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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. -
New dynamical behaviour of the coronavirus (2019-ncov) infection system with non-local operator from reservoirs to people
The mathematical accepts while analysing the evolution of real word problems magnetizes the attention of many scholars. In this connection, we analysed and find the solution for nonlinear system exemplifying the most dangerous and deadly virus called coronavirus. The six ordinary differential equations of fractional order nurtured the projected mathematical model and they are analysed using q-homotopy analysis transform method (q-HATM). Further, most considered fractional operator is applied to study and capture the more corresponding consequences of the system, known as Caputo operator. For different fractional order, the natures of the achieved results are illustrated in plots. Lastly, the present investigation may aid us analyse the distinct and diverse classes of models exemplifying real-world problems and helps to envisage their corresponding nature with parameters associated with the models. 2021 NSP Natural Sciences Publishing Cor. -
Interventions for the improvement of social skills in autism spectrum disorder in India: A systematic review
Background: The increasing prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in India is in a gaping contrast with the existing interventions in India. Though several interventions have proved their efficiency in foreign countries, such studies within India are scarce. Aims: This review attempts to systematically examine the different intervention practices that include improvement of social skills in ASD that is practiced in India as revealed through published literature on the same. Methods: Studies published from 2000 to 2020 were selected for the study. Evidence is presented for nine treatment categories: Behavior-based interventions, Developmental Interventions, TEACHH approach, Parent-mediated Interventions, speech-based Interventions, electronics-based interventions, augmentative and alternative communication, play-based interventions and Yoga-based interventions. These studies were drawn from databases Ebsco, Proquest, PubMed, MEDLINE, science direct and Google Scholar. Though a definitive conclusion cannot be drawn without a meta-analysis, the available evidence is gathered and evaluated in the present review. Results: The review has proved to be a reliable summary of the interventions that include improvement of social skills in ASD that is practiced in India. Conclusions: Parent-mediated interventions may be more appropriate for the resource-poor settings of India, when developmental interventions may be more appropriate for the resourcerich settings of India. The scarcity of published literature on the topic in India is also a significant factor that highlighted itself through the research. 2021, Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. All rights reserved. -
Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies of novel Schiff bases and their complexes
Novel Schiff bases, Furan-2-carboxylic acid pyridin-4-ylmethyleneamide, and Thiophene-2-carboxylic acid 1H-indol-2-ylmethyleneamide and their mononuclear Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, UV-visible, FT-IR, 1H NMR and EPR spectroscopy. The complexes are non-electrolytes as evidenced from the molar conductance vaules. The ligands and their complexes have been tested for their antimicrobial activity against one gram positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and fungi Candida albicans. It is found that metal complexes exhibited more activity than the free ligand. 2021 Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved. -
Study of BrinkmanBard nanofluid convection with idealistic and realistic boundary conditions and by considering the effects of shape of nanoparticles
This study deals with linear and weakly non-linear stability analyses of BrinkmanBard convection in nanoliquid-saturated porous enclosures. Water with a dilute concentration of molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles with 0.06 volume fraction and 30% glass fiber-reinforced polycarbonate as a porous medium with porosity 0.88 are considered to be a working medium. The analytical solution is obtained in the present study for idealistic and realistic boundary conditions, and their results are compared. An analytically intractable Lorenz model with quadratic nonlinearities is reduced to a tractable GinzburgLandau amplitude equation with cubic nonlinearity using the multiscale method. Nanoparticles with different shapesare considered in the study, and their effects on the onset and heat transfer are discussed in great detail graphically in the presence of other parameters arising in the problem. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC -
Linear and nonlinear triple diffusive convection in the presence of sinusoidal/non-sinusoidal gravity modulation: A comparative study
The non-uniform vertical vibrations (gravity modulation) or g-jitter or time-periodic body force, can be realized by oscillating the system vertically. The time periodic variations are considered to vary sinusoidally (trigonometric cosine) or non-sinusoidally (square, sawthooth and triangular) to study three-component convection in a Newtonian fluid using linear and non-linear analyses. In the linear theory, the expressions for the Rayleigh number and the correction Rayleigh number are obtained by using a regular perturbation method. The eigen value is obtained by adopting the classical Venezian approach. The generalized Lorenz model is derived using a Fourier series with additional modes and under the assumption of the Boussinesq approximation and small-scale convection motion. The resulting non-autonomous Lorenz model is solved numerically to quantify the heat and mass transports. The results are considered against the background of the results of no modulation. Study reveals that all the four types of gravity modulation delay the onset of convection and thereby lead to the diminished heat transfer situation. It is also found that in the case of trigonometric type of gravity modulation heat and mass transports are between those of the cases of triangular and square types. The results in respect of saw-tooth and triangular wave modulations are identical. 2021 Elsevier Ltd -
Pain track analysis during gestation using machine learning techniques
During the gestation period women experience Braxton Hicks which is called the false labor, contractions during the second trimester. These contractions are not in regular intervals and also they are often unnoticed. The real labour or the true labour contractions develop late in the third trimester of the gestation usually beyond 36th week (excluding pre-term birth). Some women often fail to identify these pains in the third trimester of the gestation where an efficient facial recognition algorithm along with the support vector machine (SVM) helps them to identify these pains and take optimum care of themselves. The authors in this paper convey a mechanism to identify the pains effectively by creating a database of images pertaining to the pregnant women, her emotional states throughout the pregnancy. Using MATLAB the algorithm of decision tree is implemented and the values obtained from them help us analyze the pain type efficiently. 2021 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved. -
A study of Darcy-Bard regular and chaotic convection using a new local thermal non-equilibrium formulation
The onset of Darcy-Bard regular and chaotic convection in a porous medium is studied by considering phase-lag effects that naturally arise in the thermal non-equilibrium heat transfer problem between the fluid and solid phases. A new type of heat equation is derived for both the phases. Using a double Fourier series and a novel decomposition, an extended Vadasz-Lorenz model with three phase-lag effects is derived. New parameters arise due to the phase-lag effects between local acceleration, convective acceleration, and thermal diffusion. The principle of exchange of stabilities is found to be valid and the subcritical instability is discounted. The new perspective supports the finding of an analytical expression for the critical Darcy-Rayleigh numbers representing, respectively, the onset of regular and chaotic convection. The understanding of the transition from the local thermal non-equilibrium situation to the local thermal equilibrium one is also best explained through the new perspective. In its present elegant form, the extended Vadasz-Lorenz system with three phase-lag effects is analyzed using the largest Lyapunov exponent and the bifurcation diagram. It is found that the lag effects not only give rise to a quantitative difference in the above two metrics concerning chaos, but also present a qualitative difference as well in the form of the very nature of chaos. 2021 Author(s). -
Predictors of Positive Psychological Capital: An Attempt Among the Teacher Communities in Rural Jharkhand, India
In the recent times, researchers have shown an increased interest in positive psychological capital (PsyCap). However, it is acknowledged that due to the limited number of studies conducted on the antecedents of psychological capital, there is a lack of sufficient data for conclusively proving the antecedents of PsyCap. Consequently, this article aims to explore the potential antecedents of PsyCap as a reliable source of data in the context of rural school teachers. The focus is to investigate both the individual differences and the contextual factors as desirable variables that constitute PsyCap among the school teachers of rural Jharkhand, India. Samples of 1,120 respondents from different rural schools were collected and analysed with Structural Equation Modeling (AMOS 20.0). The findings of the study explained that both the individual differences (proactive personality and emotional intelligence) and the contextual factors (perceived organizational support, servant leadership and meaningful work) have a positive relationship with PsyCap. The impact of PsyCap on teacher performance can form the basis for further research on the subject. JEL Codes: M12, M53 2021 XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources. -
Significance of variable fluid properties on hybrid nanoliquid flow in a micro-annulus with quadratic convection and quadratic thermal radiation: Response surface methodology
Many engineering and manufacturing processes such as heat storage systems, nuclear power plants, and heat exchangers operate at high temperatures. The temperature gradient in these systems is significantly large so that the transport properties of the fluid are significantly influenced. In such cases considering the constant thermophysical properties for ambient liquid and adopting linear Boussinesq approximation become insignificant. Therefore, in this study, the quadratic convective flow of water-based Ag-MgO hybrid nanoliquid in a micro-annulus with variable viscosity and thermal conductivity is investigated under the temperature jump and velocity slip auxiliary conditions. The effects of quadratic Boussinesq approximation and quadratic Rosseland radiative heat are also addressed. The correlation for effective viscosity and thermal conductivity are modeled by employing the experimental work of Esfe and his collaborators (so-called Esfe Model). The nonlinear dimensionless governing equations are solved numerically using the finite difference method. Further, the sensitivity analysis using response surface methodology (RSM) is performed to enhance the understanding of heat transport behavior. The significance of various flow parameters involving in the current problem is analyzed through 2D and 3D-surface plots. This study portrays that the consequence of quadratic convection, velocity slip, and variable viscosity aspects are positively related to the growth of the momentum layer structure. The heat transport rate is found to be more dominated by quadratic radiation compared to the addition of nanoparticles and temperature variation aspect. The variable viscosity, quadratic convection, and quadratic thermal radiation mechanisms lead to higher skin friction. The thermal layer structure augments with the temperature variation aspect. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the Nusselt number to the addition of nanoparticles and quadratic radiation is always positive. 2021 Elsevier Ltd