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1 – 9 of 9Gahana Gopal C., Yogesh B. Patil, Shibin K.T. and Anand Prakash
The purpose of this paper is to formulate frameworks for the drivers and barriers of integrated sustainable solid waste management (ISSWM) with reference to conditions prevailing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to formulate frameworks for the drivers and barriers of integrated sustainable solid waste management (ISSWM) with reference to conditions prevailing in India.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-phased approach was adopted in this paper to come up with the conceptual framework of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM. In the first phase, drivers and barriers of ISSWM were identified based on a systematic literature review process. In the second phase, 25 experts having 15 plus years of experience in the field of sustainable development and environmental management were consulted to get their opinion. Validation and understanding of the interrelationship among the selected drivers and barriers were done based on the insights from expert interviews. And in the final phase, structural self-interaction matrix and transitive links are defined based on the expert opinion to come up with the theoretical frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM.
Findings
Findings reveal the importance to have a system view point approach by giving equal importance to social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainability along with the technology component to effectively and sustainably manage the solid waste disposal. Institutional effectiveness and the robust policy and frameworks are the two variables found to have the highest driving power. Poor social values and ethics, huge population and illiteracy are the three most critical barriers faced by developing nations in achieving the sustainability practices in the solid waste management. The proposed frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM will definitely help policy makers to effectively manage the sustainable waste management practices for developing economies by focusing on the key variables listed out.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limitations is in the use of very limited sample size in the study. Another limitation is that total interpretive structural modeling fails to come up with the relative weightings of drivers and barriers used in the study. These limitations can be overcome by extending the research by using a semi-structured questionnaire survey with higher sample size for the empirical validation of the model.
Practical implications
This research will help to clearly understand the framework of drivers and barriers of variables and their hierarchical level based on the driving power and dependence. Since such articles focusing on the conceptual frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM are found to be very scant, this paper will equally help academicians and waste management professionals to understand the concepts deeply, by getting answers to the fundamental questions of “what,” “why” and “how.” Developed framework of drivers explicitly shows the need to attain financial stability through the commercialization of the waste management initiatives, which will help to reduce burden on various governmental institutions. Commercialization opportunities will also help to have more successful start-up ventures in solid waste management domain that can provide improved employment opportunities and hygiene environment in the developing nations like India.
Originality/value
Based on the authors’ best knowledge, there is hardly any article that explicitly explains the conceptual frameworks of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM by considering the conditions prevailing in developing countries like India. And thus, this can be considered as one of the unique research attempts to build a clear conceptual framework of ISSWM. The study contributes significantly to the existing literature body by clearly interpreting the interrelationships and the driving power and dependence of variables of ISSWM.
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Pranali Piyush Yenkar and Sudhirkumar D. Sawarkar
Social media platform, like Twitter, has increasingly become the mode of reporting civic issues owing to their vast and fast reachability. A tremendous amount of information on…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platform, like Twitter, has increasingly become the mode of reporting civic issues owing to their vast and fast reachability. A tremendous amount of information on urban issues is shared every moment out of which some tweets may need immediate attention to save lives or avoid future disasters. Existing approaches are only limited to the identification of complaint tweets; however, its prioritization based on urgency is still unexplored. This study aims to decide the ranking of complaints based on its criticality derived using multiple parameters, like type of complaint, season, day or night, gender, holiday or working day, etc.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach proposes an ensemble of multi-class classification (MCC) and “two-level” multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) algorithms, like AHP and TOPSIS, to evaluate the accurate ranking score of the tweet based on the severity of the issue. Initially, the MCC is applied to tweets to categorize the tweets into three categories, i.e. moderate, urgent and immediate. Further, the first level of MCDM algorithm decides the ranking within each complaint type, and the second level evaluates the ranking across all types. Integration of MCC and MCDM methods further helps to increase the accuracy of the result.
Findings
The paper discusses various parameters and investigates how their combination plays a significant role in deciding the priority of complaints. It successfully demonstrates that MCDM techniques are helpful in generating the ranking score of tweets based on various criteria.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to prioritize the complaint tweet which helps the local government to take time-bound actions and save a life.
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The purpose of this paper is to share knowledge of how annotation can be the basis for knowledge sharing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to share knowledge of how annotation can be the basis for knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used was derived from mathematical methods applied to set theory.
Findings
It was presented that one document can be easily used for experience sharing with multiple users. Multiple documents will be difficult to use as source of experience sharing.
Originality/value
Experience sharing has never been presented as intersection of annotation, document and users using mathematic principles.
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Taking as a point of departure the edited collection Yaraana (1999), ostensibly the first mainstream publication on gay writing from India, the purpose of this article is to trace…
Abstract
Purpose
Taking as a point of departure the edited collection Yaraana (1999), ostensibly the first mainstream publication on gay writing from India, the purpose of this article is to trace the way Indian authors have dealt with the growing visibility of nonnormative sexualities. It suggests that from the start this debate has centered on a dyad between local and culturally specific sexual identities vs its globalized opposite, which is held to threaten regionally specific expressions. The continuing struggle for recognition and equality is revealing for a growing divide between those whose sexuality can rely on growing representation in Indian popular media, and those who feel increasingly marginalized.
Design/methodology/approach
This article revisits important texts that were published and publicly accessible in India from 1999 onwards. All the text considered and discussed were accessible outside academic networks and thus, available in mainstream bookstores, produced by Indian authors or long-term residents and available in English. Considering the vast language diversity of India as well as the complexity of gaining access to locally published materials, the analysis does not include texts that are only available in a vernacular language. Besides this, the article benefits from the direct input of key activists and scholars from India working on this topic.
Findings
Even if homosexuality has now been decriminalized in India, what emerges from the writing is a concern that globally hegemonic expressions of alternate sexualities might impact, homogenize and eventually eradicate locally specific expressions. Considering socioeconomic equality in India, this raises serious questions about those whose precarious positions may see them further marginalized because of this.
Originality/value
While there have been various overviews and analyses of the fight for decriminalization of homosexuality in India, so far there has not been an analysis how this benefited from a growing awareness and discussion in popularly accessible texts. This analysis also raises concerns that the fight for decriminalization might have negative consequences for those in marginalized positions.
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Sudhir Rana, Sanjeev Prashar, Munim Kumar Barai and Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid
The main objective of this study is to evolve the basis of beneficial impact assessment of international marketing strategy (IMS) for emerging market multinationals by applying…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to evolve the basis of beneficial impact assessment of international marketing strategy (IMS) for emerging market multinationals by applying construct-measurement research methodology. The purpose of this study is to link the conceptual definition and empirical indicators of the proposed integrated model with the objective on “Developing Model to Assess Benefit Impacts Generated by International Marketing”, the authors named it GAMBIT.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from international marketing executives and senior management executives from Indian manufacturing firms using Churchill's approach (1979, 1987). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling (using SPSS Statistics 20.0 and AMOS) were used to develop the GAMBIT model. Various hypotheses pertaining to perfect order fulfillment and quality level were formulated.
Findings
In the order of significance, the four key influential factors for beneficial impact assessment in the multicultural global environment are as follows: sources of beneficial impacts; operational efficiency; international marketing strategic choice and beneficial outcomes.
Originality/value
Although companies have realized the importance of assessing beneficial impacts, they often do not know how exactly the assessment should be made. Thus, the present study provides a useful tool for evaluating the totality of beneficial impacts offered by IMS.
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Abhilasha Meena, Sanjay Dhir and Sushil
This study aims to identify and prioritize various growth-accelerating factors in the Indian automotive industry. It further develops a hierarchical model to examine the mutual…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify and prioritize various growth-accelerating factors in the Indian automotive industry. It further develops a hierarchical model to examine the mutual interactions between the factors, their dependence and their driving power.
Design/methodology/approach
This study first identifies the growth-accelerating factors and then uses the modified total interpretive structural modeling (m-TISM) framework, which is an extended version of TISM. It further uses MICMAC analysis to analyze the mutual interrelation between the identified factors.
Findings
This study highlights the interrelation amongst the factors using m-TISM model. A hierarchical model shows the level of autonomous, dependence, linkage and independent factors considering the Indian automotive industry. This study also provides the understanding related to the interdependence of growth-accelerating factors.
Research limitations/implications
The government and practitioners could evaluate the growth-accelerating factors which have higher driving power for implementing efficient policies and strategy formulation. By implementing m-TISM model in the Indian automotive industry, auto manufacturers can become more productive and profitable. Future studies could use other methods such as expert opinion to derive the factors, and further model could be verified using structural equation modeling technique.
Originality/value
This study uses a novel m-TISM framework for the analysis of growth-accelerating factors in the context of the Indian automotive industry. It further provides a detailed theoretical and conceptual understanding relating to the philosophy and establishes an interrelation amongst these under-researched growth-accelerating factors.
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The paper demonstrates prejudicial effects of the rising private participation and the lacuna of state in ensuring the accessibility and affordability of healthcare.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper demonstrates prejudicial effects of the rising private participation and the lacuna of state in ensuring the accessibility and affordability of healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data analysis from national and international databases is employed to demonstrate the low government spending and the alternate healthcare financing mechanisms in the country. The company reports of six Indian pharma companies are examined to map the profits and revenues, and also taking into account the sales growth and return on investment.
Findings
The paper observes the pharmaceutical sector, via its spiralling drug prices, is the primary contributor to the huge out-of-pocket expenses borne by households. The study findings indicate that there is an increased divergence between the out-of-pocket expenses of households and exorbitant profits of the private drug companies in the country over the years.
Research limitations/implications
Amidst debates on the importance of public health in the aftermath of the pandemic, the paper examines the rising hands of private sector in healthcare, and implores – who benefits? The authors study the implications via looking into the rise in the wealth of pharma giants; at the time of crisis when the lives of common citizens in the country were at stake.
Originality/value
The paper emphasises the repercussions of the higher markup of the pharma industry in raising the healthcare costs of households. The authors emphasise that the nonregulation of the pharma sector leads to high medical debts/poverty, in the wake of growing out-of-pocket expenditures of the citizens.
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Prachi Bhavesh Sanghvi and Seema Mehrotra
The purpose of this review was to examine Indian research on help-seeking for mental health problems in adults.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review was to examine Indian research on help-seeking for mental health problems in adults.
Design/methodology/approach
Original Indian research studies on help-seeking for mental health, published from the year 2001−2019 were searched on PubMed, EBSCO, ProQuest and OVID using a set of relevant keywords. After applying exclusion criteria, 52 relevant research studies were identified.
Findings
The reviewed studies spanned a variety of themes such as barriers and facilitators to help-seeking, sources of help-seeking, causal attributions as well as other correlates of help-seeking, process of help-seeking and interventions to increase help-seeking. The majority of these studies were carried out in general community samples or treatment-seeking samples. Very few studies incorporated non-treatment seeking distressed samples. There is a severe dearth of studies on interventions to improve help-seeking. Studies indicate multiple barriers to seeking professional help and highlight that mere knowledge about illness and availability of professional services may be insufficient to minimize delays in professional help-seeking.
Originality/value
Help-seeking in the Indian context is often a family-based decision-making process. Multi-pronged help-seeking interventions that include components aimed at reducing barriers experienced by non-treatment seeking distressed persons and empowering informal support providers with knowledge and skills for encouraging professional help-seeking in their significant others may be useful.
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This paper aims to explore the evolving needs of Indian men and their aspirations regarding work–life balance practices. The ultimate aim is to assess whether the available…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the evolving needs of Indian men and their aspirations regarding work–life balance practices. The ultimate aim is to assess whether the available policies are helpful and to explore the various roadblocks in their implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes a qualitative approach and draws on the semi-structured interviews of Indian men (N = 19).
Findings
The analysis revealed an asymmetrical approach of organizations toward implementing employee benefit policies. The organizations remain plagued by the notion that “benefits policies” are needed only by women to carry out additional family responsibilities, whereas men remain aloof from such responsibilities, which takes its strength from the patriarchal roots of Indian society. This study reveals two major themes: lack of appreciation for gender egalitarianism arising among men at the work–family interface’ and the coping practices by men to address their ‘role strain arising due to work–family conflict. It is noted that there is a need to formulate policies and practices to cater to men’s evolving aspirations toward the family–work interface.
Originality/value
This study furthers the debate on inclusive policies for employees and examines the subsection of men for their evolving needs and aspirations. Although organizations live in the glory of having employee-friendly policies, they offer little help in advancing gender neutrality in the workplace. The inclusive policies shall also be helpful for females because it would increase the availability of their partners/spouses to share the family responsibilities.
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