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Music could be a challenger for mathematics and a potential candidate for the title “The Universal Language.” This paper aims to discuss the primary objectives of engaging with music, including the therapeutic benefits. Similarities, between mathematics and music and how studying one might enhance one’s abilities of the other are pointed out.

A formal definition for a universal language is given. A qualitative approach, supplemented with rigorous reasoning, is adopted. The narrative relies on the author’s experiences, teaching mathematical concepts and musical interactions, with students from several countries. A vast amount of literature is reviewed and the corresponding findings are connected toward the arguments made.

The paper demonstrates that one day, once we understand both mathematics and music better, we might see both of them as the same language. Until then, it is essential to supplement mathematics with music. The educational implications, for all fields, are to ensure that the future creators of knowledge are equally adept at both music and mathematics. The wider policy connotations are to create a blueprint for a society with a vibrant musical and artistic environment.

This study illuminates new ways of thinking about music and mathematics. The possibility that many seemingly complex entities (including our universe, virtual computer worlds, mathematical operations, etc.), are made up of combinations of much simpler building blocks is hinted at. Familiarity with any intricate element of life, without getting flustered, is bound to produce remarkable results in other such endeavors.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) model to investigate the critical success factors (CSF) and the extent of CSF's influence in the implementation of lean industry 4.0 in manufacturing supply chain.

The study has been carried out with the help of the latest literature followed by brainstorming sessions with experts. The experts were the managers from the industries, assistant professors, and research scholars from academia working in this domain. Finally, a structured model is formed using ISM methodology for the analysis of the CSFs followed by matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment (MIAMAC) Analysis for the validation of the model.

The study identifies robotics, virtual and augmented reality and cloud computing as the main CSFs which are responsible to drive all the identified CSFs. However the CSF professional training and development (PTD) has been identified as the weakest driver but having the highest dependent power.

The study has included nine CSFs and the contextual relationships between the CSFs are based on the knowledge and experience of the experts, which may be biased. Moreover, the paper has covered the ISM approach, and the same thing can be validated using the fuzzy-ISM and other multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques.

This investigation of the CSFs in the lean industry 4.0 is original and the identified CSFs are the result of the literature reviews and an extensive discussion from the experts. The paper uses the complete experience of the respective experts to make this work more effective and original.

In the era of Industry 4.0, knowledge component plays a vital role in manufacturing. For tacking the new complexities of the business, a concept of knowledge supply chain (KSC) is being proposed, which takes into account of knowledge component. Higher education institutes (HEIs) which are primary creator of knowledge are important foundations of such supply chain and act as the “knowledge supplier.” The purpose of this paper is to focus on why the HEIs are failed to become knowledge supplier in developing country like India.

This research paper adopts a resource-based theory to explore the concept and identify barriers which obstructs the progress of HEIs to become prominent knowledge supplier to industry. To tackle the research problem, an integrated hybrid approach of interpretive structural modeling–analytic hierarchy process is used. Expert elicitation was engaged to find out the prominence of each barrier and the interrelations among them.

Based on literature review, eight critical barriers were recognized. The findings put forward a four layer structural model. Based on this model, various remedial actions are also suggested to eliminate the barriers or lessen their negative effects on KSC.

This study finds its practical implication in higher education reforms as the identified barriers could enhance the decision-making quality regarding academia–industry interaction.

Using the results of the study, HEIs could improve their social sustainability as they have different stakeholders covering wider sections of society and one being industry.

Most of the existing studies talk about short-term interactions like technology transfer. This study takes into account the barriers which are acting as roadblocks in long-term knowledge supplying role of HEIs.

With the emergence of COVID-19 and increased infections, organizations urged their employees to work from home. Furthermore, with the on-going pandemic, employees take measures to ensure individual safety and their families. Hence, work from home culture can result in long-term employee satisfaction. However, no study addresses the development of work from the home culture in an integrated framework. Therefore, the current research explores the role of safety during the pandemic, organizational commitment and employee motivation on work from home culture, which may influence employee satisfaction. Furthermore, job demands and home demands were also evaluated for employee satisfaction.

The study used existing scales of the factors to develop the measures and collect perceptual responses from employees working from home, supported with a pre-test. The study executed a survey with effective responses from 132 individuals spread across different sectors to validate the hypotheses. The responses were analysed using partial least squares in ADANCO 2.2.

Findings suggest safety concerns along with organization commitment enhances work from home culture. Such work from home culture enhances employee motivation and employee satisfaction. Furthermore, job demands and home demands also influence employee satisfaction.

To the best of the authors knowledge, the study is the foremost to develop an integrated empirical framework for work from home culture and its antecedents and consequences. The study has several important implications for managers.

With the pandemic reshaping healthcare delivery, telemedicine has emerged as a vital solution for overcoming access barriers, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Hence, this study explores the key drivers behind the sustained use of telemedicine services in low-income countries during the post-pandemic period.

Using a quantitative research approach and purposive sampling technique, 273 valid responses were gathered from participants in Bangladesh. A comparative analysis utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were conducted to ensure greater accuracy.

The PLS-SEM analysis revealed that expectation confirmation and perceived ease of use positively influence satisfaction. Similarly, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use directly impact Attitude toward telemedicine services. However, perceived usefulness and perceived security were not significantly associated with satisfaction and attitude toward telemedicine services, respectively. The findings highlight that user satisfaction drives continuance use intention for telemedicine services, but only when it also cultivates a positive attitude toward telemedicine services. While the PLS-SEM findings indicate that perceived usefulness has no significant relationship with satisfaction and perceived security is not significantly associated with attitude toward telemedicine services, the fsQCA results offer a different perspective. fsQCA reveals that perceived usefulness retains a significant association with satisfaction and that perceived security, regardless of whether its effect is high or low, is equally effective in contributing to the intention for continuous telemedicine use. These findings underscore fsQCA’s ability to provide deeper insights into the complex causal relationships among the antecedents.

The findings provide valuable insights for hospitals, doctors and telemedicine providers on retaining existing users. Additionally, governments can leverage this information to address healthcare disparities between urban and rural areas. The study also identifies strategies to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of healthcare services.

This study advances telemedicine research by employing the extended technology continuance theory (ETCT) alongside a hybrid analytical approach that integrates PLS-SEM and fsQCA. It highlights that telemedicine organizations can boost patient confidence and encourage continued use by enhancing satisfaction and cultivating a positive user attitude. The innovative use of ETCT and the combined methodologies provide a comprehensive analysis, offering actionable strategies to retain telemedicine users in low-income countries during the post-pandemic period.

The fertilizer industry (FI) is well known for its high energy needs, reliance on limited natural resources, and negative environmental impacts (EIs). The consumption of 14.2 billion tons (BT) of materials and the extraction of 1,580 tons of resources per acre are solely attributed to the FI. Because of FI's resource and energy-intensive nature, it becomes crucial for FI to adopt a Circular Economy (CE) to improve efficiency, energy, and resource reuse. However, FI needs to strengthen its progress toward CE adoption. The proposed study comprehends and examines the barriers that inhibit the adoption of CE in FI.

A total of 15 barriers obstructing the CE in FI are identified and categorized into seven different categories. The barriers were identified by performing a comprehensive literature review and expert input. The study employs the DEMATEL approach to analyze the barriers and establish a causal relationship between them.

The study reveals that the most significant challenge to implementing CE in FI is governmental restrictions, which are followed by a lack of awareness and understanding and a need for a steady supply of bulk materials. The results comprehensively comprehend the pivotal factors that jeopardize the CE in FI and furnish a robust foundation for the methodology and tactics to surmount the barriers to CE adoption.

The literature review encompasses the barriers to the transition to CE and offers management and policy perspectives that help the FI's policy and decision-makers surmount these barriers with future research endeavors.

Describes the use of the CDS/ISIS bibliographic database package within the Tata Energy Research Institute Library in Delhi. Indicates the capabilities of the package and states the hardware requirements and package availability (from UNESCO). Assesses the applications of the package through a comprehensive survey of the literature on its use within libraries throughout the world.

In 2010, Hero Honda (HH), the largest global two-wheeler manufacturing company (based on unit sales), terminated its 26 year old JV with Honda, effective 2014. In August 2011, HH, rebranded itself as “Hero”, with a nationwide campaign across media; over three months, the campaign was rolled out on 30 TV channels, leading websites, 200 radio stations, and 4, 000 cinema halls. Signages were changed in 4, 500 touchpoints over a weekend. The case documents the market and brand position of HH and its principal competitors, Bajaj and Honda in India, the rationale for ending the JV, the rebranding requirements, and the actions taken. Pedagogically, we evaluate the rebranding effort to sustain, create, and build consumer memories and emotions.

Portfolio optimization is the process of making an investment decision on a set of assets to realize high returns with low risk. It has three major stages: asset selection, asset weighting and asset management. Asset selection is an important phase because it influences asset allocation and ultimately affects the returns of a portfolio. Today, there is an increase in the number of listings on a stock exchange. Therefore, it is important for an investor to screen and select stocks for investment. This study focuses on the first stage of the portfolio optimization problem, namely, asset selection. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and select profitable stocks quoted on National Stock Exchange (NSE) for portfolio optimization.

Financial ratios are considered as the input and output parameters for evaluating the financial performance of the firms. This study adopts a hybrid principal component analysis (PCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the efficiency of the firms. Based on the efficiency scores, the firms are selected for the investment process.

The model helps to determine the relative efficiencies of the firms. The efficient firms are considered to be the potential stocks for investment. It helps the investors to screen the stocks from a large number of stocks quoted on NSE.

One of the limitations of the standard DEA model is that it fails to discriminate the firms when the number of input and output parameters are larger than the number of firms. To overcome this problem, either a parameter can be ignored or weight-restricted DEA can be applied. When an input/output parameter is dropped, the information in that variable is lost. Weight-restricted DEA model uses expert opinion for measuring the relative importance of input and output parameters. Expert opinion is subjective and might be biased. The PCA-DEA model helps to identify the efficient firms by improving the discriminatory power of standard DEA without any loss of information and without the need for expert opinion, which might be biased.

Asset selection is an important stage in the investment process. Selection of stocks based on the efficiency score is an easier option available to the investors. But the misclassification of firms either due to biased expert opinion or discrimination inability of DEA can be costly to an investor. The PCA-DEA model overcomes both these limitations. Investors can select the potential candidates for asset allocation based on the efficiency scores obtained using the PCA-DEA model. Further, the relative efficiencies obtained can help the firms to benchmark their performance against the best performing firms within their industry.

This paper is one of few papers to adopt the PCA-DEA framework to select stocks in the Indian stock market.