Browse Items (16488 total)
Sort by:
-
Exploring ethical and cultural considerations in metaverse-based digital marketing
New opportunities for digital marketing have emerged with the emergence of the metaverse, a virtual setting where users can communicate with one another and other digital beings. This article tries to investigate the cultural and ethical issues of metaverse-based digital marketing. It is crucial to consider the ethical ramifications of these behaviours as marketers increasingly use the metaverse as a platform for connecting with and engaging with consumers. This cover concerns including consent, data security, and privacy. The massive collection of personal information in the metaverse raises questions regarding its use, storage, and security. It becomes crucial to provide openness, responsibility, and user control over their data in order to preserve consumer and marketer confidence. Cultural factors are as crucial for digital marketing that uses the metaverse. The metaverse is a worldwide network with participants from many racial and cultural origins. Marketing professionals must be aware of cultural conventions, beliefs, and sensitivities in order to prevent unintentionally offending people or feeding prejudices. Users may have a terrible user experience and react negatively to cultural appropriation, misrepresentation, and exclusionary practices. Therefore, it is essential for encouraging favourable brand perception and user engagement to include cultural diversity and inclusivity into marketing tactics within the metaverse. This article discusses several ethical and cultural issues that marketers in the metaverse face and suggests solutions. It highlights the requirement for unambiguous moral principles and business norms that are consistent with the principles of user empowerment, privacy, and inclusivity. Additionally, it emphasizes the significance of cultural sensitivity and localization in order to efficiently and politely customize marketing messages to various audiences inside the metaverse. Marketers can design meaningful and genuine user experiences while avoiding potential problems by taking the ethical and cultural aspects of metaverse-based digital marketing into account. This work will aid in the creation of ethical and culturally aware marketing techniques within the metaverse, encouraging consumer participation, trust, and beneficial brand-customer connections in this new digital environment. 2025, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Emerging AI and IoT Technologies to Enhance Customer Relationship Management in 5G Networks
The convergence of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things for management of 5G networks to revolutionize customer relationship management. It enables customer engagement, efficiency and levels of personalization. The study explores the emergence of IoT and AI to enhance CRM framework within low-latency and high-speed infrastructure provided using 5G technology. Real time data collection with IoT and AI driven data analytics that offer actionable insights to enable customer behaviour, enabling adaptive and predictive CRM strategies. Additionally, enhanced connectivity with 5G technology to facilitate integration of smart devices to ensure interactive and consistent experience for the customers. The present study examined the operational and technical synergy between the technologies and has high impact on the efficiency of CRM, implementation challenges that include data security and privacy concerns. 2025 IEEE. -
Exploring electric vehicle consumer behavior: impact of digital innovation, environmental concern, perceived value, and social influence on purchase intentions
Background: Understanding the drivers and boundary conditions of electric vehicle (EV) adoption is critical to fostering sustainable transportation. Building on perceived value and planned behavior theories, this study proposes a moderated mediation model in which perceived value influences both sustainability perception and purchase intentions, with household income, technology trust, and environmental knowledge serving as moderators. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 496 licensed drivers familiar with EVs was conducted using validated multi-item scales. Data were analyzed in R using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (lavaan), incorporating product-indicator interactions and 5,000-sample bootstrapping to test the direct, moderating, and mediating effects. Results: Consumers perceived value has a positive effect on sustainability perception (0.122, p?<?0.001) and purchase intentions (0.002, p?<?0.001). Household income also strengthens the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention (0.043, p?<?0.001). Digital innovation (0.285, p?<?0.001) and environmental concerns (0.411, p?<?0.001) dynamically influenced the perception of sustainability at a significant level, although social influence was not significant. Compared with other variables, sustainability perception had the greatest effect on consumers intention to buy an electric car (0.624, p?<?0.001) and served as a mediator in three out of four indirect connections between perceived value and purchase intention. The moderating effects of technology trust and environmental knowledge were not supported. Conclusion: These findings highlight the central roles of value and sustainability perceptions in EV adoption and identify income as a key boundary condition. Practical implications include tailoring incentives by income segment, investing in user-centric digital platforms, and emphasizing both economic and environmental benefits. Theoretically, this study extends technology acceptance models by integrating sustainability constructs and underscores the nuanced impact of socioeconomic factors on green consumer behavior. Copyright 2025 Kottala, Chanagala, Balaji, Reddy and Babu. -
exploring effective Online-Teaching Transition of College Teachers During COVID-19
The study attempts to identify what is effective online teaching from teacher and student perspectives. What are the challenges faced by teachers which hampered effective online teaching? The study employed mixed method research design including a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The study collected data from 500 students out of which 200 are boys and 300 are girls on effective online teaching. The study conducted semi-structured interview with eight college teachers through snowball sampling. The survey revealed that almost 80% of the teachers are not effective. Girls are less satisfied with online teaching transition of teachers than boys are. Similarly, postgraduates (PG) are not as satisfied as undergraduate (UG) students are. Interview data revealed themes and subthemes on challenges of effective online teaching faced by college teachers. Overall, the perceived online-teaching effectiveness is low, and further research may find the causes for the same. 2022 IGI Global. All rights reserved. -
Exploring effect of instagram influencer likeability and personality traits on self-concept and impact on consumer buying intention towards cosmetic products
With the advent of visual micro-blogging platforms like Instagram the communication environment for businesses has certainly undergone massive change. Over the years these platforms have evolved and brands have had to adapt themselves to gain visibility among the millennial audience by being available on the social media platforms. The disruptive force of these social media platforms has a great impact on the consumer decision making processes. As a result, consumers now rely more on recommendation from their peers. The sharing of views, experiences, opinions and expectations online by the users on various social media platforms have become a trusted source of information for the consumers. This had led to brands connecting to online celebrities known as Social media influencers (SMI) to distribute information and influence consumer's product perceptions i.e., the concept of influencer marketing. SMI's are referred to as online opinion leaders with large numbers of followers to drive messages through their promotional posts. A lot of research has been done to study the impact of celebrity endorsements but currently there is a gap in research pertaining to consumer's perspective towards the SMI's and SMI's effects on consumers. The online survey of self -concept and alters its buying intentions when an influencer posts promotional conducted in the studies how the likeability and personality traits of an influencer affects the consumer understanding posts on Instagram. Significant relationships were found for both, the likability traits and consumer self-concept and personality traits and consumer self-concept. Also using predictive analysis, the extent to which each of the consumer self-concept statements affected the buying intentions was determined. These results provide practical implications for brand managers who plan to invest in influencer marketing. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Drivers of Healthcare Utilization amongthe Working and Non-Working Elderly Population: Insights from LASI
Background: The elderly population of India has been growing exponentially over the past few decades, caused by a decline in fertility and an increase in life expectancy. The growth eventually has transcended the disease burden on the public healthcare system. This calls for a need to evaluate the healthcare utilization pattern of the elderly based on their socioeconomic and working condition. Methods: Study used access to public and private healthcare services to measure healthcare utilization. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to understand utilization patterns by working status and some selected sociodemographic parameters. All the results were reported at a 95% confidence interval. Results: Using the data from the first wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) with a sample of 22,680 older persons 60 years and above. The study identified that 50% of the working elderly access private services; however, 26% access public healthcare services. It was found that the working status of the elderly alone did not influence access to healthcare services, but education is also an essential indicator for utilizing healthcare services. Further, factors such as gender, marital status, religion, wealth, tobacco usage, self-rated health, ADL and IADL were significant predictors of healthcare services utilization for the elderly. Conclusion: This study suggests that there are not many differences found among working and non-working status with healthcare utilization, although some sociodemographic indicators are associated with the utilization of healthcare services, highlighting that increasing health needs among the elderly requires strengthening the quality and appropriate public investment in health. 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. -
Exploring Drivers of Healthcare Utilization amongthe Working and Non-Working Elderly Population: Insights from LASI
Background: The elderly population of India has been growing exponentially over the past few decades, caused by a decline in fertility and an increase in life expectancy. The growth eventually has transcended the disease burden on the public healthcare system. This calls for a need to evaluate the healthcare utilization pattern of the elderly based on their socioeconomic and working condition. Methods: Study used access to public and private healthcare services to measure healthcare utilization. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to understand utilization patterns by working status and some selected sociodemographic parameters. All the results were reported at a 95% confidence interval. Results: Using the data from the first wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) with a sample of 22,680 older persons 60 years and above. The study identified that 50% of the working elderly access private services; however, 26% access public healthcare services. It was found that the working status of the elderly alone did not influence access to healthcare services, but education is also an essential indicator for utilizing healthcare services. Further, factors such as gender, marital status, religion, wealth, tobacco usage, self-rated health, ADL and IADL were significant predictors of healthcare services utilization for the elderly. Conclusion: This study suggests that there are not many differences found among working and non-working status with healthcare utilization, although some sociodemographic indicators are associated with the utilization of healthcare services, highlighting that increasing health needs among the elderly requires strengthening the quality and appropriate public investment in health. 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. -
Exploring digital twins: Attributes, challenges and risks
The recent approach to digitalization and digital transformation is based on the focus of every industry to develop systems and practices for optimizing the operational phase of the product lifecycle and beyond. Digital twins have become the buzzword in the domain of digital transformation. These Digital twins, which are a virtual representation of real-world occurrences such as processes, services, or products offer a new perspective to digitalization. It has emerged from Industry 4.0 and involves a mapping of the real physical world and the virtual world through Digital Twinning. Artificial Intelligence, Cryptography, Blockchain, Big Data technologies, and IoT act as technology enablers for Digital Twins. The capability of Digital Twin is its ability to cater to diverse applications. Within a decade, it has penetrated deeply into every functional aspect of business right from Patient Health Information Systems to remote control and maintenance of satellites/ space stations and to agriculture. This chapter has a focus on the key attributes, challenges, and risk factors that pertain to digital twin technologies and provides adequate examples from diverse sectors. The key challenges of digital twin technologies include Modeling the unknown, Transparency, Interpretability, Interactions with physical assets, Large-scale computation, Physical realism, Future projections, Data management, Privacy, Security and Quality. The four facets of risks related to Digital Twins include restrictions in access to system resources, theft of intellectual property, lack of compliance, and integrity issues in data/information. Hence, additional efforts and a holistic approach towards privacy and security are required to manage these risks. The holistic approach should cover hardware, software, and firmware together with the information that passes between them. Further, it is required to ensure that system, assets and data are adequately protected. Digital Twin technologies provide enormous competitive advantage for an organization, and a more pragmatic approach for mitigation of risks associated with digital twins is required. This would involve co-creation of Digital Twins with clients along with combined extensive knowledge of physical assets, disruptive technologies and appropriate security measures. 2023 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. -
Exploring digital age influences on undergraduate students mental health through social media, academic pressure and digital literacy
The research aims to measure the impact of usage of social media, academic pressure, and digital literacy, on mental health. It also aims to measure the mediating role of perceived stress on mental health of undergraduate students. Survey method was used for collecting data from a sample of 565 undergraduate students from state and private universities of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala. EFA and Path analysis was used for testing and validating the conceptual model. The results showed that Social Media Usage increases Perceived Stress and negatively impacts Mental Health Outcomes both directly and indirectly through Perceived Stress. Academic Pressure increases Perceived Stress, which negatively impacts Mental Health Outcomes indirectly. Digital Literacy reduces Perceived Stress and has a positive effect on Mental Health Outcomes both directly and indirectly through reduced stress. Perceived Stress was found to have a significantly negative impact on the Mental Health Outcomes. The demographic variables namely; age, gender, living status, family type, and course type were found to have a significant impact on the usage of social media, academic pressure, digital literacy, perceived stress, and mental health scores of undergraduate students. The study also came up with interventions for managing mental health of under graduate students. The Author(s) 2025. -
Exploring Determinants of User Generated Context : A Consumer Behaviour Perspective
The advances in digital technology and the Internet have accelerated the growth of the online ecosystem. The ease of access to the Internet by the masses has ensured phenomenal expansion among online users. The past decade newlinewitnessed tremendous growth of online applications, platforms and apps that are newlinehelping to solve complex human needs. The online ecosystem itself witnessed newlinetremendous change, while static information sources have been replaced with dynamic ones that allow online users to participate in the system. The vast information society has transformed from being just the consumer of information to the participant in the generation of the information source. Business finds the exponential growth of online users and their active participation as an opportunity. Business benefits by sensing the market trends quickly in a better newlineway and take timely remedial actions. newlineDespite immense benefits offered by the online mode of business, many challenges have surfaced in recent times on account of ever-increasing technological sophistication and exponential growth of unique and similar newlineproduct offerings and associated reviews. The presence of many similar product offerings and associated reviews creates a technology-induced hurdle, with the potential to impair the rational thought process of consumers, who often search, scan and vote for only the top few reviews of selected products. This has the potential to make aged reviews continuously accumulate votes over time and newlineretain their near top position in the helpful review list, compared to recent quality newlinereviews. The current study applies statistically and scientifically derived newlinehelpfulness scores for ranking reviews and placing them at their appropriate positions. The study derived helpfulness scores enable re-ranking reviews of consumer products. The initial review dataset is constructed from publicly available reviews in Amazon.in. -
-
Exploring cybernetic approaches to sustainable co-working spaces in emerging economies: a sentiment analysis
Purpose In quest of achieving long-term sustainability of co-working spaces (CWSs) and drawing on the cybernetic principles, this study aims to develop a resilient business model promoting economic viability, encouraging environmental responsibility and reinforcing its social impact. Furthermore, to address the transformative shift in way people work in emerging economies, this study probed respondents from India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and finally identified critical challenges and opportunities bringing in maximum customer satisfaction and achieving long-term business profitability. Design/methodology/approach Using a multi-method qualitative triangulation approach (sentiment analysis), the study collected primary data from India and UAE, analysed through the grounded theory approach. Whereas secondary data in form of tweets was tested using text-mining approach using NVivo. The findings from the dual study were corroborated to identify common dimensions, leading to the development of a hypothetical framework. Findings In CWSs business, dynamic organisation culture holds key in fostering future sustainability, and the study has explored its important antecedents like adaptive management, continuous innovation and technological integration. The impact of these antecedents was found to be moderated by two critical dimensions of regulatory challenges and competitive landscape. Furthermore, the study delved into connecting with the principles of circular economy moderating the impact of dynamic organisation culture towards long-term sustainability of CWSs. Practical implications This study applies cybernetic principles alongside shared and circular economy frameworks to assess consumer perceptions of CWSs. The insights generated can guide researchers, entrepreneurs, urban planners and policymakers in designing flexible business models, strengthening community networks and exploring diverse revenue streams to enhance resilience and long-term growth. Originality/value This research provides empirical evidence on the sustainability dynamics of CWSs, offering a balanced perspective on overcoming challenges and leveraging growth opportunities. Additionally, it bridges the concepts of cybernetics, shared economy and circular economy, presenting a novel framework for ensuring the sustainable development of CWS businesses. 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited -
Exploring cultural contexts of dog ownership Mental health and satisfaction with life among university students in India
The rising social value of pet ownership is infuenced by social media and evidence of positive efects on well-being, leading to a rise in dog ownership in younger generations. However, the mental health outcomes of this broader shif, especially in India, have not been studied. The study explored the association between dog owners relationships, mental health, and satisfaction with life among university students. A cross-sectional correlational design was used with 250 students aged 1825 who were either dog owners or without pets. The dog owners responded to the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale, apart from the Mental Health Continuum and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results showed a non-signifcant diference between mental health and satisfaction with life between dog owners and non-pet respondents. A positive relationship could not be established between dog ownership, mental health, and satisfaction with life. The dogs gender and breed infuenced the owners emotional bonding and interactions. Low perceived costs were related to a strong emotional bond with the dog, highlighting the complex nature of the pet ownership experience. Dog ownerships efect on students well-being is not universal and might depend on various individual, cultural, and contextual factors. Exploration of these human-animal interactions is warranted. 2025 John Benjamins Publishing Company. -
Exploring Cross-cultural Comfort Food Narratives in Beryl Shereshewskys YouTube Videos
This article explores how certain food and the stories linked to the same are capable of evoking feelings of comfort and security. Food binds people together. The rituals and practices surrounding food inspire and sustain the association of various memories, experiences and emotions. The area of food studies is especially interested in how these linkages translate into the practice of nourishment. The narratives surrounding comfort food take on a cross-cultural flavour in the videos from Beryl Shereshewskys YouTube channel. This article analyses these narratives through the lens of Symbolic Interactionism to explicate how these food narratives bring people together from across the world by evoking the universal needs of food and comfort. Consequently, it is seen that even though it is true that the experience of consuming comfort food is extremely personal, it is also rendered as a universal phenomenon through the narratives that are created and shared. 2023 MICA-The School of Ideas. -
Exploring Consumer Choices and Shopping Patterns: Examining Influences on Consumer Choices
This chapter explores the dynamic world of consumer behaviour and buying patterns, focusing on the psychological, social, cultural, and economic factors that shape decisions. It examines how consumers manage their preferences and choices in various market situations, highlighting trends like sustainable consumption, loyalty-driven purchases, and impulsive buying. The chapter also investigates the impact of the digital revolution, including social media and e-commerce, on consumer engagement and purchasing habits. By addressing elements such as peer influence, brand perception, and decision-making processes, it emphasises the importance of understanding consumer diversity in demographics, culture, and lifestyle. Combining theoretical frameworks, real-world examples, and data-driven insights, this chapter provides businesses and researchers with a foundation for predicting demands and creating effective marketing strategies. 2025 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Exploring Conditional Generative Models for Sketch-to-Image Translation: cGAN, cVAE, and Conditional Diffusion Models
Creating realistic facial pictures from hand-drawn sketches is of significant utility in forensic investigations because eyewitness drawings are frequently the only visual leads for suspect identification. Turning a hand-drawn sketch into a realistic image is a difficult task. This is because sketches lack detailed information, they are abstracted, and ambiguous. Most of the conventional image creation and generation techniques tend to lose facial structure, identity, and realism. This makes it a great area for generative AI. This paper is a comparative analysis of three generative models: Conditional GANs, Conditional VAEs, and Conditional Diffusion Models. We evaluate these models on the sketch-to-image synthesis problem using the CUHK Face Sketch Dataset. We recognize and compare how every model handles the challenge of generating images from sketches of faces, with an emphasis on producing realistic images, maintaining identity and diversity. The paper demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It also offers insights into their usefulness for forensic applications and suggests directions for future improvements through combined or specialized generative structures. 2025 IEEE. -
Exploring Conditional Generative Models for Sketch-to-Image Translation: cGAN, cVAE, and Conditional Diffusion Models
Creating realistic facial pictures from hand-drawn sketches is of significant utility in forensic investigations because eyewitness drawings are frequently the only visual leads for suspect identification. Turning a hand-drawn sketch into a realistic image is a difficult task. This is because sketches lack detailed information, they are abstracted, and ambiguous. Most of the conventional image creation and generation techniques tend to lose facial structure, identity, and realism. This makes it a great area for generative AI. This paper is a comparative analysis of three generative models: Conditional GANs, Conditional VAEs, and Conditional Diffusion Models. We evaluate these models on the sketch-to-image synthesis problem using the CUHK Face Sketch Dataset. We recognize and compare how every model handles the challenge of generating images from sketches of faces, with an emphasis on producing realistic images, maintaining identity and diversity. The paper demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It also offers insights into their usefulness for forensic applications and suggests directions for future improvements through combined or specialized generative structures. 2025 IEEE. -
Exploring Communication Authenticity Anxiety: A Data-DrivenPsychological Analysis of Al-Generated Content on StudentSelf-Perception and Expression
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini are becoming more common in student communication, owing to the improvement that they offer in fluency and efficiency, but at the same time raise concerns about authenticity. Students struggle to put their authentic voice forward in the quest to enhance their work using these writing assistants. Many surveys have been conducted, which indicate widespread use of AI tools for education-related chores, yet these studies ignore the emotional effects related to this. The psychological discomfort related to authenticity in text-based communication is still not well examined and to address this gap, this study introduces a term called Communication Authenticity Anxiety and successfully examines its relationship with self-perception, academic stress, resilience, and AI dependence. Data were collected via a structured student survey and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, regression modeling and machine learning techniques. Results show that self-perception and academic stress are the strongest predictors of authenticity anxiety, while resilience and AI dependence have weaker effects. These findings were further validated by Machine Learning models, with Random Forest achieving 75% accuracy and XGBoost achieving {9 2%}. This study, thus, successfully contributes to understanding the various psychological consequences of AI-generated content on student identity and expression, thereby providing valuable insights for crafting responsible educational policies. 2025 IEEE. -
Exploring Communication Authenticity Anxiety: A Data-DrivenPsychological Analysis of Al-Generated Content on StudentSelf-Perception and Expression
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini are becoming more common in student communication, owing to the improvement that they offer in fluency and efficiency, but at the same time raise concerns about authenticity. Students struggle to put their authentic voice forward in the quest to enhance their work using these writing assistants. Many surveys have been conducted, which indicate widespread use of AI tools for education-related chores, yet these studies ignore the emotional effects related to this. The psychological discomfort related to authenticity in text-based communication is still not well examined and to address this gap, this study introduces a term called Communication Authenticity Anxiety and successfully examines its relationship with self-perception, academic stress, resilience, and AI dependence. Data were collected via a structured student survey and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, regression modeling and machine learning techniques. Results show that self-perception and academic stress are the strongest predictors of authenticity anxiety, while resilience and AI dependence have weaker effects. These findings were further validated by Machine Learning models, with Random Forest achieving 75% accuracy and XGBoost achieving {9 2%}. This study, thus, successfully contributes to understanding the various psychological consequences of AI-generated content on student identity and expression, thereby providing valuable insights for crafting responsible educational policies. 2025 IEEE. -
Exploring chatbot trust: Antecedents and behavioural outcomes
An awareness about the antecedents and behavioural outcomes of trust in chatbots can enable service providers to design suitable marketing strategies. An online questionnaire was administered to users of four major banking chatbots (SBI Intelligent Assistant, HDFC Bank's Electronic Virtual Assistant, ICICI bank's iPal, and Axis Aha) in India. A total of 507 samples were received of which 435 were complete and subject to analysis to test the hypotheses. Based on the results, it is found that the hypothesised antecedents, except interface, design, and technology fear factors, could explain 38.6% of the variance in the banking chatbot trust. Further, in terms of behavioural outcomes chatbot trust could explain, 9.9% of the variance in customer attitude, 11.4% of the variance in behavioural intention, and 13.6% of the variance in user satisfaction. The study provides valuable insights for managers on how they can leverage chatbot trust to increase customer interaction with their brand. By proposing and testing a novel conceptual model and examining the factors that impact chatbot trust and its key outcomes, this study significantly contributes to the AI marketing literature. 2023 The Authors