Gambhir Shrestha, Rashmi Mulmi, Deepak Kumar Yadav, Dharanidhar Baral, Birendra Kumar Yadav, Avaniendra Chakravartty, Paras Kumar Pokharel and Nidesh Sapkota
The purpose of this paper is to assess the health status and risky behaviours of inmates in Nepal.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the health status and risky behaviours of inmates in Nepal.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jhumka Regional Prison, the largest male prison in eastern Nepal from September 2014 to August 2015. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews from 434 randomly selected incarcerated participants using semi-structured questionnaires.
Findings
The mean age of 434 participants was 35.7 years (SD 13.3). The majority (84 per cent) had at least one current health problem, of which the commonest were respiratory (50 per cent), skin (38 per cent) and digestive (26 per cent). Alcohol (73 per cent) and cigarettes (71 per cent) were the most commonly used substances prior to imprisonment. Approximately, 27 and 11 per cent reported illicit drug use and injectable drug use prior to incarceration, respectively. A total of 204 inmates reported having intercourse with sex workers. Of these, 49 per cent did not use a condom in their last intercourse with a sex worker.
Research limitations/implications
This paper illustrates that a wide range of physical and mental health problems exist among incarcerated people in Nepal. The study may lack generalisability, however, as it was conducted in a single male prison.
Practical implications
The paper suggests a need for medical, psychiatric and substance abuse care in correctional settings to improve the health status of the prison population. It is also important to develop screening policies for blood-borne viral and other infectious diseases in the prison.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind drawn from prisons in Nepal.
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Sirje Virkus, Getaneh Agegn Alemu, Tsigereda Asfaw Demissie, Besim Jakup Kokollari, Liliana M. Melgar Estrada and Deepak Yadav
This paper aims to explore the literature on integration of digital libraries and virtual learning environments (VLEs).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the literature on integration of digital libraries and virtual learning environments (VLEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Searches were carried out on Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), from 2000 to 2008 using the terms “digital libraries” and “virtual learning environments”. In addition, references of relevant articles found in LISA were used to identify additional sources. In total, this literature review analyses 23 articles.
Findings
Digital libraries and VLEs have been designed, developed and maintained rather separately. Integration is essential to provide seamless access to content and services to the academic community. The integration process is confronted with many challenges where technical, human and administrative challenges are central concerns. The integration would promote a collaborative approach to learning, re‐usability of resources, cross‐searching and time saving for academics, librarians and students. In addition, librarians have to rethink their profession and role in the digital age as well as provide the integration with conceptual and theoretical frameworks.
Research limitations/implications
LISA was used but other databases, including educational databases, such as ERIC, were not consulted for sources. The language of the documents was limited to English only.
Originality/value
This paper can help the academic and library community to understand the challenges, issues and implications of integration of digital libraries and VLEs. This literature review is also built upon previous literature reviews, and is one of the few of its kind in the topic.
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Deepak Sangroya, Gaurav Kabra, Yatish Joshi and Mohit Yadav
This study examines various aspects of green energy management operations in India and reports the current state, potential avenues and barriers for green energy management.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines various aspects of green energy management operations in India and reports the current state, potential avenues and barriers for green energy management.
Design/methodology/approach
This study performs an extensive literature review and covers the several aspects of green energy management operations.
Findings
The findings report the current state of various aspects of green energy management operations such as: procurement, manufacturing and distribution and provides the viable business models. It further explains the various facilitators and barriers of green energy management and reports the opportunities and challenges that exist in developing and managing green energy supply chain.
Originality/value
The study is pioneer in providing a comprehensive view of developing and managing green energy operations in India. The study is useful to various organisations on drafting strategies to effectively adopt and manage green energy. The study is also useful in policy formulation for promoting green energy use. This article also set as a base for future researchers working in the area of green energy.
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Deepak Jaiswal, Rishi Kant, Pankaj Kumar Singh and Rambalak Yadav
The use of electric vehicles has received popularity as alternative fuel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy cost, which are expected to perform a crucial role…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of electric vehicles has received popularity as alternative fuel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy cost, which are expected to perform a crucial role in the near future of emerging mobility markets. The purpose of this empirical study is to analyse the role of electric vehicle knowledge in predicting consumer adoption intention directly and indirectly in the backdrop of an emerging market.
Design/methodology/approach
The study approached an extended version of “Technology acceptance model” (TAM) based on the integrated framework of “knowledge-beliefs-intention”. The model was tested via direct and indirect path analyses with the data collected from Indian respondents using an online survey.
Findings
The results indicate the robustness of the present research model, which shows that consumer adoption is significantly driven by electric vehicle knowledge, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived risk. Electric vehicle knowledge has emerged as the most powerful cognitive measure, which directly affects the adoption intention along with the measures of “TAM”. Additionally, this also poses a higher indirect effect on adoption intention in the integrated model.
Research limitations/implications
The study has focused on potential young and educated consumers, which may not be warranted to generalise the research findings, while youth or millennials are more receptive to adopt innovative and clean technology products like electric vehicle. Based on the findings, implications are offered for encouraging electric vehicles in the backdrop of emerging automobile markets.
Originality/value
Concerning this cognitive phenomenon of knowledge, scant literature has been explored the role of subjective knowledge in consumer adoption for electric vehicles, particularly in the emerging markets like India. Thus, the present study analyses how consumers' knowledge about electric vehicle affects their decision to adopt this in the near future of Indian zero-emission mobility market.
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Shweta Pandey and Deepak Chawla
The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of factors derived from the unified theory of user acceptance of technology (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of factors derived from the unified theory of user acceptance of technology (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, age, gender) and of those drawn from literature (perceived risk, perceived enjoyment and innovativeness) on the adoption of m-commerce in India. It also suggests implications of these for the consumer behavior theory practitioners and marketers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using an online survey from 321 respondents, split into two groups (high and low adoption level users) based on the usage scores of the four categories of m-commerce- location-based, transaction-based, entertainment and content delivery. Logistic regression technique was used to identify the prominent factors among the nine identified influencers to understand the differences between the two groups.
Findings
The findings of this paper are sample biasness, self-reported m-commerce adoption level, limited m-commerce categories and specific context.
Research limitations/implications
Except the two factors of performance expectancy and facilitating conditions, all other variables discriminate between low and high adoption levels of m-commerce services in India. Social influence, perceived enjoyment and innovativeness were the three main factors that were found to have the most significant impact on the discrimination levels of m-commerce service users in India. Further, it was found that women and the younger generation users of m-commerce showed a greater propensity for adopting m-commerce practices.
Practical implications
Marketers need to focus on key factors like social influence, perceived enjoyment, perceived risk and effort expectancy to persuade the young and innovative consumer target groups increase their adoption of m-commerce services.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind to explore factors that distinguish users with low and high levels of m-commerce adoption, by taking into consideration all four categories of m-commerce (transaction-based, content delivery, location-based and entertainment). In doing so, it highlights the need for marketers to focus on factors beyond facilitating conditions and performance expectancy, to enhance the adoption of m-commerce practices.
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Deepak Kumar Tripathi, Saurabh Chadha and Ankita Tripathi
Working capital efficiency (WCE) is crucial for the sustainability of both large and small firms. This study aims to use the sample of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
Working capital efficiency (WCE) is crucial for the sustainability of both large and small firms. This study aims to use the sample of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India and tries to understand the critical determinants of WCE.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a fixed effect panel data model on a sample of 578 MSMEs (59 micro, 226 medium and 296 small firms), this study explores the relationship between the predictors of WCE. Additionally, the study adopted two metrics for measuring WCE among each type of firm (micro, small and medium).
Findings
Several firm-specific variables, including leverage (lever), firm age (AGE), firm size (Fsiz), profitability (Prof), extended payment terms (EPT), human capital (HCap), asset turnover ratio (ATR), reverse factoring (RF) and firm growth (FG), have a significant effect on working capital management efficiency (WCE). In contrast, tangibility (Tangib) and salary expenses (Sal) had an insignificant effect on working capital management efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on secondary data. Future studies may incorporate some primary data, which will facilitate qualitative analysis.
Originality/value
The studies explore the relationship between WCE and expenses in HCap, EPT, RF and Sal as the predictors for WCE, which was not studied earlier in MSMEs scenario, especially in case of developing nation.
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Himanshu Joshi and Deepak Chawla
The study investigates the influence of perceived security (PS) on behavioral intention (BI) via the trust attitude process and explores the moderating effects of gender. PS in…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the influence of perceived security (PS) on behavioral intention (BI) via the trust attitude process and explores the moderating effects of gender. PS in mobile wallets enhances user trust (TR), attitude (ATT) and intention (INT). Using a multiple and serial mediation model, both TR and ATT were found to mediate the relationship between PS and BI.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory, the proposed conceptual model comprises PS, TR, ATT and BI. An online survey was conducted with a cross-sectional sample of 744 mobile wallet users in India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships and test the mediation effects.
Findings
Results show that the stimulus, PS, has a positive and significant influence on TR and ATT, which eventually has a positive influence on BI. The research model explains 64.4 percent of the variance in BI. Further, both TR and ATT independently and parallelly mediate the relationship PS and BI. Lastly, gender is found to moderate the relationship between TR and BI and ATT and BI.
Practical implications
The research showed the importance of PS, TR and ATT towards mobile wallet adoption INTs. Further, the findings support the idea that developing TR and ATT is essential for shaping INTs. This suggests that mobile wallet service providers should invest in methods that not just enhance user TR but also reinforce a positive ATT towards the platform. To demonstrate TR, mobile wallet providers must ensure the confidentiality and privacy of user data, keep customer interests in mind and fulfill commitments. Lastly, for strengthening customer TR, excellent customer support is extremely important.
Originality/value
While prior researchers have majorly used technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) models to explain adoption INTs, this study examines the relationship between PS, TR, ATT and BI through the lens of the SOR framework.
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Deepak Jaiswal, Vikrant Kaushal, Pankaj Kumar Singh and Abhijeet Biswas
In the present era of green consumerism, consumers are shifting towards sustainable consumption with the rising demand of green products. Despite consumers' demand of such…
Abstract
Purpose
In the present era of green consumerism, consumers are shifting towards sustainable consumption with the rising demand of green products. Despite consumers' demand of such products, their attitudes towards eco-friendly practices can neither be the same for different consumer groups nor can be treated as they all are equally green. The purpose of this study is to operationalize the green market segmentation based on demographic, psychographic and behavioural characterization in the Indian context of green consumerism.
Design/methodology/approach
The deductive approach of questionnaire survey method has been adapted to collect the responses from convenience sampling of Indian consumers using the measured constructs concerning to green consumer psychology. The data were analyzed by applying multivariate techniques of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), cluster and discriminant analysis.
Findings
The results revealed that the three distinctive set of consumer groups are evolved as “keen greens”, “moderate greens” and “reluctant greens” based on the eight cognitive variables used in this study, namely environmental concern (EC), perceived environmental knowledge (PEK), perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), perception of eco-label, perception of eco-brand and environmental advertisements, green purchase intention (GPI) and green purchasing behaviour (GPB) in the Indian context.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings may lack its generalizability in the Indian context, as the survey strategy is confined with the most populated territory of India. To provide its robustness, the future studies need more heterogeneous sample across the country. The research findings could provide the key insights into policymakers and enterprises in the framing of marketing strategies to promote green consumerism in the setting of emerging economies.
Originality/value
There is dearth of literature concerning to green consumer segmentation based on the “attitude–intention–behaviour” approach in the Indian context. Therefore, the present study endeavours to manifest a holistic description of green consumer classification based on demographic, psychographic and behavioural characterization. At Prima facie, the study is the first that elucidates consumers' segments profile by incorporating environmental cognitive factors from both the perspectives; “consumers” inner stimuli' and “external green marketing cues”, especially in the indigenous Indian setting.
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Introduction: The internet of things (IoT) is the emerging technology of interconnected objects that can be termed as ‘things’ used to exchange data, connecting with different…
Abstract
Introduction: The internet of things (IoT) is the emerging technology of interconnected objects that can be termed as ‘things’ used to exchange data, connecting with different devices on the internet. It is the future where connected devices are controlled remotely. The insurance sector is one of the leading industries providing financial protection services to their customers to recover losses. Like others, the insurance industry uses the services very efficiently to solve their customer-centric problems and provide the best services to them. IoT in insurance is enhancing customer services.
Purpose: To determine how the insurance industry utilises the different IoT technologies to provide the best services and solutions to their users. The insurance sector is working on other areas of expertise to offer outstanding facilities to their clientele.
Methodology: We reviewed published material covering five years on IoT and insurance and customer services in the media, newspapers, journal publications, and the web. We determined how the insurance sector adapted the new terminology to contribute its best services to the users.
Findings: We observed that IoT services and technologies benefit the insurance industry and the clientele. This shows excellent results in the growth of the sector and heightened facilities for the consumers.
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This case describes the events following an incident of a rape in a taxi associated with Uber, by its driver. Uber was an application based taxi operator. The events raised…
Abstract
This case describes the events following an incident of a rape in a taxi associated with Uber, by its driver. Uber was an application based taxi operator. The events raised several issues for government systems and processes, such as need for regulation of new formats of business like application based taxi services, integrated databases, checks against forgery and holistic approach towards women safety. The case also brings out how an e-commerce business raises regulatory concerns.
Details
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