins and hormones are constructed on employing various newlinemodifications (molecular imprinting technology, coating of 2D sheet like materials and also modifying using supramolecular complexing material) on the transducer host, carbon fiber paper electrode (CFP). From our observation, the electrochemical oxidation/reduction current newlineof the analytes studied, intensified significantly on the surface modifications employed over the CFP substrate. Surface morphology was characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Electron Diffraction X-ray (EDX), X-Ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Optical Profilometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Nyquist plots revealed the least charge transfer resistance at the finally modified working electrodes compared to other control electrodes. Optimization of experimental conditions such as effect of pH, investigating the reaction mechanism via effect of scan rate, number of cycles for the electrodeposition of the film in order to achieve maximum current response and potential window were studied in detail by using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Quantification of the analytes was performed using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV). newlineAnalytical corroboration for real samples were carried out using the finally modified newlineelectrode. Therefore, all the works carried out have established simplicity and selectivity in the principle of the novel approach in the development of an ultrasensitive voltammetric sensor for vitamins and hormones studied. -
Modified carbon based electrodes for electrochemical sensing of biomolecules
Now-a-days a large variety of biological analytes are detected by highly sensitive newlineelectrochemical sensors which are inexpensive and simple as compared to conventional methods such as UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, spectrofluorometry, HPLC and gas chromatography. Electrochemical analysis is exceptional owing to its economical, low energy consuming and unique approach in the method design, and high sensitivity for the analyte determination. Carbon based electrochemical sensors are commonly used because of their low cost, good electron newlinetransfer kinetics, good chemical stability, and biocompatibility. Recently electrochemical properties of pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) have been explored in the analysis of various organic compounds. High electrochemical reactivity, easy modification, commercial accessibility, fine rigidity, disposability and low-cost of PGE make it ideal to be used as an effective working electrode. The thesis presented explains different modified PGEs have been employed in the electrocatalytic determination biomolecules such as cholesterol, cortisol, Vitamin B6 and morin. newlineThe modified electrodes are effectively used for the ultra-level sensing of these biomolecules in real samples. The electroactive surface area and the conduvtivity of bare PGE is enhanced newlinedifferent electrode modifiers such as and#946;-CD, graphene, conducting polymer, metal oxides and metal nanoparticles. The modified electrodes are found to exhibit good electrocatalytic behavior towards the target biomolecules. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) technique were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of the modified sensing platform. The newlinemorphology and step wise fabrication process of the modified electrodes were characterized byvii Ramana spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). -
Modified Carbon Based Electrodes for Electrochemical Sensing of Biomolecules
Now-a-days a large variety of biological analytes are detected by highly sensitive newlineelectrochemical sensors which are inexpensive and simple as compared to conventional methods such as UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, spectrofluorometry, HPLC and gas chromatography. Electrochemical analysis is exceptional owing to its economical, low energy consuming and unique approach in the method design, and high sensitivity for the analyte determination. Carbon based electrochemical sensors are commonly used because of their low cost, good electron newlinetransfer kinetics, good chemical stability, and biocompatibility. Recently electrochemical properties of pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) have been explored in the analysis of various organic compounds. High electrochemical reactivity, easy modification, commercial accessibility, fine rigidity, disposability and low-cost of PGE make it ideal to be used as an effective working electrode. The thesis presented explains different modified PGEs have been employed in the electrocatalytic determination biomolecules such as cholesterol, cortisol, Vitamin B6 and morin. newlineThe modified electrodes are effectively used for the ultra-level sensing of these biomolecules in real samples. The electroactive surface area and the conduvtivity of bare PGE is enhanced newlinedifferent electrode modifiers such as and#946;-CD, graphene, conducting polymer, metal oxides and metal nanoparticles. The modified electrodes are found to exhibit good electrocatalytic behavior towards the target biomolecules. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) technique were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of the modified sensing platform. The newlinemorphology and step wise fabrication process of the modified electrodes were characterized byvii Ramana spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). -
Modified carbon substrates for electrocatalytic oxidation of selected heterocyclic carbinols
Electrochemically modified carbon electrodes are used as a substrate for electrocatalytic oxidation of different heterocyclic carbinols. Carbon fiber paper (CFP) is newlineused as the electrode substrate on which various modifications are employed. Modified newlineelectrodes were prepared by using different surface modification strategies such as newlineelectrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles or Pd-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles on a conducting newlinepolymer, polyaniline which is electropolymerized on to CFP. Biomass derived porous carbon nanoparticle coated CFP was also used for electrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles or MnO2-Pi nanoparticles. These modified electrodes were physicochemically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Optical profilometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemically characterized using Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This modification methods have attracted a lot of attention due to their exceptional stability, high electronic conductivity, mechanical strength, and good adhesive property to the substrate and to the modified electrode. The modified electrodes show excellent electrochemical and newlinephysicochemical properties which are demonstrated using various analytical techniques. The organocatalytic reagent, TEMPO is used as a mediator throughout the studies which helps to carry out the oxidation of organic molecules in an aqueous acidic medium. The developed electrodes have been successfully applied for the oxidation of different heterocyclic alcohol such as 4-pyridinemethanol, 2-thiophene methanol, and 2-Furfuryl alcohol to corresponding 4-pyridinemethanal, 2-thiophene methanol and 2-Furfural.