Author: Debasis Rooj and Reshmi Sengupta
COVID-19 and Consumer Confidence: Evidence from India
Publisher: Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, 2023
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This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted consumer confidence (CC) in India. Contrary to existing literature, we use individual-level responses on CC from a novel survey data of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to examine the effect of COVID-19 on CC. We use data on consumer sentiments from the Consumer Confidence Survey conducted by India’s central bank, the RBI, between March 2020 and May 2022. COVID-19 indicators include confirmed cases and recoveries in this article. Exploiting the variations in consumer sentiments across several Indian cities, our regression exercise shows how COVID-19-related cases impact CC. Our findings show that confirmed cases negatively and significantly impact the current perception of the economy. In contrast, COVID-19 recoveries positively and significantly impact future outlooks. We further conduct a disaggregated analysis to analyse the effects of COVID-19 indices on several other household-level indicators, for instance, present perception and expectations of household income, potential employment prospects, household spending and general price levels. Overall, we find that COVID-19-related shocks have negatively affected households’ sentiments, and Indian households are inclined to spend less on non-essential goods and services.
https://doi.org/10.1177/09767479231197688
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted consumer confidence (CC) in India. Contrary to existing literature, we use individual-level responses on CC from a novel survey data of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to examine the effect of COVID-19 on CC. We use data on consumer sentiments from the Consumer Confidence Survey conducted by India’s central bank, the RBI, between March 2020 and May 2022. COVID-19 indicators include confirmed cases and recoveries in this article. Exploiting the variations in consumer sentiments across several Indian cities, our regression exercise shows how COVID-19-related cases impact CC. Our findings show that confirmed cases negatively and significantly impact the current perception of the economy. In contrast, COVID-19 recoveries positively and significantly impact future outlooks. We further conduct a disaggregated analysis to analyse the effects of COVID-19 indices on several other household-level indicators, for instance, present perception and expectations of household income, potential employment prospects, household spending and general price levels. Overall, we find that COVID-19-related shocks have negatively affected households’ sentiments, and Indian households are inclined to spend less on non-essential goods and services.
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Author: Ruzbeh Bodhanwala
Tata Motors: The Dividend Dilemma
Publisher: IVEY Publication, 2023
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Tata Motors Limited (Tata Motors), an Indian automobile major with a consolidated annual turnover of more than ₹2,497 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021, was struggling to turn profitable and reinstate dividend payments to its investors. The case discusses the dividend policy of Tata Motors, comparing it with the dividend policies of the company’s peers and examining its relevance to the investor community at large. With Tata Motors’ long history as a dividend-paying company, its sudden withdrawal of dividends in FY 2016, with no payouts in the following five years, has made investors jittery. The company was working on the turnaround plan and internal reorganization that would allow it to provide a differentiated focus on its three business verticals—the commercial vehicle segment, the passenger vehicle segment, and the electric vehicle segment. Tata Motors had already communicated its decision to conserve cash to reduce its leverage and become debt-free by FY 2024. However, with an increase in pressure from a certain section of investors, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chair of Tata Motors, was considering when to reinstate dividends. What signal would doing so send to the market? Would the ownership structure of the company have an impact on its dividend policy? Did the company’s cash flows support the dividend payment at this stage?
https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/tata-motors-the-dividend-dilemma/01t5c00000DMiw1AAD
Tata Motors Limited (Tata Motors), an Indian automobile major with a consolidated annual turnover of more than ₹2,497 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021, was struggling to turn profitable and reinstate dividend payments to its investors. The case discusses the dividend policy of Tata Motors, comparing it with the dividend policies of the company’s peers and examining its relevance to the investor community at large. With Tata Motors’ long history as a dividend-paying company, its sudden withdrawal of dividends in FY 2016, with no payouts in the following five years, has made investors jittery. The company was working on the turnaround plan and internal reorganization that would allow it to provide a differentiated focus on its three business verticals—the commercial vehicle segment, the passenger vehicle segment, and the electric vehicle segment. Tata Motors had already communicated its decision to conserve cash to reduce its leverage and become debt-free by FY 2024. However, with an increase in pressure from a certain section of investors, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chair of Tata Motors, was considering when to reinstate dividends. What signal would doing so send to the market? Would the ownership structure of the company have an impact on its dividend policy? Did the company’s cash flows support the dividend payment at this stage?
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Author: Ruzbeh Bodhanwala
Macy’s, Inc.: “Polaris” turnaround strategy and the road ahead
Publisher: Emerald, The Case Journal, 2023
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"he case is written based on publicly available data from primary sources such as the company’s annual reports, company website and the company’s presentations, as well as from secondary sources comprising newspaper articles, research papers, research magazines, magazine articles, industry reports, research reports, etc. as indicated in the references. The company’s financials and peer data are sourced from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database.
Case overview/synopsis
The case examines the financial position of Macy’s, Inc., America’s largest and one of the oldest premier departmental stores, with a consolidated annual turnover of US$18,097m in the fiscal year 2020/2021 (FY, 2021). Over the previous few years, the company had been struggling with decreasing market share and profitability mainly due to increasing competition from online retailers and deep discounters, which was affecting the company’s share price. With the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) in fiscal year (FY) 2017, Macy’s, Inc. undertook several changes to revive its financial health and improve its market share. However, it still registered heavy losses of US$3,944m in the FY 2020/2021, the company’s first time in the past decade. With many retailers filing for bankruptcy, was there more that Macy’s could do to improve the company’s position and regain lost investor confidence? Will its entry into emerging markets play a crucial role in its turnaround?"
https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-11-2022-0193
"he case is written based on publicly available data from primary sources such as the company’s annual reports, company website and the company’s presentations, as well as from secondary sources comprising newspaper articles, research papers, research magazines, magazine articles, industry reports, research reports, etc. as indicated in the references. The company’s financials and peer data are sourced from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database.
Case overview/synopsis
The case examines the financial position of Macy’s, Inc., America’s largest and one of the oldest premier departmental stores, with a consolidated annual turnover of US$18,097m in the fiscal year 2020/2021 (FY, 2021). Over the previous few years, the company had been struggling with decreasing market share and profitability mainly due to increasing competition from online retailers and deep discounters, which was affecting the company’s share price. With the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) in fiscal year (FY) 2017, Macy’s, Inc. undertook several changes to revive its financial health and improve its market share. However, it still registered heavy losses of US$3,944m in the FY 2020/2021, the company’s first time in the past decade. With many retailers filing for bankruptcy, was there more that Macy’s could do to improve the company’s position and regain lost investor confidence? Will its entry into emerging markets play a crucial role in its turnaround?"
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Author: Alexios Tsigkas
Writing, Aesthetic Judgment, and the Spectre of ChatGPT
Publisher: The Jugaad Project, 2023
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The speed at which ChatGPT has penetrated higher education has been nothing short of astounding. ChatGPT is able to respond to prompts or commands and generate original content: in other words, it can write. For writers and readers ChatGPT may trigger anxieties about the very essence of authorship and originality, which in turn reflect certain deeply held notions of subjectivity: between the lines of texts that we cherish lies an author we admire (or disagree with), a poet that moves us, a journalist we respect–perhaps ourselves, our colleagues, our students. It is hard not to feel unsettled by the current moment. In this essay I wish to reflect on the very practice of writing itself, and the values we ascribe to it, at this very moment at which its upending seems likely. I approach writing, and by all means reading, as fundamentally intersubjective aesthetic practices: to write is to make a judgment, to deem an experience worthy of capturing, worthy of sharing. Like all judgments, it is an outward plea for assent. To read is to accept that invitation, to yield oneself to another's perspective. Are we ready to cede the exercise of aesthetic judgment to artificial intelligence?
https://www.thejugaadproject.pub/writing-aesthetic-judgment
The speed at which ChatGPT has penetrated higher education has been nothing short of astounding. ChatGPT is able to respond to prompts or commands and generate original content: in other words, it can write. For writers and readers ChatGPT may trigger anxieties about the very essence of authorship and originality, which in turn reflect certain deeply held notions of subjectivity: between the lines of texts that we cherish lies an author we admire (or disagree with), a poet that moves us, a journalist we respect–perhaps ourselves, our colleagues, our students. It is hard not to feel unsettled by the current moment. In this essay I wish to reflect on the very practice of writing itself, and the values we ascribe to it, at this very moment at which its upending seems likely. I approach writing, and by all means reading, as fundamentally intersubjective aesthetic practices: to write is to make a judgment, to deem an experience worthy of capturing, worthy of sharing. Like all judgments, it is an outward plea for assent. To read is to accept that invitation, to yield oneself to another's perspective. Are we ready to cede the exercise of aesthetic judgment to artificial intelligence?
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Author: Shweta Rana
Encapsulated nanopesticides application in plant protection Quo vadis
Publisher: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Elsevier, 2023
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The increased global food insecurity due to the growing population can be addressed with precision and sustainable agricultural practices. To tackle the issues regarding food insecurity, farmers used different agrochemicals that improved plant growth and protection. Among these agrochemicals, synthetic pesticides used for plant protection in the agricultural field have various disadvantages. Conventional applications of synthetic pesticides have drawbacks such as rapid degradation, poor solubility, and non-target effects, as well as increased pesticide runoff that pollutes the environment. Nanotechnology has evolved as a potential solution to increase agricultural productivity through the development of different nanoforms of agrochemicals such as nanopesticides, nano-fabricated fertilizers, nanocapsules, nanospheres, nanogels, nanofibers, nanomicelles, and nano-based growth promoters. Encapsulation of these pesticides inside the nanomaterials has provided good biocompatibility over conventional application by inhibiting the early degradation of active ingredients (AI), increasing the uptake and adhesion of pesticides, improving the stability, solubility, and permeability of the pesticides, and decreasing the environmental impacts due to the pesticide runoff. In this review, different nanoforms of encapsulated pesticides and their smart delivery systems; nanocarriers in RNA interference (RNAi) based pesticides; environmental fate, practical implications, management of nanopesticides; and future perspectives are discussed.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108225
The increased global food insecurity due to the growing population can be addressed with precision and sustainable agricultural practices. To tackle the issues regarding food insecurity, farmers used different agrochemicals that improved plant growth and protection. Among these agrochemicals, synthetic pesticides used for plant protection in the agricultural field have various disadvantages. Conventional applications of synthetic pesticides have drawbacks such as rapid degradation, poor solubility, and non-target effects, as well as increased pesticide runoff that pollutes the environment. Nanotechnology has evolved as a potential solution to increase agricultural productivity through the development of different nanoforms of agrochemicals such as nanopesticides, nano-fabricated fertilizers, nanocapsules, nanospheres, nanogels, nanofibers, nanomicelles, and nano-based growth promoters. Encapsulation of these pesticides inside the nanomaterials has provided good biocompatibility over conventional application by inhibiting the early degradation of active ingredients (AI), increasing the uptake and adhesion of pesticides, improving the stability, solubility, and permeability of the pesticides, and decreasing the environmental impacts due to the pesticide runoff. In this review, different nanoforms of encapsulated pesticides and their smart delivery systems; nanocarriers in RNA interference (RNAi) based pesticides; environmental fate, practical implications, management of nanopesticides; and future perspectives are discussed.
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Author: Shweta Rana
Encapsulated nanopesticides application in plant protection Quo vadis
Publisher: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Elsevier, 2023
Abstract
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The increased global food insecurity due to the growing population can be addressed with precision and sustainable agricultural practices. To tackle the issues regarding food insecurity, farmers used different agrochemicals that improved plant growth and protection. Among these agrochemicals, synthetic pesticides used for plant protection in the agricultural field have various disadvantages. Conventional applications of synthetic pesticides have drawbacks such as rapid degradation, poor solubility, and non-target effects, as well as increased pesticide runoff that pollutes the environment. Nanotechnology has evolved as a potential solution to increase agricultural productivity through the development of different nanoforms of agrochemicals such as nanopesticides, nano-fabricated fertilizers, nanocapsules, nanospheres, nanogels, nanofibers, nanomicelles, and nano-based growth promoters. Encapsulation of these pesticides inside the nanomaterials has provided good biocompatibility over conventional application by inhibiting the early degradation of active ingredients (AI), increasing the uptake and adhesion of pesticides, improving the stability, solubility, and permeability of the pesticides, and decreasing the environmental impacts due to the pesticide runoff. In this review, different nanoforms of encapsulated pesticides and their smart delivery systems; nanocarriers in RNA interference (RNAi) based pesticides; environmental fate, practical implications, management of nanopesticides; and future perspectives are discussed.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108225
The increased global food insecurity due to the growing population can be addressed with precision and sustainable agricultural practices. To tackle the issues regarding food insecurity, farmers used different agrochemicals that improved plant growth and protection. Among these agrochemicals, synthetic pesticides used for plant protection in the agricultural field have various disadvantages. Conventional applications of synthetic pesticides have drawbacks such as rapid degradation, poor solubility, and non-target effects, as well as increased pesticide runoff that pollutes the environment. Nanotechnology has evolved as a potential solution to increase agricultural productivity through the development of different nanoforms of agrochemicals such as nanopesticides, nano-fabricated fertilizers, nanocapsules, nanospheres, nanogels, nanofibers, nanomicelles, and nano-based growth promoters. Encapsulation of these pesticides inside the nanomaterials has provided good biocompatibility over conventional application by inhibiting the early degradation of active ingredients (AI), increasing the uptake and adhesion of pesticides, improving the stability, solubility, and permeability of the pesticides, and decreasing the environmental impacts due to the pesticide runoff. In this review, different nanoforms of encapsulated pesticides and their smart delivery systems; nanocarriers in RNA interference (RNAi) based pesticides; environmental fate, practical implications, management of nanopesticides; and future perspectives are discussed.
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Author: Anuradha Batabyal
Better together: isolation impedes memory formation for configural learning in Lymnaea stagnalis
Publisher: Journal of Experimental Biology, 2023
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Social interactions play an important role in learning and memory. There is great variability in the literature regarding the effects of social isolation on cognition. Here, we investigated how memory formation was affected when Lymnaea stagnalis, our model system, were socially isolated at three different time periods: before, during or after the configural learning training procedure. Each group of snails underwent configural learning where we recorded and compared their feeding behaviour before and after the pairing of an appetitive food stimulus with predator kairomones (i.e. the training procedure). We found that isolating snails before the training procedure had no effect on their learning and memory. However, when snails were isolated either during the training procedure or immediately after the training procedure, they no longer formed memory. These data provide further insight into how isolation impacts cognitive functioning in the context of higher-order learning.
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246478
Social interactions play an important role in learning and memory. There is great variability in the literature regarding the effects of social isolation on cognition. Here, we investigated how memory formation was affected when Lymnaea stagnalis, our model system, were socially isolated at three different time periods: before, during or after the configural learning training procedure. Each group of snails underwent configural learning where we recorded and compared their feeding behaviour before and after the pairing of an appetitive food stimulus with predator kairomones (i.e. the training procedure). We found that isolating snails before the training procedure had no effect on their learning and memory. However, when snails were isolated either during the training procedure or immediately after the training procedure, they no longer formed memory. These data provide further insight into how isolation impacts cognitive functioning in the context of higher-order learning.
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Author: Anuradha Batabyal
Snails go on a fast when aspirin comes along with heat stress: a possible effect of heat shock proteins and the serotonergic system on feeding response.
Publisher: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology and Pharmacology., 2023
Abstract
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A novel food followed by sickness, causes a taste-specific conditioned aversion, known as the ‘Garcia effect’. We recently found that both a heat shock stressor (30 °C for 1 h - HS) and the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can be used as ‘sickness-inducing’ stimuli to induce a Garcia effect in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Additionally, if snails are exposed to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) present in aspirin tablets before the LPS injection, the formation of the Garcia effect is prevented. Here, we hypothesized that exposing snails to crushed aspirin before the HS (ASA-HS) would prevent the HS-induced ‘sickness state’ and – therefore –the Garcia effect. Unexpectantly, the ASA-HS procedure induced a generalized and long-lasting feeding suppression. We thus investigate the molecular effects underlying this phenomenon. While the exposure to the HS alone resulted in a significant upregulation of the mRNA levels of the Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP 70) in snails' central ring ganglia, the ASA-HS procedure induced an even greater upregulation of HSP70, suggesting that the ASA-HS combination causes a severe stress response that inhibits feeding. Additionally, we found that the ASA-HS procedure induced a significant downregulation of the mRNA levels of genes involved with the serotoninergic system which regulates feeding in snails. Finally, the ASA-HS procedure prevented HS-induced upregulation of the mRNA levels of key neuroplasticity genes. Our study indicates that two sickness-inducing stimuli can have different physiological responses even if behavioral outcomes are similar under some learning contexts.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpc.2023.109805
A novel food followed by sickness, causes a taste-specific conditioned aversion, known as the ‘Garcia effect’. We recently found that both a heat shock stressor (30 °C for 1 h - HS) and the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can be used as ‘sickness-inducing’ stimuli to induce a Garcia effect in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Additionally, if snails are exposed to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) present in aspirin tablets before the LPS injection, the formation of the Garcia effect is prevented. Here, we hypothesized that exposing snails to crushed aspirin before the HS (ASA-HS) would prevent the HS-induced ‘sickness state’ and – therefore –the Garcia effect. Unexpectantly, the ASA-HS procedure induced a generalized and long-lasting feeding suppression. We thus investigate the molecular effects underlying this phenomenon. While the exposure to the HS alone resulted in a significant upregulation of the mRNA levels of the Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP 70) in snails' central ring ganglia, the ASA-HS procedure induced an even greater upregulation of HSP70, suggesting that the ASA-HS combination causes a severe stress response that inhibits feeding. Additionally, we found that the ASA-HS procedure induced a significant downregulation of the mRNA levels of genes involved with the serotoninergic system which regulates feeding in snails. Finally, the ASA-HS procedure prevented HS-induced upregulation of the mRNA levels of key neuroplasticity genes. Our study indicates that two sickness-inducing stimuli can have different physiological responses even if behavioral outcomes are similar under some learning contexts.
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Author: Hoshiar Mal
Does corporate sustainability performance affect sales performance? Empirical evidence from Indian firms
Publisher: Journal of Strategic Marketing, 2023
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Owing to the importance of corporate sustainability, companies provide sustainability reports based on various criteria to achieve competitive advantage. However, whether resource allocation for improving corporate sustainability performance (CSP) affects the sales performance of a firm must be determined. This study is performed to understand the effect of CSP on sales performance. Data are obtained online from 302 managerial-level professionals via a primary survey. Structural equation modeling and multigroup moderation analyses are conducted to examine the primary responses of managers in India. The results show that CSP positively affects the sales performance of firms, irrespective of the firm characteristics. This study addresses a significant disparity in the CSP domain, particularly the association between CSP and the sales performance of firms in a developing nation. Additionally, it highlights the slight advantage of new firms over old ones and large firms over small ones.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2023.2290246
Owing to the importance of corporate sustainability, companies provide sustainability reports based on various criteria to achieve competitive advantage. However, whether resource allocation for improving corporate sustainability performance (CSP) affects the sales performance of a firm must be determined. This study is performed to understand the effect of CSP on sales performance. Data are obtained online from 302 managerial-level professionals via a primary survey. Structural equation modeling and multigroup moderation analyses are conducted to examine the primary responses of managers in India. The results show that CSP positively affects the sales performance of firms, irrespective of the firm characteristics. This study addresses a significant disparity in the CSP domain, particularly the association between CSP and the sales performance of firms in a developing nation. Additionally, it highlights the slight advantage of new firms over old ones and large firms over small ones.
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Author: Ajith Abraham
Hybrid Intelligent Systems: 22nd International Conference on Hybrid Intelligent Systems (HIS 2022), December 13–15, 2022
Publisher: Springer, 2023
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Hybrid Intelligent Systems: 22nd International Conference on Hybrid Intelligent Systems (HIS 2022), December 13–15, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27409-1
Hybrid Intelligent Systems: 22nd International Conference on Hybrid Intelligent Systems (HIS 2022), December 13–15, 2022
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Author: Cleansing Moments
Dishan Kamdar
Publisher: Wiley, 2023
Abstract
978-9-3546-4498-6
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Author: Vinod Vidwans
The Music of Minds and Machines: A Deep Dive into the Generative Theory of Indian Music
Publisher: FLAME University, 2023
Abstract
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978-93-5913-590-8
https://computationalmusic.com/pdfs/The-Music-of-Minds-and-Machines.pdf
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Author: Jayaraman Validi
Performance Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals Employing Unsupervised Machine Learning Approach. In Kumar, S., Sharma, H., Balachandran, K., Kim, J.H., & Bansal, J.C. (eds.) Third Congress on Intelligent Systems: Proceedings of CIS 2022.
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-981-19-9379-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9379-4_30
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Author: Aamod Sane & Jayaraman Valadi
Distributed Reduced Alphabet Representation for Predicting Proinflammatory Peptides. In Sharma, N., Goje, A., Chakrabarti, A., & Bruckstein, A.M. (eds.) Data Management, Analytics and Innovation: Proceedings of ICDMAI 2023.
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-981-99-1414-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1414-2_14
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Author: Ketoki Mazumdar
Recognizing Their Feminist Selves through the Journey of Mothering: Reflections of Urban Indian Mothers. In O'Reilly, A., Green, F.J., & Bailey, V. (eds.) Coming into Being: Mothers on Finding and Realizing Feminism
Publisher: Demeter Press, 2023
Abstract
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978-1-77258-459-2
https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.3610959.18
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Author: Vinod Vidwans
Computational Indian Musicology: Challenges and New Horizons. In Salgaonkar, A., & Velankar, M. (eds.) Computer Assisted Music and Dramatics: Possibilities and Challenges
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-981-99-0887-5
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0887-5_15
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Author: Ajith Abraham
Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Soft Computing and Pattern Recognition (SoCPaR 2022)
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-3-031-27524-1
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27524-1
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Author: Ajith Abraham
Innovations in Bio-Inspired Computing and Applications: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Innovations in Bio-Inspired Computing and Applications (IBICA 2022) Held During December 15-17, 2022
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-3-031-27499-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27499-2
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Author: Ajith Abraham
Intelligent Systems Design and Applications: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems Design and Applications (ISDA 2022) Held December 12-14, 2022 - Volume 1
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-3-031-27440-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27440-4
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Author: Ajith Abraham
Intelligent Systems Design and Applications: 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems Design and Applications (ISDA 2022) Held December 12-14, 2022 - Volume 2
Publisher: Springer, 2023
Abstract
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978-3-031-35507-3
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35507-3
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