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The purpose of this paper is to undertake a phenomenological study of the working conditions and living standards of private security guards (private police) in New Delhi. The focus here is to bring forth their lived experiences as security guards.

The paper touches briefly upon the theoretical formulations on phenomenological sociology. The principal emphasis here is on the field application of phenomenology as a methodology of social inquiry – how phenomenology was put to use, the research problems encountered and how these research conundrums were navigated. The research makes use of interview as the technique of data collection. The study uses purposive and convenience sampling.

The research has tried to bring forth the lived experiences of the private security guards as regards to their job and living conditions, by “bracketing off” the author’s biases to the best of the author’s capacity. From the interview responses, some higher level concepts have been formulated, called the “essence” of lived experiences.

As the sample size is small, the research cannot be considered a peremptory account of the “lived experiences” applicable to all the private security guards in Delhi. Such sweeping generalizations need to be avoided.

Besides highlighting the lived experiences of the private security guards, the larger purpose of this paper to solicit critical comments from the readers so that the field application of phenomenology could be better understood and refined further.

This is an original research work carried out by the author. During the fieldwork, “reflexivity” has been the author’s constant companion, where the author has tried best to keep the author’s prejudices at bay. Its value is twofold: first, as phenomenological research works on private security guards are few in India, this study can stimulate further research works in this field and second, the research can carry forward the debate on how to improve further phenomenological research works.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and validate a robust industrial control system. The aim is to design a Multivariable Proportional Integral controller that accommodates multiple responses while considering the process's control and noise parameters. In addition, this paper intended to develop a multidisciplinary approach by combining computational science, control engineering and statistical methodologies to ensure a resilient process with the best use of available resources.

Taguchi's robust design methodology and multi-response optimisation approaches are adopted to meet the research aims. Two-Input-Two-Output transfer function model of the distillation column system is investigated. In designing the control system, the Steady State Gain Matrix and process factors such as time constant (t) and time delay (?) are also used. The unique methodology is implemented and validated using the pilot plant's distillation column. To determine the robustness of the proposed control system, a simulation study, statistical analysis and real-time experimentation are conducted. In addition, the outcomes are compared to different control algorithms.

Research indicates that integral control parameters (K_i) affect outputs substantially more than proportional control parameters (K_p). The results of this paper show that control and noise parameters must be considered to make the control system robust. In addition, Taguchi's approach, in conjunction with multi-response optimisation, ensures robust controller design with optimal use of resources. Eventually, this research shows that the best outcomes for all the performance indices are achieved when Kp11 = 1.6859, Kp12 = −2.061, Kp21 = 3.1846, Kp22 = −1.2176, Ki11 = 1.0628, Ki12 = −1.2989, Ki21 = 2.454 and Ki22 = −0.7676.

This paper provides a step-by-step strategy for designing and validating a multi-response control system that accommodates controllable and uncontrollable parameters (noise parameters). The methodology can be used in any industrial Multi-Input-Multi-Output system to ensure process robustness. In addition, this paper proposes a multidisciplinary approach to industrial controller design that academics and industry can refine and improve.

Through a thematic analysis, this research study aims to examine the role of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and self-help groups (SHGs) in empowering rural women and their contribution to financial inclusion in India. Sustainable development can be achieved when resources are equally available and accessible for all, irrespective of gender differences.

For qualitative research, the response was collected through focused group discussion and gathered responses from members working in SHGs in Uttarakhand in India. Thematic analysis was done to analyse the data till the saturation level was reached.

Despite several socio-economic developments worldwide, women still fall among some of the most vulnerable communities, unable to access resources at par with men. Thus, women’s empowerment emerges as a theme central to sustainable development. MFIs are looking to empower women by increasing their savings habits. There are consistent efforts on the part of the government to formalize the system of SHGs and give them additional financial support by creating a proper link between the banking system and SHGs. We also need technology and innovation for creating financial literacy among women. Women’s empowerment cannot be achieved unless they are involved in financial inclusion by creating awareness.

The research focuses on people’s socio-economic development, especially women living in hilly and rural areas within the specific context of Uttarakhand in India. This research will provide an opportunity for strategic approaches and reveal the areas where government needs to focus for sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate food supply chain stakeholders’ intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in food supply chains.

The authors used a quantitative research design and collected data using an online survey administered to a sample of 264 food supply chain stakeholders in Nigeria. The partial least square structural equation model was conducted to assess the research’s hypothesised relationships.

The authors provide empirical evidence to support the contributions of I5.0 drones for cleaner production. The findings showed that food supply chain stakeholders are more concerned with the use of I5.0 drones in specific operations, such as reducing plant diseases, which invariably enhances cleaner production. However, there is less inclination to drone adoption if the aim was pollution reduction, predicting seasonal output and addressing workers’ health and safety challenges. The findings outline the need for awareness to promote the use of drones for addressing workers’ hazard challenges and knowledge transfer on the potentials of I5.0 in emerging economies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address I5.0 drones’ adoption using a sustainability model. The authors contribute to existing literature by extending the sustainability model to identify the contributions of drone use in promoting cleaner production through addressing specific system operations. This study addresses the gap by augmenting a sustainability model, suggesting that technology adoption for sustainability is motivated by curbing challenges categorised as drivers and mediators.

The distributed generation (DG) proper placement is an extremely rebellious concern for attaining their extreme potential profits. This paper aims to propose the application of the communal spider optimization algorithm (CSOA) to the performance model of the wind turbine unit (WTU) and photovoltaic (PV) array locating method. It also involves the power loss reduction and voltage stability improvement of the ring main distribution system (DS).

This paper replicates the efficiency of WTU and PV array enactment models in the placement of DG. The effectiveness of the voltage stability factor considered in computing the voltage stability levels of buses in the DS is studied.

The voltage stability levels are augmented, and total losses are diminished for the taken bus system. The accomplished outcomes exposed the number of PV arrays accompanied by the optimal bus location for various penetration situations.

The optimal placement and sizing of wind- and solar-based DGs are tested on the 15- and 69-test bus system.

Moreover, the projected CSOA algorithm outperforms the PSOA, IAPSOA, BBO, ACO and BSO optimization techniques.

With the rapid increase in the consumption of electrical and electronic innovations, responsible management and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been a significant concern for the governments, stakeholders, researchers and industry practitioners around the world. Consumer awareness, disposal behaviour and perception are chief facets of designing sustainable management strategies. Although researchers have widely studied e-waste over many years, the research focusing on consumer awareness about e-waste recycling has gained momentum recently. This paper aims to systematise the existing literature and explore future research prospects on household e-waste sorting behaviour.

Web of science (WoS) core collection was searched using selected keywords to identify relevant articles published from 2001 to 2021. The search resulted in 1,156 research articles published from 2001 to 2021. After a detailed study, 85 articles were shortlisted for in-depth review. The review was conducted based on global trends, top journals, most prolific authors, most active e-waste research countries, and institutions centring on consumer participation in e-waste disposal and recycling behaviour. The present research has also identified around eleven factors that seem to have a bearing on consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste.

E-waste research has gained increased attention in the last five years. The majority of the studies has focused on motivational factors and ignore the risks associated with handling e-waste. The present study reports the pertinent issue of lack of awareness among the masses about e-waste handling and disposal. Thus, bringing to the fore the lack of awareness programmes and initiatives. The analysis presents the gaps in the literature and future research agendas.

The review article will help in providing an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste and delineates the future direction of research that may be undertaken in this field of study.

Many corporates in India are constantly adapting real estate benchmarks to reduce the workspace maintenance cost. However, anecdotally benchmarking the experience of clients while designing the workspace maintenance policies is not adequately taken into consideration in India. The focus of this study is on benchmarking workspace usage based on client usability.

The research is descriptive in nature. A structured questionnaire was sent to Information Technology (IT) companies in India to collect data through SurveyMonkey. Stratified sampling was used to collect a sample of 697 respondents which was also verified using G* software. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and partial least square–structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to investigate the mediating effect of benchmarking the workspace usage on portfolio optimization and client satisfaction.

The structural model results obtained through the bootstrapping technique show that benchmarking workspace usage for real estate management positively impacts client satisfaction in the Indian IT workspace. The findings of this study support the full mediation effect (97%) and indicate that benchmarking practices are necessary for developing strategies for optimal portfolio asset utilization and are essential to survive in the current competitive business environment.

The findings of this study were influenced by the feedback from the top 100 IT clients in India. The research findings vary according to the cost-benefit analysis of adopting benchmarking measures in small and medium-sized IT companies which still benchmark the workspace usage based on cost-saving measures. Also, very sparse research has been conducted in the workspace management domain of IT firms, so the results of this study can further be used as a reference to explore this area.

The study provides useful insights into how benchmarking in the workspace management domain of the CRE industry can be applied to address portfolio-related challenges, divergent client needs and improve workspace usability following energy-efficient policies. Practitioners can use this study as a guide to develop more effective workspace management policies.

This study may guide other firms to benchmark their current workspace usage and evaluate the impact of their workspace management policies based on the theoretical framework of value-added balanced benchmarking criteria.

This research adds value to the limited literature available on the impact of technology-enabled portfolio optimization techniques through benchmarking which can reduce workspace usage and enhance the usability of the workspace.

This study aims to explore the conversion of metaverse marketing (MVM) into strategic agility among SMEs based on dynamic capabilities (DC) and dynamic management capabilities (DMC) theories. This paper discusses how constructs such as immersive marketing technologies (IMT), customer immersion (CI) and managerial capabilities (MC) play critical role in the transformation of MVM into strategic agility (SA).

A theoretical framework based on DC and DMC theories, and a comprehensive review of the literature on MVM, IMT, CI, MC and SA, was developed in order to theoretically investigate the relationships between MVM and SA. In this theoretical framework, MVM is the independent variable, while the dependent variable is SA. Also, IMT and CI both mediate the association between MVM and SA, while MC moderate the association between MVM and SA in one stream; and CI and SA in another stream.

This research study develops a theoretical framework that recommends nine set of important research propositions in MVM. An extensive literature review was conducted to examine the theoretical framework on the effect of MVM on SA. The proposed theoretical framework suggests that brand community development and communication, experiential marketing and personalisation in MVM, once accessed through IMT (i.e. VR, AR, MR) and CI (i.e. customer engagement, customer absorption-customer acquisition and assimilation of knowledge, presence) can produce significant SA through customer experience management, value co-creation and process innovation.

This current study develops a theoretical framework that theorise the relationship between MVM and SA rooted in literature on MVM and SA, and also based on DC and DMC perspective. The moderating effect of MC on the relationship between IMT and SA on one hand, and CI and SA on the other, provides support to IMT and CI as mediators in the transformation of MVM into SA. This study also provides insight into SME adoption of MVM and how it generates SA. Lastly, the current study contributes to the body of knowledge on MVM, IMT, CI, MC and SA.

The purpose of this study is to examine the synergistic effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and economic challenges on suicide risk, under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, using a prospective population-based cohort study.

Participants included 435 adults (aged from 18 to 92 years, mean = 53.8) from the Utsunomiya COVID-19 seROprevalence Neighborhood Association (U-CORONA) study, a population-based longitudinal study in Utsunomiya city, Japan. The baseline survey was conducted in June 2020, between the first and the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. ACEs were assessed using 13 items, and economic challenges due to the COVID-19 were assessed using one item. In the follow-up study, conducted in October 2020 between the second and the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, suicide risk was assessed using six items from the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview via a self-reported questionnaire.

This study found positive independent association between ACEs and economic challenges due to COVID-19 and suicide risk. Synergistic effects were also found: the participants with one ACE and economic challenges and those with 2+ ACEs and economic challenges were more likely to be at higher risk of suicide compared to those without ACEs and economic challenges.

The findings suggest that adults with a higher number of ACEs, in addition to severe economic challenges, were more likely to be at risk for suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to present a great deal of interest in researching plant-based phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals as a possible alternative to synthetic medication, both to avoid their side effects and for financial reasons.

Mankind has used medicinal plants since the beginning of civilization. Nature has been explored as a source of therapeutic chemicals for thousands of years, and many modern drugs have been discovered from natural sources. The primary medical care system of resource-poor areas in India has continued to rely on traditional medicine as the most accessible and reasonably priced form of treatment.

Tinospora cordifolia is a plant that is frequently used in Ayurvedic and traditional medicine throughout India. Although almost all of its parts are used in conventional medical systems, the leaves, stems and roots are the most significant ones used medicinally. All forms of existence can benefit from the versatility of T. cordifolia. It includes a wide variety of compounds that impact the body.

The goal of this review is to provide a concise summary of the knowledge about the pharmacological, phytochemistry, botanical, ethnopharmacology, toxicity study, marketed products and patents of the T. cordifolia plant.