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Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the currency exchanges of selected countries
The paper aims to analyse the impact of the COVID outbreak on the currency market. The study considers spot rates of seven major currencies (i.e., EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, and CHF/JPY). To capture the impact of the outbreak on returns and the volatility of returns of seven currencies during pandemic, the study has segregated in two window periods (i.e., pre- [1st Jan 2019 to 31st Dec, 2019] and post-outbreak of COVID-19 [1st Jan, 2020 to 22nd Dec, 2020]). The study has applied various methods and models (i.e., econometric-based compounded annual growth rate [CAGR], dummy variable regression, and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity [GARCH]). The result of the study captures the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on three currencies-USD/JPY, AUD/USD, and USD/CHF-and positive significant impact on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CAD, and CHF/JPY. Investors can take short position in these while having long position in other currencies. The inferences drawn from the analysis are providing insight to investors and hedgers. Copyright 2022, IGI Global. -
Identity in Consumption: Reading Food and Intersectionality in Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting
With the resurging interest in Food Studies, this rapidly emerging field of study has seen multiple disciplines adding in their distinct flavours that truly make this an area to savour. Literary food studies, in particular, has become a relevant field of study with the understanding that food in literature always plays a symbolic role, as food in literature is never depicted for the sustenance of the literary characters. This paper seeks to explore the novel Fasting, Feasting (1999) by Anita Desai through the lens of food and foodways to explicate how the characters interact with the culinary arena, and ultimately, interact with each other and themselves. These interactions will serve as crucial insights into their identities, particularly their intersectional gender identities considering the facets of nationality, class, and the like. A special focus will also be rendered on the notion of marginalisation seen in the text, of which gender is a crucial deciding factor. The title of the novel hints at consumption-at both its presence and absence-which will prove as the gateway to the interactions of the characters with food in the novel to examine who it is that gets to feast while who are forced to starve. 2022 Aesthetics Media Services. All rights reserved. -
Workplace bullying in the service sector
Context: Bullying is a problem that people, the world over, grapple with. It is manifest in different forms among different sections of people. Despite its prevalence, workplace bullying has not received much attention in scholarly literature in India. It is also not widely acknowledged as a threat to individual and organizational well-being. The purpose of this study is to add to the existing body of literature on the topic and to draw attention to the gravity of the issue. Aims: The primary objectives are to identify if there exist variations in its incidence on the basis of gender and years of experience, to identify the source of negative behavior, and the type of bullying that is most prevalent. Settings and Design: The study is a type of cross-sectional, descriptive study. Subjects and Methods: Data have been collected from a sample of 84 respondents using the Work Harassment Scale. All respondents are white-collar employees of the service sector in the cities of India. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS v25. Results: The results find that there is no difference in the incidence of bullying on the basis of either gender or years of experience. Moreover, the source of negative behavior is generally one's superiors, and the most prevalent type is 'verbal aggression.' Conclusions: The study concludes with suggestions of steps to be implemented at the national and organizational level, to combat the problem. 2022 Authors. All rights reserved. -
Emotional Maturity and Self-Perception Among Adolescents Living With HIVNeed for Life-Skills Intervention
Among Adolescents Living With HIV (hereby referred to as ALWH), emotional maturity and self-perception gain importance because they play a decisive role in the overall development into adulthood. This study examines the relationship between self-perception and emotional maturity among ALWH. The sample comprised of 92 male and female ALWH, aged 13 to 18 years. Self-Perception Questionnaire and Emotional Maturity Scale were the tools used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Correlation analysis showed a negative moderate relationship between Physical Competence and Global Self-Worth dimensions of self-perception and emotional maturity, with regression analysis confirming their predictive abilities. Discussions are focused on the relevance of the findings in terms of a need for a psychosocial life-skills intervention for the population. The Author(s) 2019. -
An Efficient Inclusion Complex Based Fluorescent Sensor for Mercury (II) and its Application in Live-Cell Imaging
The formation of an inclusion complex between hydroxypropyl-?-cyclodextrin (H-CD) and 4-acetylphenyl-4-(((6-chlorobenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-imino)-methyl)-benzoate (L) was investigated by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-Raman, scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques in the solid-state, absorption and emission spectroscopy in the liquid state and the virtual state as molecular docking technique. The binding properties of the inclusion complex (H-CD: L) with cations in deionized water was observed via absorbance and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy. The fluorescence probe (H-CD: L) inclusion complex (IC) was examined for several heavy metal cations, and identified that the PL emission wavelength of the complex displayed a continuous rise in the fluorescence intensity for Hg2+. A linearity range of 1 108 11 108M and limit of detection value of 2.71 1010M was found to be achieved for the detection of Hg2+. This outcome proves that the inclusion complex H-CD: L would be a promising material for the development a solid-state fluorescence probe for detecting Hg2+. It also shows application in real sample analysis and cell imaging. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Influence of Short Glass Fibre Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed ABS-Based Polymer Composites
One of the most promising and widely used additive manufacturing technologies, fused deposition modelling (FDM), is based on material extrusion and is most commonly used for producing thermoplastic parts for functional applications with the objectives of low cost, minimal waste and ease of material conversion. Considering that pure thermoplastic materials have a significantly poor mechanical performance, it is necessary to enhance the mechanical properties of thermoplastic parts generated using FDM technology. One of the conceivable techniques is to incorporate reinforcing materials such as short glass fibre (SGF) into the thermoplastic matrix in order to produce a polymer composite that can be used in engineering applications, such as structural applications. The morphological and mechanical properties of SGF (short glass fibre) reinforced ABS- (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) based polymer composites created via the method of FDM (fused deposition modelling) were investigated in this work. Properties were evaluated at three different weight percentages (0, 15 and 30 wt%). The composite filaments were developed using the process of twin screw extrusion. The comparison was made between ABS + SGF (short glass fibre) composites and pure ABS of mechanical properties that include surface roughness, tensile strength and low-velocity impact. The tests were carried out to analyze the properties as per ASTM standards. It has been found that the impact strength and tensile strength show an improvement in glass fibre inclusion; moreover, alongside the direction of build, the surface roughness had been reduced. The studies also focused on studying the dispersion characters of SGF in ABS matrix and its impact on the properties. Strength and modulus of SGF reinforced ABS composite has been significantly improved along with reduction of ductility. A 57% increase in tensile strength has been noted for 30 wt% addition of SGF to ABS in comparison to pure ABS. It was also interesting to note the reduction in surface roughness with every incremental addition of SGF to ABS. A 40% reduction in surface roughness has been observed with a 30 wt% addition of SGF to ABS in comparison to pure ABS. 2022 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Before the Gig Economy Tracing the Transformations in Delhis Taxi Industry
Studying Delhis radio taxi industry, this paper traces the transitional process of traditional taxi services in the capital to radio taxi services and finally to the current app-based taxi aggregators. The radio taxi companies ruptured old kinship ties and informal relations with a combination of technology, surveillance, and financea process app-based taxi aggregators have further refined. There is also an account of the labour struggles in the industry that preceded the advent of the platform economy. 2022 Economic and Political Weekly. All rights reserved. -
Determinants of Loan Repayment Behaviour of Bank Borrowers - A Relative Study with evidence from Bengaluru
The present study aimed to review the various factorsthat influence the credit score and find the effect of credit score and other financial aspects of an individuals loan repayment and whether they had ever defaulted. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire from 516 customers of twelve different banks in Bengaluru city during July-August 2019 using a stratified sampling method. The results revealed that credit score, loan amount, and loan repayment amount did not affect the loan repayment behaviour of individuals. However, the type of loan obtained and the kind of bank the loan is received significantly influence individuals loan repayment behaviour. Home loans, education loans, other loans and the loan obtained from a foreign bank were particularly significant in affecting the loan repayment of individuals. The high beta value for other loans indicates that most individuals who have no other loans have defaulted in repaying their dues. Indian Institute of Finance. -
An IoT-based agriculture maintenance using pervasive computing with machine learning technique
Purpose: In cultivation, early harvest offers farmers an opportunity to increase production while decreasing the chances of lower crop production rates, ensuring that the economy remains balanced. The significant reason is to predict the disease in plants and distinguish the type of syndrome with the help of segmentation and random forest optimization classification. In this investigation, the accurate prior phase of crop imagery has been collected from different datasets like cropscience, yesmodes and nelsonwisc. In the current study, the real-time earlier state of crop images has been gathered from numerous data sources similar to crop_science, yes_modes, nelson_wisc dataset. Design/methodology/approach: In this research work, random forest machine learning-based persuasive plants healthcare computing is provided. If proper ecological care is not applied to early harvesting, it can cause diseases in plants, decrease the cropping rate and less production. Until now different methods have been developed for crop analysis at an earlier stage, but it is necessary to implement methods to advanced techniques. So, the detection of plant diseases with the help of threshold segmentation and random forest classification has been involved in this investigation. This implemented design is verified on Python 3.7.8 software for simulation analysis. Findings: In this work, different methods are developed for crops at an earlier stage, but more methods are needed to implement methods with prior stage crop harvesting. Because of this, a disease-finding system has been implemented. The methodologies like Threshold segmentation and RFO classifier lends 97.8% identification precision with 99.3% real optimistic rate, and 59.823 peak signal-to-noise (PSNR), 0.99894 structure similarity index (SSIM), 0.00812 machine squared error (MSE) values are attained. Originality/value: The implemented machine learning design is outperformance methodology, and they are proving good application detection rate. 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Effect of COVID-19 on ETF and index efficiency: evidence from an entropy-based analysis
We examine the informational efficiency of domestic equity ETFs vis-a-vis their underlying market indices during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we employ a multiscale entropy-based methodology. Our findings indicate that the informational efficiency of all ETFs as well as the indices fall sharply during the COVID induced market crash in February-March 2020. Having said so, we find disproportionate deterioration in market efficiency of ETFs and indices pertaining to USA and Canada as compared to those of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Interestingly, ETFs and indices pertaining to certain developed markets were found to be less efficient than their emerging market counterparts even during the pre-covid timeline. Lastly, there is a discernible difference between the efficiency of ETFs vis-a-vis their underlying indices. These findings should nudge investors to exercise caution while dealing with ETFs, for domestic ETFs do not exactly mimic the dynamics of their underlying indices. 2021, Academy of Economics and Finance. -
Enhancement of Image Classification Using Transfer Learning and GAN-Based Synthetic Data Augmentation
Plastic bottle recycling has a crucial role in environmental degradation and protection. Position and background should be the same to classify plastic bottles on a conveyor belt. The manual detection of plastic bottles is time consuming and leads to human error. Hence, the automatic classification of plastic bottles using deep learning techniques can assist with the more accurate results and reduce cost. To achieve a considerably good result using the DL model, we need a large volume of data to train. We propose a GAN-based model to generate synthetic images similar to the original. To improve the image synthesis quality with less training time and decrease the chances of mode collapse, we propose a modified lightweight-GAN model, which consists of a generator and a discriminator with an auto-encoding feature to capture essential parts of the input image and to encourage the generator to produce a wide range of real data. Then a newly designed weighted average ensemble model based on two pre-trained models, inceptionV3 and xception, to classify transparent plastic bottles obtains an improved classification accuracy of 99.06%. 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
FITNESS TRAINERS PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS AND GYM GOERS EXERCISE INTENTION
In line with the law of attraction, physical attractiveness has been widely used in marketing as well as advertising due to its potency in persuading consumers to take action. However, would physical attractiveness of a fitness trainer influence gym goers intention to exercise? This question motivated this research. Based on recent literature reviews, several research constructs were identified to form a research framework to investigate the physical attractiveness phenomena in the fitness industry. Hypothetically, the impact of the physical attractiveness of a fitness trainer on gym goers exercise intention is postulated to be mediated by trainers perceived expertise, trustworthiness, likeability and perceived health. Questionnaires were administered among gym-goers from 10 randomly selected fitness centres across three districts of Melaka State in Malaysia, and 192 final sample data were obtained. Data analysis reveals fitness trainers perceived expertise and likeability significantly mediates the relationship between the physical attractiveness of fitness trainers and gym goers exercise intention. Physical attractiveness of fitness trainers does impact the exercise intention of gym goers indirectly. Implications of the findings to theory and practice are also discussed in this paper, as well as suggestions for future studies. 2022, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. All rights reserved. -
The analogy of nanoparticle shapes on the theory of convective heat transfer of AuFe3O4 Casson hybrid nanofluid
In recent times, Au nanoparticles have beencommonly used for delivering the drug especially in the case of hypothermia of tumors, but low absorption of IR light does not solve destruction of tumor cells. However, nanoparticles such as Fe3O4 coated with Au could be used to deliver the drug to a specific spot due to applied external magnetic field. Due to these applications, boundary layer approximation is invoked to simplify the mathematical model. This paper presents the nanoparticle shape analysis and heat transfer features of the AuFe3O4blood hybrid nanofluid flowing past a stretching surface on a magnetohydrodynamic medium. Numerical solutions of nonlinear differential equations are obtained by RKF-45 method with the help of shooting technique. The behavior of emerging parameters is described graphically for velocity and temperature profiles. It is found that the blade-shaped Au and Fe3O4 nanoparticles have better thermal conductance than brick, sphere, cylinder, needle, and platelet shapes. It is also observed that the Lorentz force generated due to magnetic field helps in controlling the flow and enhance the thermal conductivity of hybrid nanofluid. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. -
Integrated IoT-Based Secure and Efficient Key Management Framework Using Hashgraphs for Autonomous Vehicles to Ensure Road Safety
Autonomous vehicles offer various advantages to both vehicle owners and automobile companies. However, despite the advantages, there are various risks associated with these vehicles. These vehicles interact with each other by forming a vehicular network, also known as VANET, in a centralized manner. This centralized network is vulnerable to cyber-attacks which can cause data loss, resulting in road accidents. Thus, to prevent the vehicular network from being attacked and to prevent the privacy of the data, key management is used. However, key management alone over a centralized network is not effective in ensuring data integrity in a vehicular network. To resolve this issue, various studies have introduced a blockchain-based approach and enabled key management over a decentralized network. This technique is also found effective in ensuring the privacy of all the stakeholders involved in a vehicular network. Furthermore, a blockchain-based key management system can also help in storing a large amount of data over a distributed network, which can encourage a faster exchange of information between vehicles in a network. However, there are certain limitations of blockchain technology that may affect the efficient working of autonomous vehicles. Most of the existing blockchain-based systems are implemented over Ethereum or Bitcoin. The transaction-processing capability of these blockchains is in the range of 5 to 20 transactions per second, whereas hashgraphs are capable of processing thousands of transactions per second as the data are processed exponentially. Furthermore, a hashgraph prevents the user from altering the order of the transactions being processed, and they do not need high computational powers to operate, which may help in reducing the overall cost of the system. Due to the advantages offered by a hashgraph, an advanced key management framework based on a hashgraph for secure communication between the vehicles is suggested in this paper. The framework is developed using the concept of Leaving of Vehicles based on a Logical Key Hierarchy (LKH) and Batch Rekeying. The system is tested and compared with other closely related systems on the basis of the transaction compilation time and change in traffic rates. 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Consuming Identities in Foodways
[No abstract available] -
The Paradox of Messiah States
[No abstract available] -
MONG: An extension to galaxy clusters
The presence of dark matter (DM), though well established by indirect evidence, is yet to be observed directly. Various DM detection experiments running for several years have yielded no positive results. In view of these negative results, we had earlier proposed alternate models by postulating a minimum gravitational field strength (minimum curvature) and a minimum acceleration. These postulates led to the modified Newtonian dynamics and modified Newtonian gravity (MONG). The observed flat rotation curves of galaxies were also accounted for through these postulates. Here, we extend these postulates to galaxy clusters and model the dynamical velocity-distance curve for a typical cluster such as the Virgo cluster. The radial velocities of galaxies in the Virgo cluster are also obtained through this model. Observations show an inconsistency in the Hubble flow at a mean cluster distance of 17 Mpc, which is expected in regions of high matter density. This decrease in velocity is predicted by our model of modified gravity (MONG). The radial velocity versus distance relation for galaxies in the Virgo cluster obtained using MONG is in agreement with observations. 2022 World Scientific Publishing Company. -
Energy Efficient Evolutionary Algorithm based Clustering with Route Selection Protocol for IoT Assisted Wireless Sensor Networks
Internet of Things (IoT) assisted wireless sensor network (WSN) finds its applicability in several real-time tracking and surveillance applications. However, it suffers from various issues such as restricted battery capacity, repeated interruptions owing to multi-hop data transmission, and limited communication range. Gathering and multihop directing are considered effective solutions to complete enhanced energy competence and a generation of IoT-assisted WSN. An NP-hard problematic that can be handled with an evolutionary algorithm is the collection of the cluster head (CH) and the best potential paths to the goal. Both of these problems involve finding the optimum route to the target (EA). In this context, this study presents the design of the Energy Efficient Evolutionary Algorithm-based Clustering with Route Selection (EEEA-CRS) Protocol for Internet of Things-Assisted Wireless Sensor Networks (IoT-Assisted WSN). The EEEA-CRS technique that has been proposed has the primary intention of enhancing the energy efficiency as well as the lifetime of the IoT-assisted WSN. The EEEA-CRS approach that has been presented is broken down into its basic parts, which are the Fuzzy Chicken Swarm Optimization based Clustering (FCSO-C) phase and the Biogeography Optimization-based Multihop Routing phase (BBO-MHR). The FCSO-C technique that has been suggested chooses CHs with the use of a fitness function that takes into account residual energy, inter-cluster distance, and intra-cluster detachment. In adding, the BBO-MHR strategy identifies the optimum pathways to BS by taking into account the costs of communicating with other clusters, both within and between them. A number of different simulations were carried out in order to demonstrate that the EEEA-CRS methodology yields superior results. The EEEA-CRS method was shown to be superior to other methods in use today, according to the findings of an exhaustive comparison and study. EverScience Publications. -
The Politics of Cultural Homogenization and Territorialization: Representation of Northeast in Tinkle's WingStar Series
Tinkle, the children's magazine in English in India has been instrumental in shaping the imagination of the young urban Indian child ever since its inception in 1980. No other magazine has the readership and reach that Tinkle enjoys with a circulation of more than 3 lakh. The fact that Tinkle has survived unlike many other magazines in India for 40 odd years is testimony (marketing strategies aside) of its reach and popularity. Tinkle, ever since the days of its founder-editor Anant Pai, has been instrumental in constructing imagined communities of national identities for children in India over the decades since the 1970s ever since the Amar Chitra Kathas. One such attempt in constructing children's imaginaries is the addition of a series Wing Star in 2015, scripted by Sean D'mello and inked by Vineet Nair that features Mapui Kawlim, a 13-year-old superhero from Aizwal, Mizoram. While it is empowering that a national mainstream popular magazine for children would feature a female superhero from among the less represented Northeastern states, what is problematic, according to this study, is the manner in which there has been a conscious erasure of all markers of her ethnicity by appropriating her into the larger mainstream homogenised pan-Indian identity of a young female superhero with no specific markers to represent the culture she belongs to. This study will attempt to read this 'sanitised' representation of a Northeastern superhero in the light of the idea of cultural appropriation and deterritorialization and reterritorialization posited by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari that looks at the erasure of specific ethnic and other identities markers. This study will also engage with the implications of how 'sanitised' representations like this in popular narratives would construct and homogenise the imaginaries of the children of a country as they would grow up with erroneous notions of cultural ethnicities and diversity within the country adding to the problematics of marginalisation and hegemonic nationalities. 2022 Aesthetics Media Services. All rights reserved. -
Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activities of Artemisia stelleriana Besser leaf extracts
The present study aims to report the proximate and mineral composition, phenolic contents, and antioxidant potential of Artemisia stelleriana leaves. The leaf extracts were prepared using various solvents like distilled water, methanol, ethanol and acetone and analyzed for their phenolic and flavo-noid contents and antioxidant activity. The methanolic extracts showed the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents (10.09 0.24 mg GAE/g and 225.04 0.38 mg QE/g respectively). The methanolic extracts showed signifi-cantly higher 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH-RSA), Reducing power assay and total antioxidant capacity compared to distilled water, ethanol and acetone extracts. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy revealed that the methanolic extracts of leaves to be a good source of bioactive compounds like 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DTBP), neo-phytadiene, octacosane and eucalyptol. 2022 Horizon e-Publishing Group. All rights reserved.