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Pan-generation investigation of sustainability factors in conjunction with personality aspects influencing consumer's perception towards sustainable marketing
Sustainability has become the goal of governments and organizations worldwide since the 2030 agenda of the United Nations was declared. The large number of products has emerged in the market that claims to be green and sustainable or promise to serve a social cause. Even though numerous studies that claim consumers are increasingly conscious of their choices and consumption behaviour there has been a marked gap between this awareness and the actual behaviour exhibited. In a quest to comprehend the curious gap between the attitude and behaviour of consumers, several studies have endeavored to find a plausible explanation. Marketing specialists have come up with several strategies in order to make sustainable marketing a success but inexplicably still fail to do so. This study proposes a conceptual framework that comprehensively explains the impact of external and internal drivers for a consumer's perception of products that claim to be sustainable in nature, which may eventually explain the attitude-behaviour gap. This has been constructed using well-established consumer behaviour and personality theories. Sample size was calculated using proportion to population method and was derived as 270. Judgment and convenience sampling were used to collect the data through a structured questionnaire. The study uncovered that age influences the attitudes of consumers and both Gen X (cohort born between 1965-79) and Y (cohort born between 1980-96) bear positive attitudes towards sustainable marketing. Pricing had a major influence as well, buyers who ranked high on the 'Conventional' and 'Realistic' interests of the RIASEC personality model had a more positive perception. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Flourishing and work flow among working adults: A positive investigation from India
The demands in today's organizations are only growing at peaking high levels where turnover and burnout sets out to be major factors that challenge productivity. This is supported by previous findings which have identified turnover and burnout as a consequence of job demands. In today's demanding era of workforce, capacity to work effectively is a key component of employee's health, well-being and growth. Positive emotional and mental state of employees is a predictor of positive organization which will result in high performance, wellbeing and a conducive environment to flourish. Present study deals with workflow and its relationship with employee`s flourishing. This paper aims to explore the relationship between flourishing and experiences of work flow among working adults (n=105). Relationship among variables was analyzed through correlation and regression analysis. Results indicate that there is significant positive correlation between flourishing and experience of work flow (r (105) = 0.49, p<.01) and experience of work flow predicts the flourishing among employees. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Antioxidant and antigenotoxic properties of Alpinia galanga, Curcuma amada, and Curcuma caesia
Objective: To compare the antioxidant and anti-genotoxic properties of Alpinia (A.) galanga, Curcuma (C.) amada, and C. caesia. Methods: Cytotoxicity of ethanolic extracts of A. galanga, C. amada, and C. caesia at selected doses was evaluated by trypan blue, MTT, and flow cytometry-based assays. Genotoxicity and anti-genotoxicity (against methyl methanesulfonate, 35 ?M and H2O2, 250 ?M) of these plants were studied by comet assay in human lymphocytes in vitro. Furthermore, DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, lipid peroxidation, and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays were performed to study the antioxidant potentials of the plants. Finally, anti-genotoxic potential of C. amada was validated in Swiss albino mice using comet assay. Phytochemical composition of C. amada was determined by GC/MS and HPLC. Results: The selected doses (2.5, 5, and 10 ?g/mL) of A. galanga, C. amada, and C. caesia were non-toxic by cytotoxicity tests. All three ethanolic extracts of plant rhizomes demonstrated antioxidant and anti-genotoxic properties against methyl methanesulfonate-and H2O2-induced oxidative stress in human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro. Multivariate analysis revealed that various antioxidant properties of these extracts in DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays were strongly correlated with their total phenolic constituents. C. amada extract conferred protection against cyclophosphamide-induced DNA damage in the bone marrow cells of mice and DNA damage was significantly inhibited by 2.5 mg/kg C. amada extract. Conclusions: C. amada is rich in potentially bioactive molecules and exhibits potent antioxidant activities. Its anti-genotoxicity against cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress is also confirmed in this study. 2021 Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine Produced by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow. All rights reserved. -
Antecedents of organic food consumption in Delhi NCR
The consumption of organic food in increasing rapidly in the country. It has a significant impact on the environment, individuals and public health. This is an attempt to understand the antecedents of organic food and try to re-establish the relationship between the attributes of organic food, the utilitarian and hedonic attitudes and consumer purchase intentions. The SOR model has been used to support the theoretical framework for conducting the research on organic food products. The nutritional values, sensory appeal, environmental concern price and natural content of organic food products have significant and positive relationship on utilitarian and hedonic attitudes of the consumer. Even utilitarian and hedonic attitudes have a positively strong relationship on consumer purchase intentions for organic food products. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
The zamkovoy canonical paracontact connection on a para-kenmotsu manifold
The object of the paper is to study a type of canonical linear connection, called the Zamkovoy canonical paracontact connection on a para-Kenmotsu manifold. 2021 D. G. Prakasha et al. -
Financial inclusion of rural sector: Imperative for sustainable economic growth of India
This research paper aimed to take a look on the present status of financial inclusion in the Indian economy, especially in the rural sector. It also suggested few measures to be taken by the government and banking sector to enhance the inclusion of deprived sections of our country in the financial ecosystem. The data was collected from various secondary sources to depict the present level of financial inclusion, primarily after the implementation of various government policies. The suggested measures mainly included financial literacy and awareness campaign to be implemented at the grass root level along with a robust infrastructure to increase the telephone and internet connectivity in the rural sector. The researchers also analysed that the financial inclusion of the rural sector is imperative for the sustainable economic growth of an agricultural driven economy like India. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
RayleighBard and BardMarangoni magnetoconvection in variable viscosity finitely conducting liquids
The thermorheological effect on magneto-Bard-convection is studied numerically in fluids with finite electrical conductivity. A nonlinear thermorheological equation is considered in the problem. The results are compared with the classical approach of constant viscosity, which depicts the fact that the effect of increasing the strength of the magnetic field is to delay the onset of convection. The magnetic field is shown to have a rheostatic influence on convective instabilities. The results obtained by the study have possible applications in the field of astrophysics, sunspots, and in space applications under microgravity. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC -
Evaluation of Gamified TrainingASolomon Four-Group Analysis of the Impact of Gamification on Learning Outcomes
Gamification is the application of game elements to non-game contexts. The process of gamification has been found to improve engagement levels, motivate participation and improve outcomes of activities. The primary focus of Gamification research has been on understanding how it can improve the process of learning, especially in academics or education. The impact of gamification in the organizational context is still relatively unexplored. The current study attempts to provide evidence supporting the use of gamification in organizational training. The study adopted an experimental methodology and is set in the context of organizations in India. The findings suggest that potential learners responded more positively to the gamified module and the knowledge gained was also higher through the gamified module. The gamified module also resulted in higher learner motivation. Thus, the current study provide support for the Theory of Gamified Learning that proposes that Gamification would increase Learner Motivation and thereby improve Learner reaction to the training and increase Learning. 2021, Association for Educational Communications & Technology. -
Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Police Operational Stress: A Pilot Study
The present study examined the relationship between police operational stress and emotional intelligence. The study also observed the difference in operational stress and emotional intelligence concerning gender, rank, education, and marital status. The sample included 80 police officers from Bangalore, India. The operational police stress questionnaire developed by McCreary and Thompson (2006) and emotional intelligence scale developed by Hyde et al. (2002) were used to measure police operational stress and emotional intelligence, respectively. Independent sample t-test and Cohens d indicated that differences in gender, rank, education, and marital status had no significant effect on police operational stress. Gender differences had a significant effect on the emotional intelligence factors, empathy, and self-motivation. Differences in rank had a significant effect on empathy, self-motivation, emotional stability, managing relationships, integrity, value orientation, and commitment. Differences in marital status had a significant effect on value orientation. Correlation analysis showed that operational stress had a significant negative relationship with emotional intelligence and its factors such as self-motivation, emotional stability, value orientation, and altruistic behavior. Regression analysis showed emotional intelligence and its factor, emotional stability, as significant predictors of police operational stress. 2021, Society for Police and Criminal Psychology. -
On an anti-torqued vector field on riemannian manifolds
A torqued vector field ? is a torse-forming vector field on a Riemannian manifold that is orthogonal to the dual vector field of the 1-form in the definition of torse-forming vector field. In this paper, we introduce an anti-torqued vector field which is opposite to torqued vector field in the sense it is parallel to the dual vector field to the 1-form in the definition of torse-forming vector fields. It is interesting to note that anti-torqued vector fields do not reduce to concircular vector fields nor to Killing vector fields and thus, give a unique class among the classes of special vector fields on Riemannian manifolds. These vector fields do not exist on compact and simply connected Riemannian manifolds. We use anti-torqued vector fields to find two characterizations of Euclidean spaces. Furthermore, a characterization of an Einstein manifold is obtained using the combination of a torqued vector field and FischerMarsden equation. We also find a condition under which the scalar curvature of a compact Riemannian manifold admitting an anti-torqued vector field is strictly negative. 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Exploring factors of consumer perception and attitude towards organic food consumption in India
Organic food market is witnessing an exponential growth in India. However, contradictory to expectations consumption of organic foods as compared to conventional food is still at nascent stage and many empirical studies have indicated this trend. Many of the food retailers have started organic food business across the nation but consumption level has remained significantly low. Impetus for this study came from this contrarian trend and it is crucial to garner insights from awareness and attitude of consumers towards organic food products in terms of why there is gap between awareness and attitude and actual consumption. While there are many empirical studies, not many studies have been conducted in India context. This study is based on descriptive research design constituting a sample of 250 respondents and the data was collected by administering a questionnaire on Likert scale. Study revealed that there was significant gap between perception and attitude of consumers. Factors namely health benefits and concern for environment have higher influence Price sensitivity. Thus, this study helps to bring about an understanding regarding the awareness and attitude of consumers towards organic food products in terms of opportunities ahead and overcoming unaddressed issues. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Mental Health in the Times of Corona: A model for Positive Mental Health During the Global Pandemic
As the world comes to terms with the changes brought on by the appearance and spread of Covid-19, there is an increase in fear and anxiety levels. The World Health Organization has stressed on the need to focus on mental health, as the epidemic affects both young and old. One of the biggest challenges is that the situation has no precedent. This has led to the creation of uncertainty and doubt. The current study focusses on studying the positive mental health of the Indian population. For the study, the researchers have restricted the scope to include only Generation Y and Generation Z, as they form a majority of the working population and literature suggests that negative moods, stressors and apprehensions are far more prevalent among the younger sections of the society. The findings suggest that positive mental health is not dependent on gender or age. However, some of the dimensions do show significant variance. The researchers have also proposed a model of Positive Mental Health based on the dimensions of the Positive Mental Health Instrument. 2021, National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India. -
Hybrid fruit-fly optimization algorithm with k-means for text document clustering
The fast-growing Internet results in massive amounts of text data. Due to the large volume of the unstructured format of text data, extracting relevant information and its analysis becomes very challenging. Text document clustering is a text-mining process that partitions the set of text-based documents into mutually exclusive clusters in such a way that documents within the same group are similar to each other, while documents from different clusters differ based on the content. One of the biggest challenges in text clustering is partitioning the collection of text data by measuring the relevance of the content in the documents. Addressing this issue, in this work a hybrid swarm intelligence algorithm with a K-means algorithm is proposed for text clustering. First, the hybrid fruit-fly optimization algorithm is tested on ten unconstrained CEC2019 benchmark functions. Next, the proposed method is evaluated on six standard benchmark text datasets. The experimental evaluation on the unconstrained functions, as well as on text-based documents, indicated that the proposed approach is robust and superior to other state-of-the-art methods. 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Metalsemiconductormetal visible photodetector based on Al-doped (Cd:Zn)S nano thin films by hydrothermal synthesis
High quality undoped and Al-doped nanocrystalline (Cd:Zn)S films [CZS and ACZS] were deposited on glass substrates by hydrothermal assisted chemical bath deposition. The Al concentration was varied from 0.5 mol.% to 2 mol.% in steps of 0.5 mol.% replacing cadmium while keeping other deposition parameters constant. XRD, SEM, and EDX were used to observe crystallinity, morphology and composition of the as prepared samples. X-ray diffraction revealed the hexagonal phase of CZS films with prominent orientation along the (002) plane. XPS analysis was used to confirm the doping concentration of Al in to CZS lattice. Repeatable photoresponse was recorded under 100 s cycle light-on and light-off conditions. 1 mol.% Al doped film being optimised as good photoconductor; a photodetector was fabricated with Ag/ACZS/Ag device structure. The ACZS photodetector exhibits similar time response, good photocurrent reproducibility and a sharp photoresponse at blue radiation with high photo-dark current ratio of 95. The device exhibits peak responsivity of 3.48 mA W?1 and detectivity of 1.26 1011 Jones at 470 nm. These properties suggest that the ACZS photodetector holds great potential for application in high-performance visible photodetectors, especially in the blue region. 2021 Elsevier GmbH -
Influence of pulse reverse current parameters on electrodeposition of copper-graphene nanocomposite coating
This work focuses on the influence of pulse reverse current parameters such as duty cycle and frequency on the microstructure and properties of graphene reinforced copper nanocomposite (Cu-Gr) coating. Graphene nanosheets were prepared by a liquid phase exfoliation technique and characterized using FE-SEM and Raman spectroscopy. Cu-Gr nanocomposite coating on stainless steel was prepared by pulse reverse electrodeposition method. The influence of pulse reverse current parameters such as duty cycle and frequency on the coating structure and texture was analyzed. By reducing the duty cycle and increasing frequency, a high amount of graphene co-deposition was achieved. A duty cycle of 40%, frequency of 1000 Hz and stirring speed of 500 rpm produced Cu-Gr coatings with maximum graphene codeposition. XRD analysis showed that the change in duty cycle and pulse frequency influenced the crystal structure, preferred orientation, and crystallite size of the deposit. A high pulse frequency improved the compactness of the composite coating, while longer pulse off-time and application of reverse pulse resulted in highly oriented (220) texture of pure Cu and Cu-Gr nanocomposite coatings. Due to graphene co-deposition, the copper grains became more refined, and hence the microhardness of the composite coating showed a tremendous increase compared to pure Cu coating. The Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance studies revealed that pulse reverse electrodeposited Cu-Gr coating has higher corrosion resistance than pure Cu coating due to strong (220) texture and barrier effect of graphene. 2021 The Authors -
Solution for fractional potential KdV and Benjamin equations using the novel technique
In this paper, we find the solutions for fractional potential Kortewegde Vries (p-KdV) and Benjamin equations using q-homotopy analysis transform method(q-HATM). The considered method is the mixture of q-homotopy analysis method and Laplace transform, and the Caputo fractional operator is considered in the present investigation. The projected solution procedure manipulates and controls the obtained results in a large admissible domain. Further, it offers a simple algorithm to adjust the convergence province of the obtained solution. To validate the q-HATM is accurate and reliable, the numerical simulations have been conducted for both equations and the outcomes are revealed through the plots and tables. Comparison between the obtained solutions with the exact solutions exhibits that, the considered method is efficient and effective in solving nonlinear problems associated with science and technology. 2021 -
Reliability test plan for the marshall-olkin extended inverted kumaraswamy distribution
This paper mainly interested in studying the wider range behavior of the Marshall-Olkin extended inverted Kumaraswamy distribution. The parameters of model are estimated by various estimation methods. A reliability sampling plan is proposed which can save the test time in practical situations. Some tables are also provided for the new sampling plans so that this method can be used conveniently by practitioners. The developed test plan is applied to ordered failure times of software release to provide its importance in industrial applications. 2021 Gnedenko Forum. All right reserved. -
Star formation around three co-moving HAeBe stars in the Cepheus Flare
Context. The presence of three more Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) candidates in the Cepheus Flare within a 1.5 radius centered on HD 200775 suggests that star formation is prevalent in a wider region of the LDN 1147/1158, LDN 1172/1174, and LDN 1177 clouds. A number of young stellar objects (YSOs) are found to be distributed toward these cloud complexes along with the HAeBe stars. Various star formation studies clearly indicate ongoing low-mass star formation inside the clouds of this region. Sources associated with less near-infrared excess and less H? emission raise the possibility that more low-mass YSOs, which were not identified in previous studies, are present in this region. Aims. The aim is to conduct a search for additional young sources that are kinematically associated with the previously known YSOs and to characterize their properties. Methods. Based on the Gaia DR2 distances and proper motions, we found that the HAeBe candidates BD+681118, HD 200775, and PV Cep are all spatially and kinematically associated with previously known YSOs. Based on the Gaia DR2 data, we identified a number of co-moving sources around BD+681118. These sources are characterized using optical and near-infrared color-color and color-magnitude diagrams. Results. We estimated a distance of 3407 pc to the whole association that contains BD+681118, HD 200775, and PV Cep. Based on the distance and proper motions of all the known YSOs, a total of 74 additional co-moving sources are found in this region, of which 39 form a loose association surrounding BD+681118. These sources are predominantly M-type sources with ages of ?10 Myr and no or very little near-infrared excess emission. The distribution of co-moving sources around BD+681118 is much more scattered than that of sources found around HD 200775. The positive expansion coefficients obtained via the projected internal motions of the sources surrounding BD+681118 and HD 200775 show that the co-moving sources are in a state of expansion with respect to their HAeBe stars. A spatiooral gradient of these sources toward the center of the Cepheus Flare Shell supports the concept of star formation triggered by external impacts. 2021 ESO. -
Investigation of photoluminescence emission from ?-Ga2O3: Ce thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique
Ce doped Ga2O3 thin films for different doping concentrations (3 at%, 4 at%, 5 at%, 6 at%, 7 at%, and 8 at%) were deposited by spray pyrolysis method. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the crystalline structure as that of monoclinic ?-Ga2O3. The effect of doping on the band gap of the material was studied by UV-Visible spectroscopic method and the thickness of the film and refractive index were measured by ellipsometric technique. The photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra were recorded for pure and doped samples and the energy band scheme with possible radiative and nonradiative transitions were elucidated. Concentration quenching effect was observed, and the underlying mechanism responsible for quenching effect was studied based on Dexter theory. 2021 Elsevier B.V. -
CSR as an agent of financial stability: A use case of banking industry
The study was undertaken to examine the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an agent to improve the firm's performance and financial stability by enhancing goodwill and competitive advantage in the Indian banking industry. In the study, it has been hypothesized that CSR expenses have a positive relationship with financial stability. A correlation study has also been undertaken to determine any relationship among these variables, followed by a dependency regression test to show the levels of dependency of financial stability on CSR expenses and the Granger Causality test to find their causal relationship. The study has revealed a significant relationship between the financial stability variables and CSR expenses, and the Granger Causality level supports the findings. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved.