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Influence of family-work conflict on career break decision among Indian women: when family ties, tie you down!
The study is an attempt to understand the influence of the constructs in the family domain on the career break decision of women employed in the service sector in India a country facing a conundrum of rising female literacy and falling workforce participation. This study proposes a model that explores the direct and indirect relationship between the antecedents of family-work conflict and intention to quit. Data from a sample of 346 women, who had experienced career-break in service sector, was collected through purposive sampling. The researchers probed the relationship between family-work-conflict and intention to quit and mediating influence of job and life satisfaction. Hypotheses were tested though structural equation modelling. Results confirmed that role-overload and gender-stereotyped beliefs were found to be the most significant constructs. Job satisfaction came across as having mediating effect. Stakeholders need to facilitate a path that permits her to continue to nurture her family without having to give up her dreams. 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
"On the same page, but in different books?" exploring pedagogical beliefs of various stakeholders in management education
The declining MBA enrolment numbers and campus placements are indicators of an alarming situation in India. The key stakeholders comprising of teachers, students, and corporates desire the same outcome, which is students with high employability. This implies everyone is on the same page, but the falling salary packages and rising unemployment make one wonder if this page is from a different book for each stakeholder? Through this study, we tried to bring in more clarity on the perception of the stakeholders in such B-schools regarding their choice of pedagogy to be employed. Drawing on the body of literature and peer group discussions, this study identified 15 pedagogical methods employed in higher education. Thus, to explore the preferred pedagogy, an exploratory research was designed and owing to the categorical nature of the data collected over a seven-month period, correspondence analysis was applied. Data analysis confirmed the existence of a huge perceptual gap amongst the stakeholders about the appropriate pedagogy to be used in management education. Student engagement and application based learning emerged as the two most important dimensions of pedagogy in this study. The results and findings can be extended further to understand causes for this perceptual gap and identify measures to bridge the same to ensure that these B - schools yield job ready students resulting in MBA regaining its lost glory. 2019, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved. -
Determinants of consumer retention strategies for telecom service industry in Central India
The telecommunication industry has witnessed a tremendous growth in recent times in India. It has not only been limited to voice calls, but also integrated into every aspect of human life. This has resulted in the rapid rise of market players, offering innovative products and services. In this changing scenario, we have tried to design and check a model of various factors such as loyalty, satisfaction and switching barriers (customer relationship management, alternative attractiveness and switching cost) influencing consumer retention strategies in Indian telecom service industry. A structured and undisguised questionnaire and a convenient sampling method have been used to collect the data from respondents from three most populous cities (Indore, Bhopal, and Ujjain) of Central India. Around 450 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 318 usable responses were received for final analysis. The instrument was checked for validity and reliability before the data was analyzed. The hypotheses were tested through Structure Equation Modelling (SEM) for direct effect, and Multiple Moderating Regression Analysis (MMRA) for moderating effect. The results suggested that loyalty, satisfaction, switching barriers and customer relationship management are positively related and have a direct influence on consumer retention, but the relationship with alternative attractiveness has been found weak. Switching cost, as moderating variable, was found to be very effective and showed significant deviation in the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Vinod Sharma, Sunny Joseph, Jeanne Poulose, 2018 -
Value co-creation through search efforts and customer involvement impacting purchase intention of smart phones /
International Journal of Recent Technology And Engineering, Vol.8, Issue 3, pp.3894-3902, ISSN No: 2277-3878. -
Perception vs. reality: Analysing the nexus between financial literacy and fintech adoption
Fintech has revolutionized the financial services sector, fundamentally transforming how individuals and businesses manage their finances. However, effective and responsible utilization of these innovative services may require a certain degree of financial competence. To explore this possibility, this study investigates the nexus between financial literacy and fintech usage in the Indian context, considering two distinct measures of financial literacy. Primary data were collected conveniently from 391 respondents through a cross-sectional survey. Probit regression was applied to analyze the relationship between the two dimensions of financial literacy and the adoption of fintech services across three segments: mobile banking, mobile payments, and digital lending. The findings reveal a positive relationship between individuals subjectively perceived financial literacy and their propensity to use all three fintech services. Conversely, objectively measured financial literacy demonstrates a positive association only with the likelihood of using mobile banking. The study also identifies demographic characteristics as contributing factors to variations in fintech adoption. The studys findings hold value for policymakers and fintech service providers, as they underscore the importance of enhancing individuals subjective perceptions of their financial abilities to promote wider adoption of fintech services. Shamli Prabhakaran, Mynavathi L., 2023. -
Synthesis, in vitro and theoretical studies on newly synthesized deep blue emitting 4-(p-methylphenylsulfonyl-5-aryl/alkyl)oxazole analogues for biological and optoelectronic applications
In the present study, a series of 4,5-di-substituted oxazole derivatives (compounds 2a-p) were synthesized, using a novel methodology for the simultaneous determination of their biological and optoelectronic applications. Among the screened molecules, compounds 2j, 2 l and 2o showed very good antimicrobial potencies with MICs up to 1 g/mL. Furthermore, the photophysical parameters were estimated using theoretical and experimental techniques for optoelectronic applications. The excited-state dipole moment being higher than that of the ground state, investigated using solvato-chromatic method showed a redistribution of the electron densities in the excited state for the fluorophores. The HOMO-LUMO energies of the fluorophores estimated by using density functional theory (DFT) are found to be in good agreement with the experimental values. The electrophilic and nucleophilic sites were also recognized with the help of molecular electrostatic potential 3D plots using time-dependent-DFT computational analysis. The specific and non-specific interactions between the solutesolvent were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis using Kamlet-Abound-Taft and Catalan parameters. Further, the global chemical reactivity descriptor parameter was also calculated. The photophysical properties of the fluorophores suggest that these may be considered as potential probes for OLED, solar cell, and chemosensor applications. 2022 Elsevier B.V. -
Lead-free inorganic metal perovskites beyond photovoltaics: Photon, charged particles and neutron shielding applications
Over the last few years, lead-free inorganic metal perovskites have gained impressive ground in empowering satellites in space exploration owing to their material stability and performance evolution under extreme space environments. The present work has examined the versatility of eight such perovskites as space radiation shielding materials by computing their photon, charged particles and neutron interaction parameters. Photon interaction parameters were calculated for a wide energy range using PAGEX software. The ranges of heavy charged particles (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe ions) in these perovskites were estimated using SRIM software in the energy range 1 keV10 GeV, and that of electrons was computed using ESTAR NIST software in the energy range 0.01 MeV1 GeV. Further, the macroscopic fast neutron removal cross-sections were also calculated to estimate the neutron shielding efficiencies. The examined shielding parameters of the perovskites varied depending on the radiation type and energy. Among the selected perovskites, Cs2TiI6 and Ba2AgIO6 displayed superior photon attenuation properties. A 3.5 cm thick Ba2AgIO6-based shield could reduce the incident radiation intensity to half its initial value, a thickness even lesser than that of Pb-glass. Besides, CsSnBr3 and La0.8Ca0.2Ni0.5Ti0.5O3 displayed the highest and lowest range values, respectively, for all heavy charged particles. Ba2AgIO6 showed electron stopping power (on par with Kovar) better than that of other examined materials. Interestingly, La0.8Ca0.2Ni0.5Ti0.5O3 demonstrated neutron removal cross-section values greater than that of standard neutron shielding materials - aluminium and polyethylene. On the whole, the present study not only demonstrates the employment prospects of eco-friendly perovskites for shielding space radiations but also suggests future prospects for research in this direction. 2022 Korean Nuclear Society -
Natural polymer-based hydrogels as prospective tissue equivalent materials for radiation therapy and dosimetry
Natural polymer-based hydrogels have been extensively employed in tissue engineering and biomedical applications, owing to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. In the present work, we have investigated the efficacy of hydrogels such as agarose, hyaluronan, gelatin, carrageenan, chitosan, sodium alginate and collagen as tissue equivalent materials with respect to photon and charged particle (electron, proton and alpha particle) interactions, for use in radiation therapy and dosimetry. Tissue equivalence has been investigated by computing photon mass energy absorption coefficient (?en/?), kinetic energy released per unit mass (KERMA), equivalent atomic number (Zeq) and energy absorption build-up factors (EABF) relative to human tissues (soft tissue, cortical bone, skeletal muscle, breast tissue, lung tissue, adipose tissue, skin tissue, brain) in the energy range of 0.01515MeV. Ratio of effective atomic numbers (Zeff) have been examined for tissue-equivalence in the energy range of 10keV1GeV for charged particle interactions. Analysis using standard theoretical formulations revealed that all the selected natural polymers can serve as good tissue equivalent materials with respect to all human tissues except cortical bone. Notably, sodium alginate, collagen and hyaluronan are found to have radiation interaction characteristics close to that of human tissues. These results would be useful in deciding on the suitability of a natural polymer hydrogel as tissue substitute in the desired energy range. 2021, Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine. -
Transparent and lead-free Dy3+ doped lithium borate glasses for photon and neutron shielding applications
The exploration of trivalent rare-earth ion-doped lithium calcium borate glasses has surged recently due to their potential applications in solid-state lasers, medical imaging, and radiation shielding. This study focuses on transparent and lead-free Dy3+ doped lithium borate glasses for their efficacy as versatile radiation shields. Glasses with the chemical composition 50(Li2O): 20(CaO): 30?x(B2O3): x(Dy2O3) (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 mol% Dy2O3) were investigated. The structural changes in the lithium calcium borate glasses with Dy2O3 were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectra of the synthesized glass samples. Experimental mass attenuation coefficients (?/?) of the glasses have been determined using NaI(Tl) detector spectrometer in the energy range of 0.356-1.332 MeV. Photon interaction parameters were computed using PAGEX software in the energy range of 0.015-15 MeV. Relative dose distribution (RDD) and specific absorbed fraction of energy (SAFE) were also investigated. Additionally, macroscopic fast neutron removal cross-sections ( ? R ) were computed to estimate neutron shielding efficiencies. The sample with 1 mol% Dy2O3(LBD1), displayed superior photon and neutron attenuation properties. Glasses with lower Dy2O3 doping concentrations (?1 mol%) showed comparable half-value layer and effective atomic number to reference materials with higher doping concentrations. Increasing Dy2O3 doping concentration improved photon shielding parameters, with ? R values ranging from 0.1460 to 0.1475 cm?1, higher than those of ordinary concrete, RS-360, and other reference materials. The results highlight the potential of Dy3+ doped lithium borate glasses as effective radiation shields. Further investigations on chemical combinations and Dy2O3 doping concentrations are warranted to fabricate glasses with enhanced properties. 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved. -
Bismuth (III) oxide decorated graphene oxide filled epoxy nanocomposites: thermo-mechanical and photon attenuation properties
In this study, bismuth (III) oxide (Bi2O3) decorated graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were employed as novel radioprotective fillers in the epoxy matrix. Decoration of GO with Bi2O3 would transform it as carrier for Bi2O3 particles, thereby enhancing the thermo-mechanical and radiation shielding properties of the epoxy composites through effective filler distribution. Structural and compositional studies confirmed the successful decoration of Bi2O3 on the surface of GO. Thereupon, epoxy composites containing decorated fillers at different loadings (5, 10 and 15 wt%) were synthesized using solution casting technique. The correlation between surface decoration and filler loading was systematically examined as function of thermo-mechanical, viscoelastic and radiation shielding properties of the composites. These nanocomposites displayed good thermal resistance (~ 450 C), high glass transition temperature (~ 136 C), elastic modulus (~ 4.36 GPa) and storage modulus, thereby confirming the improved dispersion and better interfacial adhesion in the composites. The formation of continuous filler network across epoxy matrix formed by decorated fillers significantly improved X-ray and ?-ray shielding properties of epoxy composites in the wide energy range of medical interest (301332 keV). Shielding efficiency of these lowly loaded BGO/epoxy composites were comparable with the composites containing Bi2O3 nanoparticles alone and highly loaded microcomposites. 2022 Japan Society for Composite Materials, Korean Society for Composite Materials and Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Thermal, mechanical and ?-ray shielding properties of micro- and nano-Ta2O5 loaded DGEBA epoxy resin composites
In this work, we have investigated the synergistic effect of micro- and nano-Ta2O5 fillers in the epoxy matrix on the thermal, mechanical, and radioprotective properties of the composites. Morphological analysis revealed uniform dispersion of fillers in the matrix. Both the thermal stability and tensile properties of matrices have enhanced in the presence of fillers. Although the nanocomposites showed significantly higher tensile strength and Youngs modulus compared to micro-composites, the enhancement in these properties was predominant at low loadings. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicated good interfacial adhesion and positive reinforcing effect on the matrix even at higher loading (30 wt%) of nano-Ta2O5. ?-Ray attenuation studies performed in the energy range of 0.3561.332 MeV revealed better ?-ray shielding ability of nanocomposites compared to microcomposites at same weight fraction of fillers. In particular, ?-ray attenuation at 0.356 MeV for 30 wt% nano-Ta2O5 loaded epoxy composite was enhanced by around 13% compared to the microcomposite at the same loading. Increased surface-to-volume ratio of nanofillers and consequent increase in matrix-filler adhesion and radiation-matter interaction have manifested in an overall enhancement in the thermal, mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and radiation shielding characteristics of nano-Ta2O5/epoxy composites, proving them as promising ?-ray shields. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. -
Sodium alginate/bismuth (III) oxide composites for ?-ray shielding applications
In the present work, we have explored the efficacy of bismuth (III) oxide (Bi2O3) loaded, calcium ion cross-linked solution cast sodium alginate composite films for radioprotective applications. Calcium ion cross-linking increased the water and chemical resistance, which further improved on introduction of Bi2O3 into the composites. The 40 wt% Bi2O3 loaded films showed good heat resistance with the peak degradation temperature reaching as high as 251C. The Bi2O3 loaded composites showed enhanced tensile strength (TS) and Youngs modulus (YM). Compared to high-modulus polymers like epoxy, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), these exhibit relatively greater extent of stretching before breaking. The ?-ray attenuation experiments showed that mass attenuation coefficients of the composites at various ?-ray energies increased with filler loading. These composites are effective in shielding ?-rays from radioactive sources like 137Cs, 22Na, 133Ba, and 60Co that are widely employed in several medical and industrial applications. The overall enhancement in thermal, mechanical, and radiation shielding characteristics of the composites may be attributed to the uniform distribution of the fillers in alginate matrix. These nontoxic sodium alginate/Bi2O3 composites can be used as soft and biodegradable radiation shields, which may be processed to wearable forms. 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. -
Synthetic polymer hydrogels as potential tissue phantoms in radiation therapy and dosimetry
The efficacy of synthetic polymers as hydrogel phantoms for radiation therapy and dosimetry has been investigated for photon and charged particle (electron, proton and alpha particle) interactions. Tissue equivalence has been studied in terms of photon mass energy-absorption coefficients, KERMA (kinetic energy released per unit mass), equivalent atomic number and energy absorption build-up factors, relative to human tissues (skin, soft tissue, cortical bone and skeletal muscle), in the energy range 0.015-15 MeV. For charged particle interactions, ratio of effective atomic number is examined for tissue-equivalence in the energy region of 10 keV-1 GeV. Well established theoretical formulations are used for computation of photon mass-energy absorption effective atomic number, electron density and KERMA. Five-parameter geometric progression (G-P) fitting approximation is used to compute the values of energy absorption build-up factors. Effective atomic number for charged particle interaction is determined using logarithmic interpolation method. Using the analytical methodology, it has been revealed that all the selected synthetic polymers have good tissue-equivalence relative to all tissue except cortical bone. In particular, polyglycolic acid (PGA) and poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) prove to be best substitute material for photon interactions. On the other hand, % difference between effective atomic number for charged particle relative to human tissues is found least for polyethylene glycol (PEG) demonstrating adequate tissue-equivalence. Therefore, the present study is expected to be useful to choose most appropriate phantom material for radiation therapy. 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. -
Enhanced visible light induced dye degradation and antibacterial activities of ZnO/NiO nanocomposite synthesized using Clitoria ternatea flower extract
In this study, ZnO/NiO Nanocomposites (NCs) were prepared using a rapid, simple and eco-friendly green synthesis method using medicinal flower extract of Clitoria ternatea and their visible light assisted dye degradation and antibacterial properties were investigated. The synthesised ZnO/NiO NCs were characterised by ultravioletvisible (UVVis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. XRD results revealed that ZnO/NiO NCs exhibit hexagonal wurtzite and cubic crystal structure with an average crystallite size of 18 nm. HRTEM images revealed roughly spherical and hexagonal morphology with an average particle size of 23 nm. The antibacterial activity of ZnO/NiO NCs examined against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria using well diffusion method indicated significant antibacterial activity. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/NiO NCs showed 83.4 % and 84.4 % of dye degradation efficiency, respectively against Bromophenol Blue (BPB) and Crystal Violet (CV) dye for 150 min under sun light irradiation. The result shows that the ZnO/NiO NCs investigated in this study exhibited a strong potential agent and was successful in the removal of dye from wastewater. 2022 Elsevier B.V. -
A simple software for swift computation of photon and charged particle interaction parameters: PAGEX
PAGEX is a compact and user-friendly cross-platform software developed for swift computation of photon (X-ray and ?-ray) and charged particle interaction parameters for various applications. It is designed based on well-established theoretical formulations and computational techniques integrating various Python packages to effectively calculate parameters such as partial/total photon interaction cross-sections and mass attenuation coefficients, charged particle mass stopping powers and cross-sections, effective atomic number and electron density, mass-energy absorption coefficient, KERMA and build-up factors over a wide energy range. This tool is capable of generating both tabular and graphical outputs which can be saved in any user desired format. PAGEX has been verified against other widely employed software and databases, demonstrating good agreement. This software which facilitates robust computation is freely available from the authors. 2021 Elsevier Ltd -
Blocking intrusion logic using optimized multi-head convolution in wireless sensor network
Wireless sensor nodes (WSN) combine sensing and communication capabilities in the smallest sensor network component. Sensor nodes have basic networking capabilities, such as wireless connection with other nodes, data storage, and a microcontroller to do basic processing. The intrusion detection problem is well analyzed and there exist numerous techniques to solve this issue but suffer will poor intrusion detection accuracy and a higher false alarm ratio. To overcome this challenge, a novel Intrusion Detection via Salp Swarm Optimization based Deep Learning Algorithm (ID-SODA) has been proposed which classifies intrusion node and non-intrusion node. The proposed ID-SODA technique uses the k-means clustering algorithm to perform clustering. The Salp Swarm Optimization (SSO) technique takes into residual energy, distance, and cost while choosing the cluster head selection (CHS). The CHS is given the input to a multi-head convolutional neural network (MHCNN), which will classify into intrusion node and non-intrusion node. The performance analysis of the suggested ID-SODA is evaluated based on the parameters like accuracy, precision, F1 score, detection rate, recall, false alarm rate, and false negative rate. The suggested ID-SODA achieves an accuracy range of 98.95%. The result shows that the suggested ID-SODA improves the overall accuracy better than 6.56%, 2.94%, and 2.95% in SMOTE, SLGBM, and GWOSVM-IDS respectively. 2023 - IOS Press. All rights reserved. -
Effective atomic number and electron density of some biologically important lipids for electron, proton, alpha particle and photon interactions
X-ray, ?-ray and charged particle interaction parameters of biomolecules are useful in medical diagnosis and radiation therapy as exposure to radiations can cause energy of photons and charged particles to be deposited in body through various interaction processes. With this in view, the effective atomic number (Zeff) and electron density (Neff) of some biologically important lipids for X-ray, ?-ray and charged particle interactions were studied in the energy range 10 keV500 MeV using logarithmic interpolation method. A non-monotonic variation in Zeff values was observed for protons and alpha particles in low and intermediate energy regions respectively whereas a sudden increase in Zeff was observed for electron interaction in higher energy region. Zeff values were maximum in higher energy region for total electron interactions whereas maximum values of Zeff for total alpha particle interactions were at relatively lower energies. Highest Zeff values were found at lower energy region of photoelectric absorption dominance for photon interactions. Variation in Neff seems to be similar to variation in Zeff as they are inter-related. 2020 Elsevier Ltd -
The dharma of Kama: Kamasra's morality of integrated Purusartha
[No abstract available] -
Streamlined electrochemical harvesting of cobalt and nickel from soft cemented carbide scrap for superior supercapacitors
We propose a complete circular economy and sustainability model from soft cemented carbide scrap to supercapacitor application. An enhanced recovery of cobalt and nickel was observed when deep eutectic solvent was used. A comparative in-situ electrochemical deposition of the recovered metals was done on stainless steel (SS), SS/activated carbon (AC), and SS/AC/polyaniline (PANI). The optimization of electrochemical extraction was carried out by varying voltage, time, and temperature. The surface area and conductive polymer's electronic distribution contributed to different surface morphological deposition of specific metals on them. Unique fluffy particle deposition was observed on the surface as fine grain particles with uniform particle size within 1 m. The fabricated supercapacitors showed the pseudocapacitance behaviour. The presence of metal oxide nanocomposite deposition as the active material is particularly pronounced in the SS/AC/PANI device due to the inclusion of PANI as an active material and its substantial contribution to pseudocapacitance. The higher charge-discharge time of SS/AC/PANI at the same current densities compared to SS/AC may be due to the above-mentioned additional contribution of PANI's quickly reversible redox behavior. Hence, the overall electrochemical extraction from scrap to supercapacitor will undoubtedly lead to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2024 -
Canopy removal on satellite images using classification and contrast enhancement
The increasing the usage of satellite remote sensing for a civilian purpose has proved to be the most cost-effective mapping environmental changes with regard to natural resources, particularly in developing countries. Forests as one part of the wildlife of human societies in economic growth and permanency of natural resources in the countries of the world. But because of various details such as the growth of population, progressively varying forest to the other unfitting applications such as agriculture, providing energy and fuel, millions of hectares from the natural means are destroyed every year, and the remainder of the surface changes quantitatively and qualitatively. For better management of the forests, the evolution of forest area and rate of forest concentration should be examined. It is achievable that, there isnt any change in the field of the forest during the time, but the density of forest canopy is changed. Estimation of forest canopy cover has recently become an essential part of the forest. Therefore, the research study is to develop Forest Canopy Remover, which is used to get an accurate result of Forest and deforested area from the satellite earth images. It is used to calculate forest density using vegetation. Then, the changes in area and forest density during a particular period can be distinguished. 2020 IJSTR.