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Entrepreneurship education: Innovations and best practices
Entrepreneurship education has become a priority for policy-makers especially in developing countries. Such interventions in the education system are expected to create a culture of entrepreneurship in the society and thereby bring economic benefits through the enterprising behaviour of individuals resulting in better performance of existing organizations as well as creation of new ventures. While the process appears to be simple and straightforward, the experiences have often belied the expectations. The fact that it is rather difficult to assess the long-term impact of entrepreneurship education adds to the confusion and ambiguities. Educators therefore have been tinkering with various aspects of entrepreneurship education and training in the hope of arriving at the best design. Obviously, this has led to many innovations in the curriculum, pedagogy, target groups and institutions involved in entrepreneurship education. The present paper attempts to document these innovations and best practices under a 'WHAT-HOW-WHO-WHERE' framework to capture the four domains of activities involved. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, we have developed a fairly comprehensive picture of what is happening in the field and proposed a theoretical model highlighting the dual role of entrepreneurship education, namely developing enterprising individuals in the society and providing knowledge and skills required for enterprise creation. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017. All rights are reserved. -
Public Policy, Policy Research, and School Counseling in India
This chapter discusses the development of school counseling in India and examines public policy and policy research that influence the practice of school counseling. The chapter traces the history of school counseling in India followed by an examination of the contribution of several public policies that has implications for the professional practice of school counseling in India from post independent India. Public policies and programs from the sectors of education, health and mental health, family welfare, and department of children and women are evaluated for their implications for school-based counseling services. The chapter also examines the existing policy research base. Research related to school mental health and systematic reviews on child and adolescent mental health are reviewed and their implications for school counseling examined. The chapter concludes by discussing the policy gaps and highlighting specific recommendations for the practice of school-based counseling in India. The authors suggest several recommendations including the identification of education and health policies that can be achieved by having counselors in schools, an evaluation of existing policies and programs to determine the current level of implementation, and development of school counseling competencies and high-quality training models to build competencies in school counseling. Springer International Publishing AG 2017. -
Composites based on natural polymers
Polymers are composed of macromolecules of high molecular weight formed by the repeated union of small molecules known as monomers. Polymer materials over other materials such as metals and ceramics, are of light weight and hence extensively used. The use of renewable raw materials can provide a substantial activity for a sustainable society and environment. Natural polymer composites can provide an alternative to increasingly scarce raw materials from plants and animals. 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. -
Promoting entrepreneurship in higher educational institutions: The role of entrepreneurial methodologies
Entrepreneurship education is one of the most influential forces in the growth and development of an economy. It diminishes the twin issues of unemployment and poverty through entrepreneurship creation. The paradigm shift of student focus on job-oriented programme to job-creating programmes such as Management in Entrepreneurship, Diploma in Entrepreneurship and other training programmes raised the scope of entrepreneurship. Based on a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, this paper suggests that the pedagogical tools employed in entrepreneurship education such as role modelling, hands-on experience, incubation and mentoring support can be effectively used for developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students in higher educational institutions. The paper discusses few propositions developed based on the literature review and proposes a model which can be adopted by higher educational institutions for increasing entrepreneurial intention and thereby entrepreneurship. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017. All rights are reserved. -
A hybrid semantic algorithm for web image retrieval incorporating ontology classification and user-driven query expansion
There is always a need to increase the overall relevance of results in Web search systems. Most existing web search systems are query-driven and give the least preferences to the users needs. Specifically, mining images from the Web are a highly cumbersome task as there are so many homonyms and canonically synonymous terms. An ideal Web image recommendation system must understand the needs of the user. A system that facilitates modeling of homonymous and synonymous ontologies that understands the users need for images is proposed. A Hybrid Semantic Algorithm that computes the semantic similarity using APMI is proposed. The system also classifies the ontologies using SVM and facilitates a homonym lookup directory for classifying the semantically related homonymous ontologies. The users intentions are dynamically captured by presenting images based on the initial OntoPath and recording the user click. Strategic expansion of OntoPath based on the users choice increases the recommendation relevance. An overall accuracy of 95.09% is achieved by the proposed system. 2018, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. -
Critique of normality in Cormac McCarthy's Suttree
[No abstract available] -
Mechanisms towards enhanced quality of experience (QoE) in fog computing environments
The Fog or Edge computing emerges as one of the important paradigms for setting up and sustaining smarter environments across industry verticals. Our everyday environments are being meticulously advanced and accentuated through a bevy of edge and digital technologies and tools in order to be situation-aware and sophisticated. On the other side, we have powerful Cloud environments contributing as the one-stop IT solutions not only for business automation but also for people empowerment. Compared to the number of prospective Cloud environments, the number of Fog environments is going to be quite large with the availability of billions of connected devices. The scope of Fog environments, which are being touted as the most crucial for empowering people and in their everyday activities, is bound to escalate in the days to unfurl. The immediate challenge for Fog environments is to drastically enhance the quality of experience (QoE) for users. Academic professors and industry professionals have come out with a number of solution approaches and algorithms. This chapter is being specially prepared and presented in this book to tell all about the role and responsibility of Fog computing environments, the unique use cases and the various challenges, etc. Furthermore, the significance of QoE is described in detail and how that requirement can be attained by smartly applying various proven and potential technologies. This chapter also aims to motivate the readers and researchers to dig deep into this new critical requirement to unearth pioneering solutions towards enhanced QoE. Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018. -
Synthesis, characterization, magnetic, thermal and electrochemical studies of Oxovanadium(IV) Complex of 2-thiophenecarba benzhydrazone
The hydrazone ligand obtained from 2-thiophene carboxaldehyde and benzhydrazide react with an equimolar mixture of vanadyl acetyl acetonate in methanol to yield oxovanadium(IV) complex of 2-thiophenecarba benzhydrazone. The prepared compound shows effective solubility in organic solvents like acetonitrile, DMF and DMSO. Molar conductivity data of oxovanadium( IV) complex of 2-thiophenecarba benzhydrazone revealed its nonelectrolytic behavior in DMF and DMSO. EPR spectra of 2-thiophenecarba benzhydrazonato oxovanadium(IV) was recorded in DMF at LNT and g and A values were calculated. The complex was proposed to be square pyramidal in geometry. Cyclic voltammograms of the complex in DMF were studied by changing the scan rates 50, 100, and 200 mV/s. ? E values of the complex showed the reversible criterion and ipc/ipa values which were close to 1 indicating the redox couple as reversible. Thermograms of the complex were recorded to find the weight loss at different temperature ranges. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectra showed mass number of the molecular ions. 2018 River Publishers. -
In vitro production of bacosides from Bacopa monnieri
Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. (Plantaginaceae) is an important Ayurvedic medicinal herb commonly known as brahmi, growing in the region of Indian subcontinent. Bacosides are the major chemical component having the major role in the biological and pharmacological field. Bacopa cultivation is time-consuming, requires labor team, and needs great efforts to maintain the quality of bacosides as growths are affected by environmental factors such as soil, water, temperature, climate, pests, and pathogens. To solve these problems, organ and cell cultures have been adopted for swift and efficient production of Bacopa biomass and bacosides. In the current chapter, various parameters, such as types of media, media composition, elicitors, salinity, drought, types of vessels used, and effect of heavy metals, were investigated against the in vitro production of bacosides from Bacopa monnieri. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018. -
Gut microbes: The miniscule laborers in the human body
Our physical and mental being largely depends on our dietary intake and the manipulations done on food by the gut bacterial flora in the digestive tract. Scientists have discovered a lot of previously unknown facts about the gut microbiota. They have been found to play a role in manifold processes, such as digestion, nutrient conversion, absorption, detoxification, and so on. In fact, people who consume plant-based and animal-based diets will have separate array of gut microbes. The composition of these microbiota will drastically change during a switch to a new diet. Deficiencies of adequate beneficial gut bacterial flora have been associated with many ailments. As there are billions of such microbes in our body, the number of bacterial genes could far outnumber the human genes in our body. The role of gut microbes in the proper functioning of the human digestive and nervous systems and its implications will be discussed in this chapter. 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -
Towards a culturally-informed counselling and psychotherapy
Indigenizing health psychological practices in the background of cultural diversity in India needs to address the tremendous resources of healing practices embedded in the Indian traditions. Looking for cultural imprints in mental health has received attention among academicians and researchers in the last two decades significantly. Teaching, training and practice of counseling and psychotherapy has also greatly been benefitted and progressed eventually. Several academic and research initiatives have been taken to build a culturally informed counseling and psychotherapy in India. There is need to internalize cultural differences and incorporating them consciously in the training and practice of therapy. A cultural sensitive approach in counseling and psychotherapy is mindful of the observance of a community-oriented perspective. Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2018. -
Synthesis of nanocarbon-polyaniline composite and investigation of its optical and electrical properties
The polyaniline-nanocarbon (PANI-NC) composite was synthesized by in situ polymerization of the aniline monomer (PBC-A&B) with reduced carbon from bituminous coal (RBC). The X-ray analysis confirmed the formation of the polyaniline-graphene oxide composite. The XRD result shows that the stacking height of the PBC-A increased due to the attachment of nitrogen group to the carbon lattice. The result of CHNS confirmed the increase in composition of nitrogen in PBC-A due to the treatment of RBC with aniline to form the polymer-nanocarbon composite. Optical analysis by UV absorption spectra revealed that the band gap is in the range of 3.29-4.27 eV. The AC conductivity, dielectric permittivity, and dielectric loss of the composite are measured within a frequency response of 10 Hz to 1 MHz. It is observed that one can tailor the band gap of the PANI-GO composite by varying the concentration of reduced carbon from coal. 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. -
Cultural quotient: Evolving culturally intelligent business scholar-practitioners
Analytical competency is an essential skill when it comes to the present-day business scenario of the world. However, these days we see a shift in the business needs when it comes to working in a globalized environment. Not only is the intelligence quotient (IQ) looked at but organizations these days are in pursuit of individuals who have another side to their profile - the culturally intelligent side (assessed using the cultural quotient). The need of such a skill can be attributed to the fact that organizations are now churning out their human side of addressing the employees when it comes to ensuring that they blend in the organization with ease. Acquiring a workforce which possesses high cultural intelligence can be a tough task; however, training employees to become culturally competent can be a doable task. Like any other personality trait which can be imbibed over time through constant analysis and observation, cultural competency is one such area which may be cultivated through various methodologies and practices. 2018, IGI Global. -
Feature films as pedagogy in higher education: A case study of Christ University, Bengaluru
Contemporary education system in India was initiated by the British for the maintenance of their imperial administration. After India became an independent country, conscious efforts were made to overhaul the educational system to produce proper administrators and contributors for Indian polity, economy and culture. To assess dynamics of Indian education, various committees and commissions were formed. It also meant change in education programs, curricula and syllabi to meet national needs and global challenges. Most universities in India have limited infrastructure, thus the role of private or deemed to be university becomes crucial. Christ University attending to the social structure, internationalization and employability demands, offers a number of quality educational programs to ensure employable graduates. This has led the way in devising pedagogy and curricula to align with the global higher education practices. Here we discuss the use of commercial feature film as a pedagogical tool in the classrooms within the Deanery of Humanities and Social Sciences and its implication. 2018, IGI Global. -
Child friendly schools: Challenges and issues in creating a positive and protective school environment
Schools are considered to be one of the safest places where children are seen on a daily basis and are under the supervision of teachers who are trained and equipped caregivers. Children are victims of all forms of abuse, punishment, neglect, discrimination, and ill-treatment within the school setting. Though there are various policies and programmes at international and national levels, addressing child protection has been a serious challenge for every community. Children need to be protected and any acts that hamper their well-being and safety need to be curbed. The objective of this chapter is to critically evaluate school-based child-protection programmes and suggest a model of child protection through positive schooling. Positive schooling is an approach to create a healthier and safer school environment. Positive schooling emphasises inclusiveness, strength-based education, developing character strengths, creating least restrictive environments, and fostering well-being among the school community, including students and teachers. It aims at creating a positive culture where every learner gets equal opportunities to learn and develop. It gives value to overall well-being of the individual and happiness within the learning environment. It promotes positive teaching strategies without the use of punishment and pressure. The positive culture within the school environment would promote peer support and collaboration, preventing bullying and abuse. Learners and facilitators would respect and support each other, focusing on strengths rather than weakness, which would, in turn, create an inclusive environment accommodating everyone. The chapter also highlights the need for: trained professionals, like counsellors, in school settings; stronger school-based polices; and the need for collaboration among school administrators, counsellors, teachers, and parents. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018. -
Medical image classification using MRI: An investigation
The main objective of the paper is to review the performance of various machine learning classification technique currently used for magnetic resonance imaging. The prerequisite for the best classification technique is the main drive for the paper. In magnetic resonance imaging, detection of various diseases might be simple but the physicians need quantification for further treatment. So, the machine learning along with digital image processing aids for the diagnosis of the diseases and synergizes between the computer and the radiologist. The review of machine learning classification based on the support vector machine, discrete wavelet transform, artificial neural network, and principal component analysis reveals that discrete wavelet transform combined with other highly used method like PCA, ANN, etc., will bring high accuracy rate of 100%. The hybrid technique provides the second opinion to the radiologist on taking the decision. Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. -
Big Data Analytics: A Trading Strategy of NSE Stocks Using Bollinger Bands Analysis
The availability of huge distributed computing power using frameworks like Hadoop and Spark has facilitated algorithmic trading employing technical analysis of Big Data. We used the conventional Bollinger Bands set at two standard deviations based on a band of moving average over 20 minute-by-minute price values. The Nifty 50, a portfolio of blue chip companies, is a stock index of National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India reflecting the overall market sentiment. In this work, we analyze the intraday trading strategy employing the concept of Bollinger Bands to identify stocks that generates maximum profit. We have also examined the profits generated over one trading year. The tick-by-tick stock market data has been sourced from the NSE and was purchased by Amrita School of Business. The tick-by-tick data being typically Big Data was converted to a minute data on a distributed Spark platform prior to the analysis. 2019, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. -
Big Data Preprocessing for Modern World: Opportunities and Challenges
Big data is an often misunderstood business term in the modern world. Multiple devices are connected to the internet and a democratization of available technologies. The data is generated almost exponential rate. This data is generated in large quantities, at a high speed and belongs to myriad categories. Coupled with advances in storage and processing hardware, it can derive insights from these bigger number of data but it works effectively. The data is to be transformed in the form of understandable and useable insights by algorithms and models. The data mining steps require data that is cleaned and structured to a larger extent. This is achieved by using various algorithms, processes and applications known as data pre-processing techniques. This article reviews the various data pre-processing techniques from a big data point of view. 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. -
A meta-heuristic based hybrid predictive model for sensor network data
Many prediction algorithms and techniques are used in data mining to predict the outcome of the response variable with respect to the values of input variables. However from literature, it is confirmed that a hybrid approach is always better in performance than a single algorithm. This is because the hybridization leads to combine all the advantages of the individual approaches, leading to the production of more effective and much improved results. Thus, making the model a productive one, which is far better than model proposed using individual techniques or algorithms. The purpose behind this chapter is to provide information to the users on how to build and investigate a hybrid Feed-forward Neural Network (FNN) using nature inspired meta heuristic algorithms such as the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Binary Bat Algorithm (BBAT), and hybrid BBATGSA algorithm for the prediction of sensor network data. Here, FNN is trained using a hybrid BBATGSA algorithm for predicting temperature data in sensor network. The data is collected using 54 sensors in a controlled environment of Intel Berkeley Research lab. The developed predictive model is evaluated by comparing it with existing two meta heuristic models such as FNNGSA and FNNBBAT. Each model is tested with three different V-shaped transfer functions. The experimental results and comparative study reveal that the developed FNNBBATGSA shows best performance in terms of accuracy. The FNNBBATGSA under three different V-shaped transfer functions produced an accuracy of 91.1, 98.5, and 91.2%. 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.