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SharePort: A Cost Saving and Energy Efficient Ride-Sharing Application for Airport Commutes
SharePort is a mobile application specifically designed for finding people to share rides with, from airport locations. It allows users to find other users at the airport who are traveling to similar locations within a threshold of 2 K M s. This paper talks about the implementation of such an application, its benefit to the society in terms of individual costs, energy savings, traffic reduction, etc. It lays out the design patterns, features and their contribution to the overall idea. In addition to its various positive impacts on the individual expenditure of commuters and the environmental benefits, SharePort also resolves the issue of needing a third-party application to contact the people they are willing to share rides with, by integrating a chat feature, which enables ease of communication and accountability. Initial evaluations demonstrate that pairing up commuters can reduce ride costs by 30-50% per user depending on distance traveled. Additionally, a shared trip also decreases the number of vehicles used for overlapping commutes, reducing fuel burn and carbon emissions compared to independent commutes. Not only does it reduce individual trip costs but it also contributes to lower fuel usage, fewer vehicles on the road, and a more sustainable mobility ecosystem that mutually benefits commuters, cities, and the environment. Relevant SDGs: SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action). 2026 IEEE. -
Characteristics of Users Seeking Romantic Relationships on AI-Powered Dating Platforms and With AI Companions
AI now underpins nearly every major dating platform, influencing how people discover partners, express themselves, and form romantic bonds. This chapter explains why studying AI in romance has become essential, outlining how algorithmic matching, behavioural design, and personalisation shape digital relationships. It identifies key demographic groups, personality traits, and attachment styles that are drawn to AI-enhanced dating contexts, and examines their motivations, attitudes, and self-presentation patterns across various platforms. The chapter also explores the rise of artificial intimacy, showing how AI companions provide emotional safety, stability, and reinforcement that encourage ongoing engagement. Using psychological approaches, it discusses how users perceive AI as a romantic or supportive figure and how these perceptions interact with individual needs. Ultimately, the chapter highlights how user characteristics and AI design together drive the emergence of new forms of digital intimacy and their broader psychological and social implications. Copyright 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global Scientific Publishing is prohibited. Use of this chapter to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited. The publisher reserves all rights to license its use for generative AI training and machine learning model development. -
Virtual influencers in Niche markets: Unlocking opportunities for targeted marketing
The need for an alternative approach to traditional influencer marketing is beginning to emerge due to the changing nature of the digital marketing environment where brands are starting to use Virtual Influencers (VIs) to target those consumers who are in unique and sometimes overlooked categories in particular niches. This chapter discusses how VIs provide the best opportunities to deliver very niche, first-party, data-driven content to narrow target constituencies of consumers. Since VIs have the power to shape exact personas that target audiences embrace or at least value - such as sustainability, luxury, tech, or subcultures - they can build emotionally touching experiences that regular marketing may overlook. The chapter focuses on how brands across the globe are implementing VIs in various sectors including sustainable fashion, luxury goods, innovative technology among others to portray how VIs positively affect industries reaching a niche but loyal audience. 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
Effect of Work Experience on Psychological Capital and Job Satisfaction among Employees
In todays fast-paced workplaces, where technology is evolving at a dizzying rate, professionals face a myriad of problems. Their inability to strike a healthy work-life balance may lead to feelings of dissatisfaction with their job. Consequently, in order to achieve flexible, long-term growth and job happiness, businesses should support their employees good psychological development. Primary data was acquired from employees in the automotive manufacturing company, totalling 95 individuals, using standardized questionnaires that had a good level of reliability and validity. The results indicated that there is no significant effect of work experience on the psychological capital of employees (F = 1.21; p < 0.30) and their job satisfaction (F = 0.35; p < 0.70). The major findings indicate that regardless of an employees level of experience, there is no substantial variation in the psychological capital and job satisfaction of the employees. This variation may also arise because of other specific factors. 2024 selection and editorial matter, Dr. Sundeep Katevarapu, Dr. Anand Pratap Singh, Dr. Priyanka Tiwari, Ms. Akriti Varshney, Ms. Priya Lanka, Ms. Aankur Pradhan, Dr. Neeraj Panwar, Dr. Kumud Sapru Wangnue; individual chapters, the contributors. -
Integrating intelligence: The convergence of computer science and engineering in cyber-physical systems
The dynamic and innovative paradigm known as cyber physical systems (CPSs) arises from the merging of digital technology and physical infrastructure. This chapter provides a thorough analysis of CPSs, covering the basic ideas, constituent parts, a range of applications, and their integration with more complex subjects. Fundamentally, CPSs represent the smooth fusion of computational and physical components, enabling real-time control, analysis, and monitoring. The fundamentals of CPSs are explained in this chapter, with a focus on how they facilitate the development of interconnected networks that can coordinate complicated tasks across multiple domains. A close examination of the complex interactions that occur between sensors, actuators, processors, and communication networks in CPS designs demonstrates how these components work together to gather, process, and distribute data. Furthermore, a wide range of industries, including infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare, are impacted by the diverse applications of CPSs. CPSs transform conventional processes, improving efficiency, safety, and production. Examples of these processes include intelligent healthcare devices that monitor patient vitals and smart transportation systems that optimise traffic flow. When CPSs are combined with more complex subjects, they become even more powerful, accelerating innovation and change in a variety of fields. By enabling CPSs to process and analyse data at network edges, edge computing can lower latency and bandwidth consumption. Algorithms for machine learning improve decision-making, allowing CPSs to adjust and gain knowledge from real-world data. By protecting CPSs from cyberattacks, security and resilience measures guarantee the availability and integrity of vital systems. Furthermore, human CPS contact opens up new collaborative paradigms and gives people the ability to communicate with intelligent systems in a natural way. To sum up, this chapter gives readers a thorough grasp of CPSs and how they have revolutionised contemporary life. It adds to the continuing conversation on CPS research, innovation, and implementation by clarifying their basic ideas, elements, applications, and integration with more complex subjects. With ongoing research and cooperation, CPSs have the potential to completely transform our world and bring in a new era of intelligence, creativity, and connectivity. 2025 selection and editorial matter, Kamal Upreti, Nishant Kumar, Mohammad Shabbir Alam, Mohammad Shahnawaz Nasir and Debabrata Samanta; individual chapters, the contributors. -
Green Energy Harvesting using a Flexible Bio-triboelectric Nanogenerator
Bio-triboelectric nanogenerators (B-TENGs) show promise as a sustainable and renewable source for harvesting green energy using natural biocompatible and biodegradable substrates. Dry leaves contribute to a large amount of waste accumulation daily, even though they can be used to generate energy. Almost all the dry leaves collected during cleaning procedures are burned, resulting in greenhouse emissions and air pollution. This work aims to consider using biodegradable fresh and dry leaves as a bio-source for a cost-effective, sustainable, and flexible energy-harvesting system. When different frequencies and pressures were applied to B-TENGs, significant potential power output of around ~30V and ~350?W was produced. The experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations support the charge transport phenomenon in dry-leaf powder under different compressive strains. A surface influences charge generation in B-TENGs and the presence of functional groups with inhomogeneous particle distribution, as demonstrated by experimental and mathematical modeling. The current work is ideal for large-scale manufacturing since it uses natural waste materials in dried forms, as well as simple and low-cost preparation. Therefore, our environmentally friendly solutions highlight the special abilities of plants to produce electricity for various flexible electronic applications. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2025. -
Role of healthcare quality in improving patients satisfaction at private hospitals in karnataka India
Healthcare is known as the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention from disease, newlineinjury, illness and other types of mental and physical losses in human beings (Pallipedia, 2009). Governments, insurers, consumers and healthcare delivery systems are involved in a continuous tug of war situation across the world and trying to meet increased demand for healthcare services, reducing the cost of service and healthcare quality improvements. Quality was already an area of attention for some time in healthcare, but recently the focus has been shifted towards quality majorly to reform entire healthcare. Therefore, in the present study healthcare quality has been focused. The main objective of this study is to investigate the role of healthcare quality in improving patient s satisfaction at private hospitals in Karnataka, India. The research has been designed as analytical research and used survey method for conducting the research. Primary data collection was done using structured questionnaire from respondents. For this study target population was private corporate multispecialty hospitals situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Multistage proportionate sampling was used for data collection. Data analysis was done using SPSS and AMOS. The results and findings of the study confirmed that the main influencers of newlinepatient s satisfaction and perceived service quality were six latent constructs: safety, newlinetimeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, patient centeredness and equitability. The model of patient s satisfaction with integrated framework revealed the relationships between independent and dependent variables and gave insights into interplay between the construct relationships. Study suggested practical significance of each construct and also raised a need for more holistic view of the model. Hence results of the study provided valuable insights for the management of private healthcare institutions. -
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Enhanced Approach for Precision Agriculture Using AI/ML Techniques
Precision-based agriculture has been made possible by recent technical breakthroughs and developments in information technology. These new developments have made it possible to better utilise contemporary methods and instruments, like IOT, soft computing, and wireless sensor technology, to increase the agricultural productions environmental and economic sustainability. Precision farming is a new trend in agriculture that sets itself apart from traditional farming methods by applying resources in a way that is efficient, planned, systematic, and justified in order to produce higher and better yields. Precision farming uses geographic information systems like weather patterns, remote sensing technologies like Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), and soft computing tools like Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), and Decision Trees (DT) to monitor and predict farm produce requirements in real time and for the future. This study examines the application of several methods and tools used in precision farming. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025. -
Investigating Factors for an Inclusive Workforce for Women in the Logistics and Supply Chain Industry
This study seeks to identify and analyze the major factors that contribute to an inclusive workforce for women in the area of logistics and supply chain. It further addresses the need for gender diversity and inclusivity in a traditionally male-dominated field by adopting a human-centric approach. This study employs a combination of Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Fuzzy Best Worst Method (FBWM) for methodically identifying and prioritizing factors that influence inclusiveness for women in the logistics and supply chain industry. FDM gathers experts' opinions and achieves a consensus on the identified relevant factors. Subsequently, FBWM is used to analyze the factors, providing a clear priority ranking based on their relative significance. The analysis identified potential factors that are crucial for fostering an inclusive workforce in the logistics and supply chain industry for women. The factors were classified into three main categories: employee growth and culture, inclusive business ecosystems, and accessibility and diversity factors. Based on the global weights, the top three ranked factors are: gender-inclusive supply chain practices, skill development workshops, and supporting women-owned businesses. This study is original in terms of gender inclusiveness in the logistics and supply chain industry. The innovative combination of multiple methods stipulates a robust methodology for identifying and analyzing the factors that impact inclusiveness, offering a novel contribution to the literature and practical applications in this field. 2025 The Author(s). Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. -
Phytotoxins: Terrestrial Plant Sources
Plants produce a wide variety of phytochemicals during biochemical reactions. Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are specialised metabolites or phytochemicals that are produced by plants in response to biotic and abiotic stresses or as a by-product of metabolism. PSMs are needed by the cells of the plant to interact with its environment and are produced in very small concentrations. They have various therapeutic effects and are used as medication in various conditions. However, the difference between therapeutic and toxic levels of these compounds is so low that when administered in excess, they can cause adverse conditions. These toxic PSMs are also known as phytotoxins. Phytotoxins are highly versatile in their mode of toxicity, chemical composition, and structure. The major groups of phytotoxins that have been categorised are alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides, non-protein amino acids, glucosinolates, cardenolides, tannins, phenolics, flavonoids, and phytoecdysteroids. These phytotoxins have several toxic effects like allergenic, pesticidal, hallucinogenic, and allelochemical and may even cause fatalities. The effects of these phytotoxins in humans range from the disturbance in the metabolic pathways taking place in various organs to adverse conditions like cytotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. This chapter discusses in detail the various categories of phytotoxic compounds from land plants and their major biological activities. The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025. -
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Reward Based Garbage Monitoring and Collection System Using Sensors
Most of the time in our surroundings we come across the overfilled garbage bins near the lakes. When the bins are full, people just throw the waste here and there, which eventually goes into the lakes and pollutes the water bodies. This is because of improper dumping of garbage that is practiced in our society. With the increase in population, this problem is taking really bad shape. The prime need is to maintain a clean and healthy environment with proper disposal of waste. This paper presents a small effort to reduce this garbage problem. An Android app has been created which keeps on checking whether the dustbin is full. Also, the people will be rewarded for throwing waste into the dustbins. A QR code has been attached to the dustbin which will be scanned for rewarding the people. The dustbins use an IR sensor that detects the receiver of waste in bins. Major part of this proposed system includes the proper working of mobile application and proximity sensors. Arduino is used to maintain the proper connection with sensors and application and that is done by Bluetooth sensor. The main objective of this proposed system is to lure people to put waste into the dustbin along with the contribution towards smart city vision. This paper also gives a brief overview of the technologies and work done so far in this field. 2024 River Publishers. -
Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India
We investigate the impact of groundwater contamination on educational outcomes in India. Our study leverages variations in the geographical coverage and timing of construction of safe government piped water schemes to identify the effects of exposure to contaminants. Using self-collected survey data from public schools in Assam, one of the most groundwater-contaminated regions in India, we find that prolonged exposure to unsafe groundwater is associated with increased school absenteeism, grade retention, and decreased test scores and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). To complement our findings and to study the effect of one such contaminant, arsenic, we use a large nationally representative household survey. Using variations in soil textures across districts as an instrument for arsenic concentration levels we find that exposure to arsenic beyond safe threshold levels is negatively associated with school attendance. 2024 Elsevier Ltd -
Revisiting cognitive assessment in the Indian prison setting
Purpose: Individuals with cognitive impairment are more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system (Kimbell, 2016). Yet, only a handful of studies describe the nature of cognitive impairment experienced by inmates and the different types of challenges faced by researchers and clinicians while conducting cognitive assessments in correctional settings specifically in low-and middle-income countries. Design/methodology/approach: In the present paper, the authors describe different types of ethical and logistical challenges they faced while conducting cognitive assessments with inmates in India and suggest ways in which future researchers and clinicians could overcome them. Findings: Authors raise a discussion on the purpose, advantages, and limitations of psychological testing, highlighting alternative ways of cognitive assessment that may be more effective, resource-efficient, and sustainable. Originality/value: Implications for education and training in psychological assessment, forensic and clinical practice and policymaking are discussed. 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Examining psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire among college students in India
Background: With the second-highest population in the world, suicide-related deaths in India are high, and adults under 30 are particularly at an increased risk. However, empirical examinations of factors contributing to suicide in India and assessments of reliability and validity of self-report measures assessing these constructs are rare. Aims: The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). Materials & Methods: Undergraduate students in India (N=432) completed the INQ and questionnaires assessing suicidal ideation, depression, fearlessness about death, and pain tolerance. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses of the 15-item INQ indicated that after removing three items assessing perceived burdensomeness, the two-factor structure of INQ demonstrated acceptable fit with good internal consistency for each of the subscales (?=.84.90). In line with the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS), thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness interacted to predict suicidal ideation. Additionally, these constructs were positively associated with suicidal ideation and depression, and weakly correlated with fearlessness about death and pain tolerance. Discussion: Results support the relevance of the IPTS for understanding suicidal ideation among college students in India. Conclusion: The results suggest that modified INQ demonstrates strong internal consistency, as well as good construct, criterion, and discriminant validity among Indian college students. 2021 The American Association of Suicidology. -
Scripts About Happiness Among Urban Families in South India
The ways in which parents socialize positive emotions have important implications for youth wellbeing, though little is known about parental goals and responses to adolescents happiness in culturally diverse families. Using an open-ended qualitative methodology, we explored parent and adolescent views about situations leading to happiness, responses and justifications to the expression of happiness, and what parents would like to teach their children about happiness in a sample of 209 parent (56.3% fathers; Mage = 42.79years) and adolescent (85.2% girls, Mage = 14.95years) dyads in Bengaluru, India. When prompted to identify adolescents recent experiences of happiness, both parents and adolescents primarily described academic and extracurricular achievements, followed by special events and receipt of tangible items, social interactions, and overcoming difficult situations. The two most common parent responses to adolescents happiness were responding with appreciation or encouragement of the achievement and providing further instruction or advice, with fewer responses focusing on enhancing/maintaining the emotional state of happiness itself. A substantial proportion of participating parents reported that their child should focus on task improvement when feeling happy, followed by affect maintenance (i.e., the child should be happy), or express their emotion with restraint. The findings contribute to developing a culturally-informed understanding of socialization of happiness in diverse families. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. -
Examining the impact of uncertainty on business performance via strategic cost management adoption and implementation: the case of agro-based industries in and around Punjab, India
Dynamic business environments require a change to survive. Strategic cost management (SCM) must re-conceive its future as new, improved, or reformed under opportunities and tough demands. Traditional cost management may not be adaptable to business turbulence. Increasing shareholder and customer demand, rapid information and technology improvements in manufacturing, and worldwide market rivalry with antiquated tools can be difficult. SCM goes beyond cost reduction and includes revenue generation and competitive advantage. This article examines the relationship between adopting and applying SCM approaches and company success in agro-based industrial businesses. Empirical survey data from agro-based industrial companies in Punjab were analysed using multivariate data analysis. According to contingency theory, size, technology, total productivity maintenance, strategy, and organisation culture are factors related to strategic cost management. All dependent factors, including control variable size, favourably affected SCM acceptance and utilisation, which has a pragmatic effect on agro-based businesses. SCM utilisation also mediated performance. 2025 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
The moderating effect of demographic profiles of Indian consumers on the impact of different website attributes on the purchase intentions of buyers
The aim of the paper is to provide a thorough model that explains how Indian con-sumers' demographic profiles moderate the impact of various website attributes on their purchase intentions and how this helps e-retailers in the context of online shopping. We identified eight online interface features-site design, site convenience, transaction security, payment system, customer communication, delivery information, product information, and special content information-after conducting a in depth literature review. Therefore, we made an effort to ascertain the connections between age, gender, wealth, and online interface elements. 500 Delhi NCR online shoppers took part in the poll. We used structural equation modelling and AMOS to explore the hypothesized correlations between web interface elements, age, gender, income, and purchase intentions. The findings indicated that while income has no discernible influence, age and gender have a major moderating effect on the impact of web interface elements on purchase intentions. 2025, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
The Efficacy of Augmented and Virtual Reality Exposure in Reducing Diverse Phobias: A Comparative Study
Anxiety disorders represent one of the most prevalent mental health challenges worldwide, affecting over 300 million individuals across all age groups. Among these, specific phobias constitute a large subset, often leading to avoidance behaviors, functional impairment, and reduced quality of life. Traditional in vivo exposure therapy (IVET) has long been considered the gold standard for treating such disorders, yet its practical limitations-such as patient noncompliance, difficulty in replicating real-life stimuli, and logistical challenges-have necessitated the exploration of digital therapeutic alternatives. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) exposure interventions, examining their therapeutic efficacy, engagement mechanisms, and clinical applicability relative to IVET. Through a systematic review of high-quality Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), meta-analyses, and empirical studies published between 2010 and 2025, this research synthesizes evidence regarding symptom reduction, physiological response modulation, and patient adherence across age groups and phobia categories. Findings demonstrate that both AR and VR interventions achieve symptom reductions equivalent to IVET, while offering additional benefits in accessibility, immersion, and personalization. VR shows superior outcomes in complex environmental and situational phobias through enhanced sensory engagement, whereas AR demonstrates strong ecological validity and user comfort in natural settings, particularly for pediatric and home-based use. The paper concludes by identifying current challenges such as cybersickness, ethical considerations in data use, and the necessity for longitudinal studies to assess sustained therapeutic impact. 2025 IEEE.