Browse Items (11855 total)
Sort by:
-
Impact of Celebrity Credibility in Social Advertising: A Systematic Review of Rahul Dravids Anti-tobacco Campaign Endorsement
Tobacco cessation programs have had their share of hits and misses. While state-controlled organizations invest in such programs every year, it is hard to trace their effectiveness. This is a bigger challenge when celebrities are enrolled to endorse such programs. Several studies that track celebrity endorsements for marketing commercial products have validated the influence of celebrities on brand-related outcomes. This study provides a systematic review of a celebrity endorsement of an anti-tobacco advertisement. To conduct a systematic review of a celebrity endorsement, we examined the responses of celebrity fans on source (celebrity) credibility factors and their attitude towards the social cause endorsement. A sample of 258 celebrity fans was surveyed using a questionnaire. The survey instrument contained a 15-item scale to measure celebrity factors of physical attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness. Further, demographic details, social media activity and cigarette consumption details were captured along with cognitive and affective responses towards the anti-tobacco endorsement featuring the celebrity. It was found that physical attractiveness and trustworthiness of the celebrity were found to be influencing the attitude of the fan towards social cause. In addition, the study revealed the significant influence of education on attitude towards social cause in contrast to age and gender as evident in previous studies. The study provides very important insights for advertisers of social causes on effective use of celebrities as part of their communication campaigns. 2021, School of Management Sciences. All rights reserved. -
Inclined magnetic field and nanoparticle aggregation effects on thermal Marangoni convection in nanoliquid: A sensitivity analysis
The heat transfer rate of thermal Marangoni convection in ethylene glycol-based titanium nanoliquid is analyzed by using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Two different heat sources (i.e. the temperature-related heat source (THS) and the space-related exponential heat source (ESHS)) are included in the thermal analysis. Aggregation of nanoparticles and inclined magnetism are also considered. The modified Krieger-Dougherty model and the modified Maxwell-Bruggeman model are used to analyze the aggregation aspect of the nanoparticles. The resulting nonlinear system is treated numerically by using the finite difference method. The sensitivity of the heat transfer rate to the thermal radiation parameter, the ESHS parameter, and the THS parameter is examined by using the RSM model. The individual impact of the actual parameters on various flow fields is compared and visualized by graphs. The heat transfer rate is positively sensitive to thermal radiation and negatively sensitive to the parameters of the heat source. Besides, the ESHS aspect has a greater impact on the heat transfer rate than the THS aspect. The velocity flow field is decelerated significantly (5.31%near the interface) by the magnetic field inclination angle. 2020 The Physical Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan) -
Determinants of Banks' Profitability: An Empirical Study on Select Indian Public and Private Sector Banks
In this study the determinants of banking profitability has been studied based on the secondary data. The entire study is classified into two parts (i) Public Sector Banks and (ii) Private Sector Banks. Various variables such as NPA, Operating Profit, Credit Size, ROA, Operating Expense, Total Income, Capital etc. and their interrelationship is studied through correlation coefficients, regression analysis, anova etc. The research observes that a large number of independent factors are responsible in determining banking profitability and that in those determinants some create a significant effect on profitability but some factors do not create any significant effect. It is observed that though macroeconomic variables are not so important to determine the profitability of a bank but the GDP growth rate creates a significant effect on determining the profitability of a bank. According to the study based on facts and figures collected, private sector banks performance is better than public sector banks. Indian Institute of Finance. -
Time allocation between paid and unpaid work among men and women: An empirical study of indian villages
The paper examines the time allocation between paid work (wage earning or self-em-ployed work generally termed as employment work) and unpaid (domestic chores/care work generally termed as non-employment work) along with wage rates, imputed earnings, and occupational structure among men and women and according to different social groups to establish the extent to which the rural labour market is discriminated by sex and social group. The major objective of the paper is to show the differential in wage income between men and women in farm and non-farm activities. The paper also shows the division of time between employment and non-employ-ment activities by men and women. The paper uses high-frequency data and applies econometric techniques to know the factors behind time allocation among different activities across gender. The study finds that males spend more hours on employment work and work at a higher wage rate than females. As a result, a vast monetary income gap between men and women is observed, even though women worked more hours if employment and non-employment activities are jointly taken into consideration. Time spent on employment work and non-employment (mainly domestic chores) has been found to vary significantly due to social identity, household wealth, land, income, educa-tion, and skill. The segregation of labour market by sex was evident in this study, with men shifting to non-farm occupations with greater monetary returns and continued dependence on womens farm activities. Enhancing the ownership of land and other assets, encouraging womens participation particularly among minorities, and improving health are some of the policy recommendations directed from this study to enhance participation in employment work and shifting towards higher wage income employment. 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
In search of radio emission from exoplanets: GMRT observations of the binary system HD 41004
This paper reports Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of the binary system HD 41004 that are among the deepest images ever obtained at 150 and 400 MHz in the search for radio emission from exoplanets. The HD 41004 binary system consists of a K1 V primary star and an M2 V secondary; both stars are host to a massive planet or brown dwarf. Analogous to planets in our Solar system that emit at radio wavelengths due to their strong magnetic fields, one or both of the planet or brown dwarf in the HD 41004 binary system are also thought to be sources of radio emission. Various models predict HD 41004Bb to have one of the largest expected flux densities at 150 MHz. The observations at 150 MHz cover almost the entire orbital period of HD 41004Bb, and about 20percent of the orbit is covered at 400 MHz. We do not detect radio emission, setting 3? limits of 1.8 mJy at 150 MHz and 0.12 mJy at 400 MHz. We also discuss some of the possible reasons why no radio emission was detected from the HD 41004 binary system. 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. -
Investigating the Dynamic Interlinkages between Exchange Rates and the NSE NIFTY Index
This study aims at examining the short-run and long-run dynamic linkages among exchange rates and stock market index in India through a structured cointegration and Granger causality tests. Daily exchange rates of USD, EUR, CNY, JPY, and GBP to INR along with the daily movement of NSE NIFTY for a period spanning 13 years from 6 September 2005 to 31 December 2018 were used for the analysis. The results reveal that there is no evidence for a stable long-run relationship between NSE NIFTY and the exchange rates under study. However, the VAR-based Granger causality test shows that USD, JPY, and CNY have short-run causal relationship with NSE NIFTY. The NSE NIFTY also seemed to have an influence on USD expressed in terms of Indian rupee. The impulse response analysis further supports the results of the Granger causality test and provides information on the time required for the NSE NIFTY index to recover from a shock caused by the fluctuation in exchange rates. 2021 by the authors. -
Phytochemicals as potential drug candidates for targeting SARS CoV 2 proteins, an in silico study
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a member of the family Coronaviridae, and the world is currently witnessing a global pandemic outbreak of this viral disease called COVID-19. With no specific treatment regime, this disease is now a serious threat to humanity and claiming several lives daily. In this work, we selected 24 phytochemicals for an in silico docking study as candidate drugs, targeting four essential proteins of SARS-CoV-2 namely Spike glycoprotein (PDB id 5WRG), Nsp9 RNA binding protein (PDB id 6W4B), Main Protease (PDB id 6Y84), and RNA dependent RNA Polymerase (PDB id 6M71). After statistical validation, the results indicated that a total of 11 phytochemicals divided into two clusters might be used as potential drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2. 2021, Indian Virological Society. -
How Green Consumption Value Affects Green Consumer Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Consumer Attitudes Towards Sustainable Food Logistics Practices
The aim of the study is to identify the green consumption values and production patterns and understand how they impact consumer behaviour and purchase intention of green consumers, in particular, the environment-conscious youth in the city of Bangalore. The focus of the study is on the pre-purchase sustainable logistics of food products and how they impact behaviour and attitudes of green consumers. The theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory form the theoretical base for the current research. An online survey was conducted among 284 participants in and around the scope area. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that green consumption values and consumer attitudes towards sustainable food logistics either directly or indirectly influence green purchase intention and environmentally conscious behaviour towards food products. The main contribution of this study is the identification of new multidimensional constructs which can be used to measure green consumer attitude in terms of sustainable food logistics practices in the Indian context. These findings will empower managers and future researchers to understand how sustainable food logistics practices can create green consumer attitudes. They will also assist food production companies to identify possible opportunities, developments and other benefits they can derive from following sustainable food logistics practices. 2021 Management Development Institute. -
Emerging ternary nanocomposite of rGO draped palladium oxide/polypyrrole for high performance supercapacitors
In this work, novel electrodeposited palladium oxide-polypyrrole (PdP) and its ternary composite with reduced graphene oxide (PdPGO) draped over the surface of PdP were synthesised to achieve the excellent electrochemical properties and high stability. An exhaustive study has been carried out to correlate the crystalline structure, chemical bonding, morphological behaviour, redox reactions at the electroactive species, and its promising influences on the electrochemical performance. The electrodeposited PdPGO composite on stainless steel bestows superior electrochemical properties and a specific capacitance of 595 F g?1 at 1 A g?1 in 1 M H2SO4. The incorporation of rGO with the PdP matrix prevents the aggregation of rGO layers and is responsible for the enhanced electrostatic interactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface in PdPGO. Outstanding supercapacitance retention of 88% even after 5000 cycles at 5 A g?1 was accomplished for the ternary composite of Pd. These profound electrochemical characteristics are due to the synergistic effect of the individual components involved, manifest a great potential for Pd based composites toward novel electrode materials for supercapacitors of high efficiency. This method facilitates blueprints for synthesizing a series of advanced electrode materials for enhancing high storage capability. The high electrochemical performance of the PdPGO reveals how synergy plays a very important role to work on the blueprint to create active electrode materials for energy storage solutions. 2020 Elsevier B.V. -
Click & Collect Retailing: A Study on Its Influence on the Purchase Intention of Customers
The retail sector, over the years, has evolved dramatically to provide better service to its customers. With the superior convenience of online shopping and tangible experience of in-store shopping, retail industries are looking forward to integrating both modes, thus embracing omni channel to provide better service to their customers. The prime objective of the research is to investigate the level of influence that using the Click & Collect online shopping mode can have on customer purchase intention and to ascertain the effects that online and offline shopping attributes have on this intention. The study emphasizes the usefulness of integrating both the shopping modes, thus embracing omni channel in the retail sector to provide a better shopping experience to the customers. The primary data were collected from 356 respondents. Secondary data were collected by reviewing articles, research papers, extant studies and newspaper articles. In the analysis, the buying behaviour through an e-commerce platform and customers purchase intentions are taken as the dependent variable. Product risk, online trust, website quality, offline experience and perceived usefulness are identified as the independent variables. The data thus collected were processed for regression tests using IBM SPSS 25 software to analyse the results. The Stimulus-Organism-Response model was deployed as the proposed model for the research. The results obtained from the research will allow retailers to understand the customer's buying behaviour towards the new Click & Collect system better by identifying the key variables that influence their purchase intention. The current study highlights the influence of the perceived usefulness of using the Click & Collect online shopping mode on the purchase intention of customers. 2021 Transnational Press London -
The interval valued fuzzy graph associated with a Crisp graph
We define the interval valued fuzzy graph (IVFG) associated with a crisp graph based on the degrees of the nodes of the crisp graph and study its various properties. The nature of arcs of the IVFG associated with a crisp graph can be determined if the adjacency matrix of the crisp graph is given. We show that the IVFG associated with a regular graph is regular, totally regular, edge regular and totally edge regular, but the IVFG associated with a complete graph is not a complete IVFG. We prove that the IVFG associated with Cn, n ? 3 is an interval valued fuzzy cycle and the IVFG associated with the wheel graph Wn, n ? 5 is an interval valued fuzzy tree. 2021 Forum-Editrice Universitaria Udinese SRL. All rights reserved. -
Defect originated photoluminescence tuning of silica nanoparticles prepared by electron beam irradiation and their applications
Considering the imminent importance of Silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs), a highly rapid and one-pot scalable approach is being reported for their preparation. Electron-beam was used to derive the formation of SiO2 NPs, while in situ functionalization was carried out by ?-Cyclodextrin (?-CD). XRD pattern of as prepared ?-CD functionalized SiO2 NPs (i.e., ?-CD@SiO2 NPs) revealed their amorphous nature, while imaging studies showed self-assembling of NPs into a porous structure. UVvisible absorption spectra showed multiple peaks at 233, 323, 390 and 455 nm, which signifies the presence of different kind of defects in the as prepared NPs. An interesting aspect of this work is tuning of the photoluminescent properties of NPs from blue to green by simply varying the absorbed dose. This could be attributed to the formation of a particular kind of defects at a proportionate absorbed dose. These defects act as emission centers (ECs) and were analysed through steady state and time-resolved emission studies. Notably, ?-CD played significant role in influencing the composition of the NPs, whilst enhancing their colloidal stability and quantum yield. The prospective applications of ?-CD@SiO2 NPs were explored in latent fingerprinting and thermosensing. 2020 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. -
Development of a Supported Education Program for Students with Severe Mental Disorders in India
Background: The onset of severe mental disorders (SMDs) is during adolescence or young adulthood, which affects the well-being and the educational aspirations of the students. Models of supported education practiced in the West are not culturally suitable for Indian students or the Indian education system. This study aimed to develop a Supported Education Program (SEP) for students with SMDs to help them with academic reintegration in an Indian context. Methods and Material: To develop the SEP, a realist review was done, followed by an in-depth interview with eight mental health professionals (MHP) and nine lecturers, using a validated interview script. After each interview, interim analysis and modifications were done to improve the rigor of the interview. After all interviews, the SEP was circulated for a second round of iteration for consensual validation by four mental health experts. The outcome of the entire process was the final version of SEP for students with SMDs. Results: The final SEP had two broad themes and 18 subthemes from the qualitative thematic analysis: theme 1 included issues and strategies relevant to the client or caregivers, and theme 2 was pertinent to the education system. Conclusion: The SEP developed and validated for people with SMDs has distinctive components: one for the individual and caregiver and the other for the educational system. 2020 Indian Psychiatric Society - South Zonal Branch. -
Performance Analysis of Deterministic Finite Automata and Turing Machine Using JFLAP Tool
In real life, the increased data accessing speed and data storage ability is required by most of the machinery fields. However, the real-world problems can be studied effectively with the combination of scientific computational techniques with the mathematical models. Automata theory is known to be the popular mathematical model. Towards most of the software and hardware related applications, the computational methods are analyzed and designed using significant automata theory concepts (likely, pushdown automata (PDA), Turing machines (TMs) and finite automata (FA)). Hence, the conventional lecture-driven style has attracted the reflective preferences of learners using these abstract natured concepts. But the lecture-driven teaching style has less motivated the computer engineering learners. In order to learn automata theory and computational models, we introduce the PDA and TM in a virtual platform. However, this work has motivated the improvement of longitudinal experimental validation and learning using the modern technology. Java Formal Languages and Automata Package (JFLAP) tool is used to write our simulators in JAVA language and the results are obtained from each machine through simulating the input strings. 2021 World Scientific Publishing Company. -
PCR and Bio-signature for data confidentiality and integrity in mobile cloud computing
Cloud computing technology got relevance as computing paradigm, which delivers massively scalable computing technologies based on the Internet for the organizations. Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) allows users more possibilities to access services conveniently. But data security and privacy issues still act as barriers for adoption to cloud technology when dealing with confidential data. Encryption techniques play a significant role in ensuring data security in the Cloud. Various data encryption techniques have been evolved till the date of which DNA Computing techniques got wider acceptance due to biological complexity and computational properties of DNA. These features can be exploited to solve data security issues in MCC. This paper highlights the security issues in the MCC and proposes biocomputing solution approaches to address data security. A methodology is proposed based on the principle concepts of polymerase chain reaction and primer generation for ensuring data confidentiality and integrity. The security analysis of the proposed cryptosystem is evaluated by theoretical analysis, complexity and probability analysis. Formal analysis of the proposed protocol is done using Scyther and all the modeled claims are validated and positive results are obtained. 2018 The Authors -
Covid stimulating organic food consumption: Exploring factors of consumer buying behaviour
The outburst of coronavirus pandemic has forced people to rethink about their eating habits, what do they eat, where they get their food from, and how the food is produced, stored, and prepared. Statistics confirms that there is a significant growth in awareness level for organic foods in the global market. The purpose this study is to explore the factors leading to the perception and attitude for the purchase of organic/healthy food in the immediate context of food crisis in India. The questionnaire was used to implement the study and data was gathered from 387 respondents from the Delhi NCR, India. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used for the data analysis. The finding reveals eight factors named as natural content, nutritional content, sensory appeal, environmental concern, attitude, lifestyle, perceived value and purchase intentions, leading to consumption of organic food. These results reflect the shift in nutritional content and natural content are the two most important variable leading to organic food consumption. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Attachment to God: Narratives of Roman Catholic Priests
This narrative analysis was aimed at exploring the attachment to God narratives of 28 middle-aged Roman Catholic Religious priests rendering their service in various settings in South India. The study found that majority of the Roman Catholic priests had developed representations of a secure attachment to God. Twenty-six priests had developed representations of a secure attachment to God, and two priests of an insecure attachment to God. The Majority of the Roman Catholic priests had developed representations of a secure attachment to more than one spiritual attachment figures. Along with God, most priests had also developed representations of a secure attachment to the Virgin Mary. All the major themes related to attachment to God were found in the narratives of the Roman Catholic Priests. Author(s) 2020. -
A sustainable non-enzymatic approach for determination of cholesterol using piper nigrum derived porous carbon/?-Fe2O3 composite electrode
Activated porous carbon (APC) obtained from Piper nigrum along with ?-Fe2O3 have been used to modify carbon paste electrode (CPE) for the highly sensitive and selective electrochemical determination of cholesterol. The enhanced synergistic properties observed between the biomass-derived APC and ?-Fe2O3 uplifts the electrocatalytic activity of the modified electrode (APC-Fe2O3/CPE). The prepared ?-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential measurements and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical techniques were used to study the physico-chemical properties of the modified electrodes. Experimental conditions such as effect of pH, scan rate and concentration of cholesterol were optimized. Wide linear dynamic range between 25 nM and 300 nM, low limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 8 nM and 26 nM respectively make the method very effective and sensitive. Cholesterol in human blood serum samples was non-enzymatically determined using the developed method. 2021 The Electrochemical Society. -
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. -
Mental health counsellors perceptions on use of technology in counselling
The objectives of the study were: (a) to explore the self-reported knowledge of counsellors about technology in counselling. (b) to understand the flexibility, usage, and openness to integrating the technology services in their practice, and (c) to identify the problems associated with using technology as a process in counselling. Semi-structured interviews of eleven practising counsellors in Bangalore and Chennai, India, recruited through snowball sampling, were used for data collection. The deductive content analysis of the interview transcripts generated seven concepts, each comprising of several categories. The seven concepts were 'attitude', 'strengths', 'weakness', 'suitability', 'skills and training', 'therapeutic alliance', and 'theoretical approaches'. The analysis revealed that the counsellors preferred face-to-face counselling and were not using technology for their mainstream practice, but all were quite aware of the process, the benefits and costs of using different forms of technology. The study revealed that the counsellors were also aware about the target population and mental health issues for online counselling. This study has strong implications for building additional skills and enhancing training for counsellors to use technology in their counselling practice, along with the formulation of legal and ethical policies, certification and licensing, in order to protect both the clients and counsellors. 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.