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Exploring motivations, impact, and coping mechanisms of post-dating on female dating app users
Online dating apps are a popular platform for forming new connections. Generally, a virtual acquaintance intensifies between the users, eventually converting it into an offline relationship. Despite the anonymity of users being a prime motivation to initiate a conversation, it does pose challenges, including mental health issues and sexual abuse. There are increasing reports of privacy violations, extortions, cyberstalking, and sexual assaults connected with dating apps. While people in a relationship decide to set boundaries to avoid each other, both users go through an uncomfortable phase. Unless both parties mutually share the responsibility, the relationship issues are not sorted out without going through an abusive phase. One person's separation anxiety might become a physical manifestation, including virtual and physical assaults. The current study relies on focus group discussions to understand postdating app manifestations and its impact on female dating app users. The study involves respondents mostly exposed to online dating. 2023, IGI Global. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Mortality Salience and Pandemic Impact in the Context of COVID-19
Mortality salience refers to a state of conscious awareness of death and the inevitable conclusion of life, associated with psychological terror. The COVID-19 pandemic generated increased awareness of illness and death, and effectuated changes in death cognitions and peoples experiences around psychological or sociocognitive domains of media and life goals. To understand these changes, this study administered the Multidimensional Mortality Awareness Measure (Levasseur et al., 2015) to 103 emerging adults in India, post which 6 participants proceeded for a semi-structured interview exploring pandemic experiences, news consumption and goal prioritization, to examine specific areas in relation to death cognition. The thematic analysis demonstrates psychological effects, and discusses developments in health and death-related psychological processes. Focus on career goals and health maintenance, cautious news consumption and disadvantageous impacts on mental health are seen, significant in navigating healthcare measures for emerging adults, as we move forward into this new normal. The Author(s) 2021. -
Exploring Microplastic Pollution in Bellandur and Madiwala Lakes of Bangalore: A Preliminary Study
Abstract: Microplastics are plastic debris/fragments measuring less than 5 mm, either produced as such or obtained due to the weathering and fragmentation of bigger plastics. They are an emerging pollutant that have already caused great havoc on aquatic organisms and are a major environmental concern. Microplastics are also found in the human body, but the extent of their harmful effects is not yet fully understood. The sources of microplastic entry into humans include food, water, and air. This study assesses the microplastic occurrence in water and bank sediment of Bellandur (L1) and Madiwala (L2) lakes in Bangalore. The lakes are surrounded by urban areas and are affected by sewage inlet, waste dumping, and commercial boating. The microplastics in the bank sediment and water samples were segregated using the Wet Peroxide Oxidation process. There were no visible microplastics obtainable from the water samples of both lakes. However, microplastics were segregated from the bank sediment of both lakes. The scanning electron micrographs of the microplastics segregated from the bank sediment of L1 were found to be like sheaths and in uneven form and shape. The microplastics retrieved from L2 bank sediment were uneven and sheaths of globular masses when observed using SEM. The EDAX analysis majorly showed the presence of carbon and oxygen in both samples. From the FTIR analysis, the microplastics derived from L1 bank sediment had characteristic peaks of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), and Polystyrene (PS). Whereas, the microplastics from L2 had unique peaks corresponding to both Polypropylene (PP), PS and ABS as identified by the absorption peaks pertaining to both CH3 bending (1366 cm1) and aromatic CH (2922 cm1) stretching vibrations. Similarly, in XRD, the 2? values around 20 could be seen in both samples. These peaks correspond to some form of crystallinity, but the microplastics may have degraded due to several factors in the environment leading to changes in their structural form. The SEM, EDAX, FTIR and XRD data confirm the presence of microplastics in both the samples. This is the first reported study of microplastics in these lakes of Bangalore and it implies the need to focus on mitigation strategies for retrieval of microplastics that continues to accumulate in these lakes. Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. 2025. -
Exploring media representation and female-to-male transgender journeys in India: a redefining of masculinity
This paper argues that the invisibility of trans men in Indian media is not just a consequence of societal prejudice but a reflection of deeper structural biases within the discourse of masculinity itself. By examining both historical contexts and specific media representations, it demonstrates how trans men's experiences challenge the conventional association between masculinity and power, calling for more inclusive media portrayals. Psychotherapists and transgender studies researchers assert that gender is both distinctive and biological in origin while advocating for gender transitions to be supported through social change and queer perspectives. Despite increasing media exposure, many remain unfamiliar with transgender issues, leading to persistent misrepresentations. Trans men, unlike male-to-female transgender individuals, face unique stigma and often remain invisible in media narratives and public discourse. This paper utilises secondary data, textual analysis, and media analysis to examine the evolution of trans men in India and the media's role in shaping societal perceptions of trans-masculinity. It emphasises the need for improved media representation to enhance the visibility of trans men and to foster greater societal support and understanding within the broader transgender movement in India. 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
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Exploring Meaningfullness of Life among Survivors of Sex Trafficking in India
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking which is considered a contemporary form of slavery. It is made up of victims (supply), buyers (demand), and traffickers (distributors). Sex trafficking is a billion dollars industry. It generates more profit than any other industry in the world, illicit or otherwise. It is estimated that one woman or child is commercialized to be a sex slave every hour. The present study aimed to explore the meaningfulness of life among survivors of sex trafficking in India. It is a two-phase research design where the researcher has collected quantitative data first, and qualitative data was collected during the second phase. The qualitative phase comprises data from 126 subjects They were divided into two groups. Group 1, survivors rescued within two years (N=63), and group 2, survivors post two years after the rescue (N=63). Group 1 (M=15.58) scored lower on the meaningfulness of life compared to group 2 (M=23.15). Group 1 (M=16.80) is less satisfied with life compared to group 2 (M=22.65). Group 1 (M=61.09) has a lower quality of life compared to group (M=77.49). Group 1 tends to have lesser positive emotions and more negative emotions compared to group 2. There was a moderate positive correlation between the current meaning in life and satisfaction with life, r=.42, n=126, p<.001. There was a negative moderate correlation between the current meaning in life and negative emotions r=-49, n=126, p<.001, and there was a strong, positive vii correlation between current meaning in life and positive emotions, r=.53, n=126, p<.001. Results from the qualitative phase, which comprises data from 20 participants show that survivors' life in slavery was meaningless and marked by torture and rape. The meaningfulness of life for participants in the current study depends on a new identity, acceptance, education, spirituality, and respect. Those who have children found the meaningfulness of life in motherhood. Participants reported not being fully satisfied with their life and they described what they need to increase their life satisfaction. First is livelihood, that is food and shelter over their heads, good health, and dreams/goals fulfillment that for most of them is to get an education and/or professional training. Survivors reported having more negative emotions than positive emotions. Physical health problems found among participants were headache, gastritis, cough, and fever. Psychological health symptoms found among them were depression, anxiety, isolation, crying spells, and fatigue. Survivors have a limited social life because they distrust almost all people. The environment was found to be unsafe for girls and women and they ask for protection for themselves and for all females in the country. -
Exploring Machine Learning Models to Predict the Diamond Price: A Data Mining Utility Using Weka
In contrast to gold and platinum, whose values may be fairly determined, determining a diamond's worth involves a far more complex set of considerations. The appropriate rate is based on many factors, not just one of the stones. Diamonds are graded based on their appearance, carat weight, cut quality, and how well they have presented dimensions like a table's surface, depth, and breadth. In order to accurately forecast diamond prices, this study seeks to develop the most effective approaches possible. Different machine learning classifiers are trained on the diamond dataset to forecast diamond prices based on the features. This article shows how to analyze diamond prices using WEKA's data mining software. Diamond data have been utilized for this study. These methods include M5P, Random Forest, Multilayer perceptron, Decision Stump, REP Trees, and M5Rules. For the purpose of estimating the cost of a diamond, different Machine Learning classifiers are compared and contrasted. Performance measures and analysis showed that Random Forest was the best-performing classifier. Experimental findings show, as shown by the coefficient of correlation that Random Forest is better than other classification methods. 2023 IEEE. -
Exploring loneliness in relation to attributional styles in children with locomotor disabilities
The concept of loneliness, as an experience with both cognitive and emotional components, has been scientifically extended to the child population only recently. With indications that loneliness can be reported by children as young as 5-7 years, it becomes relevant to examine this topic in children of specific populations. In this case, children with locomotor disabilities are examined. In addition, loneliness has been associated theoretically with the attributional style of an individual, wherein it is proposed that an internal-stable-global attributional style combines with other factors to predict greater loneliness. This research aimed at examining loneliness in relation to attributional styles in children with locomotor disabilities, studying in inclusive or integrated education settings in Bangalore. 30 children with locomotor disabilities were compared on scores of loneliness and attributional styles to 30 children without disabilities, using the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire and the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire - Revised. These scores were also analysed and results indicated that there was no significant difference in loneliness between children with locomotor disabilities and nondisabled peers. There was a significant difference in attributional styles between the two groups, and a negative correlation was found between loneliness and attributional styles in the children with locomotor disabilities. The implications of the research include the argument for attributional retraining to address loneliness Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology. -
Exploring Legal Structures for Workplace Automation Concerning Employment Law: Professional Identity Crises and Self-Doubt Generated by AI Displacement
The concept of new business models is altering who performs the work, how it gets done and its value across every sector. The lower costs of getting and sharing information have made it possible to use automation algorithms to create activities and make documents. These technology promises beg critical questions about the morality, legality and social implications of replacing or transforming economic institutions we find around us. The international shifts have been more profoundly felt in the workplace than automation and artificial intelligence. The logic of the Industrial Age is no longer valid in our workplace, which exhibits both human and machine intelligence. This rise is challenging traditional labor norms as the professional identity crises and self doubt generated by AI displacement are more and significant in nature. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Investment Behaviour of Working Women for Economic Empowerment
Growth in investments leads to the economic and household upliftment of each person. We can see the presence of women in every area of our economy. They play the role of a teacher, doctor, nurse, engineer, accountant, military officers, entrepreneur, and many more. Now women are more educated; they have their assets in gold and other precious ornaments. They are also aware of various investment schemes available. This study analyzes working women's investment behavior and examines how it is beneficial for our society's economic and household upliftment. The data collection was carried out through 400 respondents using a questionnaire. The study area covers only the Bengaluru Urban population. Five Taluks in the Bengaluru urban were selected for the study. Cluster sampling is followed for selecting samples, and data is collected from each clusters. Eighty samples from each cluster were selected, and data is collected using the survey method. The tools used for data analysis consist of Henry Garrett ranking method, Weighted Average Method, and Percentage Analysis. Risk preferences of the investors were analyzed using the factors derived from the article written by Vashisht and Gupta, 2005. The current study aims at salaried women employees who have a regular income, which they can contribute to savings and investment for the economic and household developments. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. -
Exploring In Situ Kinetics of Oxygen Vacancy-Rich B/P-Incorporated Cobalt Oxide Nanowires for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Defect-engineering of transition-metal oxide-based nanocatalysts is an innovative approach for improving the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) owing to their enhanced activity and stability. The present study introduces a facile approach aimed at enhancing OER activity by incorporating boron and phosphorus into cobalt oxide nanowires (B/P-CoOx NWs). The resulting material, enriched with oxygen vacancies (Ov), as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), induced a complete structural transformation from Co3O4 to a CoO phase. The B/P-CoOx NWs exhibited an impressive overpotential of only 230 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH. The presence of Ov was proved to be responsible for the improvement in conductivity along with the quantity and quality of active sites. Electrochemical kinetic analysis was performed to reveal the crucial role of Ov in facilitating the OER mechanism by enhancing the adsorption and desorption of OH- ions and O2 molecules from the surface. The robustness of the developed electrocatalyst was demonstrated through a chronoamperometric test conducted over 80 h and a recyclability test spanning 10 000 cycles. This study focuses on the fabrication and dynamic investigation of the electrocatalyst, laying the groundwork for further advancements in non-noble material-based electrocatalysts. 2024 American Chemical Society. -
Exploring How Gender and Culture Shape the Lived Experiences of Indian Clients with Emotional Abuse: A Social Justice Approach to Counselling
In this study, we have carried out an in-depth, idiographic exploration of how Indian clients describe their experiences of emotional abuse in a parent-adult child context from a social justice lens. This study focused on the contribution of persisting systemic influences, including gender and culture, in maintaining emotional abuse. We collected data from seven participants through a semi-structured interview schedule, and utilized an interpretative phenomenological analysis for the research design and analysis. Findings indicatedvarious cultural and gender norms were responsible for contributing to and maintaining emotional abuse. The five master themes developed included Unmet Emotional Needs, Mental Health Issues due to Impact of Emotional Abuse, Gender and Culture Norms as Backgrounded, Unfair and Oppressive Norms and Attitudes, and Intergenerational Nature of Norms, Beliefs, and Abuse. Implications for counsellors, policymakers, and researchers in the fields of counselling and psychotherapy, social justice, social psychology, and critical psychology are discussed. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024. -
Exploring graph-based global similarity estimates for quality recommendations
Data sparsity or the insufficiency of past user preferences in predicting future user needs continues to be a major challenge for RS engines. We propose a solution to the sparsity problem by exploring similarity measures that capture the global patterns of commonality between users or items by leveraging on indirect ways of connecting users (items) through a user (item) graph. Entities (users or items) sharing common features are connected to each other by edges weighted by their proximity or distance. Graph-based techniques, for estimating transitive similarity between entities not directly connected, are exploited to bring the entities closer thus facilitating collaboration. Furthermore, we also propose a combined user-item graph approach for exploiting the similarity between users preferring similar items (and vice versa). In this work, we have suggested alternatives to the already existing global similarity assessment and we aim to investigate the appropriateness of the proposed techniques under differing data features. 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Exploring Female Narratives of Sexual Intimacy and the Social Suppression of Desire
Exploring the construction of sexual identities by women, this research attempts to provide an experiential understanding of sexual intimacy in young adulthood through critical narrative analysis of the accounts of ten unmarried cis-gender women, located in the postmodern feminist paradigm and drawing from contemporary psychoanalytic tradition. The study highlighted the lack of discourse on female desire and pleasure (that is not fetishised, penalised, or ostracised) in the hetero-patriarchal socio-cultural fabric of India and how it manifests in the sense of shame, guilt, and self-doubt in the navigation of sexual intimacy. The social matrix, including the influence of family and partner dynamics and cultural and generational differences, was observed to play a prominent role in the evolution of individual perceptions of sexual intimacy. Analysing the narratives through a feminist lens foregrounded the predominance of male satisfaction and pleasure, the sense of obligation towards male partners, the infringement of boundaries and compromise, and the performativity in sexual experiences, thus calling attention to the female struggle of realising and practising sexual agency. The research indicates the need to critically examine the pervasive phallocentrism in the experience of sexual intimacy and the marginalisation of female sexual desire due to the suppression of female sexuality in the patriarchal hierarchy of power distribution. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024. -
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. -
Exploring Factors Influencing Digital Inclusion Within Modern Pedagogical Practices Prevalent Amongst Schoolteachers: Smart Students, Smarter Teachers?
Teachers serve as torchbearers to the vast expanse of knowledge, leaving a lasting impact on the minds of their students through their teaching styles and pedagogical practices. With the advancement of technology, the integration of digital technologies has increasingly been observed in pedagogical approaches. The current study seeks to explore various subjective factors related to teachers, such as their teaching styles, age, classes taught, educational qualifications, and years of experience, in relation to their individual digital competencies and the extent of digital inclusivity in their pedagogies. Three psychometric scales were employed for data collection (TSI-Q, DiPeCoS, and TDiCoS). Data were gathered from 215 school teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and subsequently analysed. The results revealed a significant influence of teaching styles (p = 0.045), classes taught (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.006), and years of teaching experience (p = 0.016) on the digital inclusivity of the teachers' pedagogical practices. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Transparent Decision Making
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a potent tool in many fields, allowing complicated tasks to be completed with astounding effectiveness. However, as AI systems get more complex, worries about their interpretability and transparency have become increasingly prominent. It is now more important than ever to use Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) methodologies in decision-making processes, where the capacity to comprehend and trust AI-based judgments is crucial. This abstract explores the idea of XAI and how important it is for promoting transparent decision-making. Finally, the development of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has shown to be crucial for promoting clear decision-making in AI systems. XAI approaches close the cognitive gap between complicated algorithms and human comprehension by empowering users to comprehend and analyze the inner workings of AI models. XAI equips stakeholders to evaluate and trust AI systems, assuring fairness, accountability, and ethical standards in fields like healthcare and finance where AI-based choices have substantial ramifications. The development of XAI is essential for attaining AI's full potential while retaining transparency and human-centric decision making, despite ongoing hurdles. 2023 EDP Sciences. All rights reserved. -
Exploring evolution, development, and contribution of International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering (20052022): a bibliometric study
International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IJISE) reached its 18th year of publishing in 2023. A comprehensive assessment of 1,096 publications using the bibliometric data analysis technique is performed to understand growth of the journal for the past 18 years. Different indicators like co-occurrence of all keywords, co-authorship, citation and co-citation analysis of authors, countries, and institutions is performed through VOS Viewer software. The findings of the study emphasise contribution of IJISE to knowledge domain. Copyright 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Exploring Ethical Considerations: Privacy and Accountability in Conversational Agents like ChatGPT
In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have transformed the landscape of scientific study. Out of all of these, chatbot technology has come a long way in the last few years, especially since ChatGPT became a well-known artificial intelligence language model. This comprehensive review investigates ChatGPT's background, applications, primary challenges, and possible future advancements. We first look at its history, progress, and fundamental technology before delving into its many applications in customer service, health care, and education. We also discuss potential countermeasures and highlight the major challenges that ChatGPT faces, including data biases, moral dilemmas, and security threats. Finally, we go over our plans for ChatGPT's future, outlining areas that need further research and development, improved human-AI communication, closing the digital gap, and ChatGPT integration with other technologies. This study offers useful information for scholars, developers, and stakeholders interested in the rapidly evolving subject of artificial intelligence-powered conversational bots. This study looks at the ways that ChatGPT has changed scientific research in several domains, such as data processing, developing hypotheses, collaboration, and public outreach. In addition, the paper examines potential limitations and ethical quandaries associated with the use of ChatGPT in research, highlighting the importance of striking a balance between human expertise and AI-assisted innovation. The paper addresses multiple ethical issues with the state of computers today and how ChatGPT can cause people to oppose this notion. This study also has a number of ChatGPT biases and restrictions. It is noteworthy that in a very short period, ChatGPT has garnered significant interest from academics, research, and enterprises, notwithstanding several challenges and ethical issues. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.