Buzz Word Research Articles

Gender Difference in Online Buying Behaviour: An Empirical Study in Punjab

Online buying is no more just a buzz word rather has become a helpful medium to transact and buy things while sitting at home. Shopping online not only provides the comfort of buying at home but also enjoying a wide and huge variety of products with few clicks. Online buying has been substantially increasing globally as well as in India. The rise of digital natives, better broadband facilities and lesser rate of the internet is fuelling the demand for online products and increasing the number of online consumers. The number of online consumers in India is expected to grow from 69 million in 2016 to 100 million online consumers by 2017(Assocham, 2016). These growing numbers have kindled great interest in this field and in understanding the consumer's decision of indulging in or refraining from online shopping these days. Different demographics play a vital role in consumer behaviour studies. Gender is one of the most significant demographic in studies of consumer behaviour. It becomes eminent to study that who buys online, for whom are they buying and what kind of products consumers prefer to buy. Therefore this research paper throws light on whether gender plays any significant role in online buying or not. The results of this study show that there is a significant difference in frequency of buying goods online as well as in the amount of money spent by male and female. Some of the products bought online also showed significant difference specially buying electronic items, apparels, and jewellery, etc. while no significant differences are found between males and females for other products like toys and games, books and stationery items and gifts and flowers etc.

Gender and Genre in Medieval French Literature by Simon Gaunt

STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER The appendix connects to the rest of the book through its search for Boccaccio's models and its concern for how Boccaccio produces rhetor­ ically the all-encompassing effect often proclaimed by his readers. Here Forni traces verbal connections between the story of Tancredi and Ghismonda and Ovid's tale of Myrrha in the Metamorphoses, thus offer­ ing strong support to Muscetta, Almansi, and others who have seen in 4.1 hints of incestuous passion. This presence of incest, in turn, albeit implicit rather than explicit, helps to produce the effect of the Decameron's inclusivity of all kinds of love. I have only one small quibble with Forni's many fine insights and ar­ guments. In chapter 1, with regard to the pot ofbasil story, he shifts in the course of a page from "wondering" and "entertaining the possibil­ ity that the declared creative sequence from story to song must be re­ versed in order to understand the story's process of inventio" (p. 22) to the firm declaration that "the sequence must be reversed" (p. 23). Although this is plausible, I would like to see some argument for dis­ believing Boccaccio's claim before conceding that what was entertained as a possibility suddenly "must be" so. Forni's work is otherwise clearly laid out, persuasively presented, and very readable. He draws on the whole history ofDecameron commentary, from fifteenth- and sixteenth-century readers through eighteenth­ century scholars to the most recent writings on Boccaccio. He displays as well a deep familiarity with a very wide range oftexts, classical, me­ dieval, and modern. The questions he raiseshelp to recast fruitfully and to see the connections among traditional discussions of Boccaccio's re­ alism, artful construction, parody, and fascination with language. JANET LEVARIE SMARR University of Illinois SIMON GAUNT. Gender and Genre in Medieval French Literature. Cambridge Studies in French, vol. 53. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. x, 372. $64.95. Although there is much that is thought-provoking m Dr. Gaunt's study, the reader does come away from it with a slight sense of disap­ pointment that less has been made ofthe material than might have been hoped. It is not just that the title includes the buzz word gender, which 246 REVIEWS still raises some expectations of polemic, but that at the end of the day the genders and the genres that emerge from the book are those that we knew all along. In his introduction, Dr. Gaunt spends considerable time considering the question of genre and its importance to medieval as well as modern studies, and to pointing out that the concept survived the onslaught of the structuralists of the 1960s and 1970s. He is also at pains to indicate that he is concerned with gender as a construct apply­ ing to the masculine as well as to the feminine, and that, unlike bio­ logical sex, gender is a multiplex and polyvalent construct within each "sex." Finally, as his epigraph (three quotations from the Oxford English Dictionary defining "gender," "genre," and "genus") implies, he is aware of the necessary interplay of these terms and their subtending ideolo­ gies in generating each other. Disappointment, therefore, arises from the body of the book, which treats in five successive, and hermetic, chapters five genres (chanson de geste, roman courtois, troubador canso, ha­ giography, fabliaux) drawn from traditional literary history, and deals with gender within them also in a very traditional way: the warrior and his companion; the knight and his lady; the male and female saint; sex, the body, and "obscenity." This aprioristic view that there is an inher­ ent unity between gender and genre is reinforced in the conclusion, in which the major challenges to other (preexisting) gender constructs is seen as coming from other (frequently subsequent) genres. Only mar­ ginally (in the cases of the trobairitz and Clemence of Barking as ha­ giographer) is serious concern shown for the ways in which a genre questions itself in terms of its representation of gender. What seems to be missing, then, is any attempt to redefine the traditional boundaries established for Old French literary genres on the basis of the genders constructed...

An Evaluation of Corporate Governance Disclosure in Ghanaian and Nigerian Banks

Corporate governance disclosure has become the buzz word for countries in developing economies, with the spate of corporate governance failures and the need to prevent a continuation of this trend. There has been the call for developing countries to enhance and improve on corporate governance disclosure practices. This study examines corporate governance disclosure in Ghanaian and Nigerian Banks using the un-weighted disclosure index technique. This research analyses corporate governance disclosure practices in the annual reports of 10 listed banks in Ghanaian and Nigerian banks in the year 2014. The findings of the research reveal that Ghanaian and Nigerian banks comply with several codes and principles of corporate governance disclosure: with Ghanaian banks having a lower level of disclosure than their Nigerian counterparts. On closer inspection, both Ghanaian and Nigerian banks have poor scores in voluntary corporate governance disclosure. Ghanaian banks tend to be worse off, as the level of variation in levels of corporate governance disclosure is higher than Nigerian banks. In comparison, Nigerian banks on the average tend to have better voluntary disclosure practices than Ghanaian banks. Also, Ghanaian and Nigerian banks include some elements of corporate social responsibility reporting in their annual reports. The research recommends that policymakers and regulators should devise policies targeted at enhancing voluntary corporate governance disclosure and increasing board diversity in the boardrooms.

Personalisation in marketing: an exploratory study

Internet has highly transformed contemporary business practices and presented a new paradigm for business relationships and transactions. Mass market is dead and personalisation is the emerging trend, in fact it has become a necessity in e-commerce. Personalisation simply means individualising the shopping experiences for customers based on data collected about them by marketers. Over last few decades, personalisation has become key element in marketing strategy of e-commerce firms. While personalisation is a buzz word today but conceptually it still lacks clarity. Various academicians and practitioners have expressed different viewpoints on personalisation. In this paper, we try to synthesise various viewpoints on personalisation by analysing key themes, components and approaches in literature to describe the concept of personalisation. The paper also highlights customers' attitudes towards personalisation.

EDITORIAL: Reproductive Health after the US Elections: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa

The winning of the 2016 US Presidential election by Donald Trump has implications for reproductive health policies and programming not only globally, but has specific concerns for sub-Saharan Africa. For the first time after Cairo 1994, we now have an American President who clearly says he would ban safe abortion practices, punish women who seek abortion, repeal the affordable care act, and remove funding for Planned Parenthood 1 . The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 1994) was a major event in global development. It shifted emphasis from an earlier focus on a narrow family planning to one that puts women at the centre of the process, which recognizes, respects, and responds to the needs of women. In particular, “choice” became the buzz word, recognized internationally as capable of providing women the agency to deal with their reproductive health and family planning concerns from positions of their best knowledge, and without external influences. The debate as to whether women should be allowed choice or not has dominated international scientific literature on sexual and reproductive health, family planning and women’s health over the past decade 2,3 . The United States of America has featured prominently in this debate and has oscillated variously between “choice” and “anti-choice” policies. The pendulum swung from “choice” when Bill Clinton was President to “anti-choice” when President Bush represented the Republicans as President, and then back to “choice” when Obama held sway over the past 8 years. Now, with Trump winning the Presidency and judging from his campaign vitriolics on the matter, the period 2017-2021 promises to be the most testing and difficult for pro-choice campaigners. Despite the anti-choice policies of President George Bush, he surely still had a human face on population and development, but with Trump, no one can be so sure. The changing US population and development policy can be considered daunting for the African region in many respects. Firstly, many African countries have never been able to develop policies on population and development without the influences of international organizations and lead countries such as the United States. Whatever has happened in the US have had resonating effects in many African countries, and it is clearly possible that any new reproductive health policies put in place in the United States will be upheld by many African countries. Secondly, the funding of reproductive health has always been led by the US government or its agencies, and also by donor agencies based in the United States. It is also possible that any changed policy in the US that moves from “choice” to “anti-choice” will have dwindling effects on donor funding, which many African countries rely on to drive their own reproductive health programming and activities. Thirdly, and most importantly, the last 20 years have witnessed several progressive global policies relating to population, and social development. These led to the development of several international agreements and protocols such as the Millennium Development Goals and now the Sustainable Development Goals. The US government was very prominent in the evolution of these global development agenda, many of which were designed to improve the social development in low-income countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa. We worry that any reversal of the US progressive policies will have hindering effects on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, three of which were specifically designed to promote gender equality and social equality around the world. Social inequality being the bane of many African countries, and women being the main victims of inequality, African countries will be most badly hit by the current Trump offensive against reproductive choice and women’s rights. The long term solution is for African countries to develop their population, reproductive health and development policies without external influences, and to find ways to use their own resources to implement the policies rather than rely on external or donor support. A few African countries, notably South Africa and Ethiopia have gained international respect by developing and implementing country-led population policies and programs. The others need to do the same, with emphasis on driving their countries to meet the international benchmarks outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Such achievement will eventually attract power, agency and pride to the African continent. Clearly, the forthcoming Trump administration in the United States presents both a challenge and an opportunity for African countries. Knowing that resources will likely be restrained for development in Africa, it provides the opportunity for African countries to begin to think creatively in an “outside-the-box” manner and to learn to manage their resources purposefully in ways to ensure their self-sustainable future development, outside the gambit of the often fluctuating American political scenario.

A Survey on Trust Models in Cloud Computing

Objectives: Objective of this work is to explore the available solutions for cloud trust and thereby to facilitate a rigid solution to address the issue in future. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Cloud Computing caters dynamic resources and on-demand services without the overhead of license, purchase and other traditional IT administration activities. Cloud is not only a buzz word in the industry but, also a most happening technological trend. While the services provided by the Cloud Computing is surplus, concern over the promising aspects are of no doubt. The barricades to cloud implementation in the reality are abundance. Findings: Amongst the barricade to cloud implementation, security and trust are considered to be the foremost issues. Trust is always a worry for the new technologies and also for distributed computing paradigm. Prospective users to Cloud Computing shall be tapped in only if the issue is precisely addressed. Minimizing the investment cost is one of the key features promised by the cloud vendors. Any security compromise towards minimizing the cost is highly intolerable. A trust solution for the Cloud Computing should balance the users worry towards trust as well as the service provision aspect. There are several promising solution to cloud trust problem exists. Application/Improvements: This work weighs some of the solutions to cloud trust and thereby highlights the potential gap between the actual requirement and the real solutions. Keywords: Cloud Survey, Cloud Survey, Cloud Trust, Cloud Trust Challenges, Cloud Trust Issues; Trust Survey

Which Indian Industry Benefits from FDI? A Panel Co-Integration Approach

Economic liberalization or market reforms have become the buzz word in economics all over the world in the recent years. Among various aspects of economic liberalization, foreign capital, particularly inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been viewed as a main engine for economic development in the world economy. Thus this paper attempts to analyze the impact of FDI inflows on the performance of various Indian industries. Using Panel Co-integration tests namely Pedroni Residual Co-integration, Kao Residual Co-integration test and Johanson Fisher panel co-intergration tests, the presence of co-integration between FDI inflows and the performance variables of selected industries have been tested. The results of the paper reveals that there is a long run relationship between industry performance indicators and FDI only in case of services, telecom, computer software and hardware, real estate and automobile industries and in case of majority of other industries, there is no long run relationship between industry performance indicators and FDI inflow.

Map Reduce Framework Driven Apriori Algorithm Base Model of Opinion Mining for drug Review

Big data which is modern buzz word of computer science society is showing its presence in almost all the trades including medical domain. The mounting trend of blogging the opinions and feedbacks of used drug is turned to be good tool for researchers and patients to take confirmation of advantageous and disadvantageous about the consumption of drugs. The data extracted from blogs about various drugs and symptoms is a huge and turned to be a big data. So extracting use full information forma such data is a challenging task to data mining research community. Applying opinion mining concepts on map reduce frame work for drug review can lead to a useful platform to extract and answer needs of research community. We propose a map reduce framework driven apriori base model form retrieving information about various drugs and symptoms. The proposed work is extension to our previous work (1) on opinion mining of drug reviews. The proposed model is tested on WebMD blog reviews which shown the good results.

Report From The Standards Vice President

In an excellent article in the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">SMPTE Journal</i> , A l Kovalick <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> made the statement that <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">“The media enterprise is in the biggest transition of its life. Equipment, processes, and applications are moving towards Information Technology (IT) methods and infrastructure. The cloud is not just a buzz word; it is the future of the media facility. The IT/cloud momentum is unstoppable and every systems designer and technician will need to become well versed in IT and cloud technologies.”</i> The article goes on to give a snapshot of the state of this migration one year ago and enumerates many of the important technologies that are enabling this transition of our industry. Reading this article, just one year after it was written, reinforces the speed at which this transition is happening.

Crowdsourcing &amp; Marketing: A Relationship in the Making

Crowdsourcing seems to have come of age since Jeff Howe christened it in 2006 and the writing on the wall is clear. As more and more companies are trying to jump on the crowdsourcing bandwagon, crowdsourcing as a marketing strategy is cementing its place in the fiercely competitive business environment and it’s leading the crowd of strategies which have come to the fore in the recent years. The business corridors are buzzing with this ever evolving phenomenon, which no more seems like another buzz word around. As this phenomenon is gaining currency across boundaries, the academic research around this topic has also gained lot of attention. As a result this paper will draw attention toward the marketer’s perspective about crowdsourcing, as they are the one who are the harbinger of the future growth of crowdsourcing. This paper will highlight the level of awareness of crowdsourcing among the marketing managers, their perspective about its use and impact on various marketing strategies. In addition to this, their perspective on digital divide is considered to be discussed, as digital divide could play a spoilsport in the relationship between crowdsourcing and marketing. Most often it is said that if you want to do something different then don’t follow the crowd, first time it seems it is good to follow the crowd.

Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: Hypes and Hopes 6th International Translational Cancer Research Conference

Cancer is primarily an "old-age" disease that has an "age-old" history. The overall incidence of cancer is much higher in Western countries, but is rapidly growing in Eastern countries perhaps due to change in life-style. Almost three million studies published to date indicate that cancer is a hyperproliferative disorder that arises from dysregulation of multiple cell signaling pathways. The cancer genome landscape indicates that approximately 140 genes and 12 cell signaling pathways drive almost all cancers. "Targeted therapy," a buzz word in cancer treatment for the past two decades, has provided antibodies, as well as small-molecule inhibitors. These therapies have been successful only in few instances. However, in most cases, minor increase in overall survival has been reported at the cost of huge expense. An alternative strategy is to prevent cancer or to diagnose and treat the disease at an early stage to gain survival benefits. Such interventions are also cost-effective. To address some of these issues, the 6th International Translational Cancer Research Conference was held during February 4-7th, 2016, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India; the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi. This conference was focused on utilizing multidisciplinary approaches for prevention and early treatment that would likely simultaneously or sequentially target many key pathways. Several distinguished speakers were invited from around the world. This article highlights primary features of this conference.

A Hidden Corner of the “One Health” Concept: One Health, the Military Veterinarian, and Education

Public health belongs to the “One Health” umbrella. As military veterinary medicine evolved, it became embedded in national security. Many armed forces still have active veterinary services, both regular and reserve components. The military veterinarian can serve as an interface between civilians and civil organizations, can handle complex and interdisciplinary cases. Introducing the “One Health” concept both in practice and education has encountered many difficulties. Over time, “One Health” has been judged to be a “buzz word” in civilian areas; however, it is a weighty concept. Its importance is pronounced in military areas where practicing along One Health principles were present before the appearance of the term itself. Nevertheless, military “One Health” has not penetrated into the overwhelming “One Health” literature. Emphasizing the military aspects of One Health not only reveals an obscure corner but might help to regain the proper importance of the “One Health” concept.

Data Value, Big Data Analytics, and Decision-Making

With the increasing integration of different technologies in a growing range of equipment and products, big data is a paradigm shift that involves data analysis, using well-known schemes, to extract patterns in hidden relationships. This is the radical change in the “business model” of a company related to the monetization of the data it collects. The biggest question for a company is no longer deciding if it should launch new products, but rather taking advantage of available (structured or unstructured) data and to know how to develop a high performance and design an appropriate mining to efficiently analyze big data and to find the useful things from it. The objective of this paper is to show that the challenges of the era of “data revolution” focus on data uses. It is linked to the rise of the intangible economy that mobilizes knowledge and highlights the importance of data. To deeply discuss this issue, this paper illustrates the buzz words related to data especially big data and open data, in order to illuminate the discussions of data valorization.

Application of Six Sigma Methodology in Glazing and Printing Processes: The Case of Lanka Wall Tiles PLC

Six Sigma is a data-driven process of thinking to create new knowledge and skills for business process improvement. It is a buzz word in the business community today as Six Sigma thinking has gained widespread popularity as a part of business process improvement methodology. This paper presents the results of applying Six Sigma methodology at Lanka Wall Tiles PLC in the areas of glazing and printing operations. The company in its process re-engineering project identified glazing and printing operations as the main processes in which defects occur regularly. In order to address the issue of production defects a five-step DMAIC framework, viz. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control, was applied. In the define stage, the size of the problem was gauged after mapping the process by means of the SIPOC (Supplier, Input, Process, Outputs, Customer) model. In the measurement and data analysis stages, a set of carefully chosen statistical methods and problem solving techniques of Six Sigma system were applied to uncover the sources of variations (SOV). Data was collected from both the past records of production and by observation of the process for a period of 21 days. Data analysis was done using tools and techniques such as quality function deployment (QFD), control charts, cross tabulation, cause and effect diagrams and Pareto charts. A detailed analysis of the data revealed the major sources of variations for which homegrown solutions were found and implemented by the project team at the improvement stage. A cautious application of DMAIC over a period of two months resulted in a gradual and steady reduction of defects by a significant 3.3 percent giving rise to savings of approximately LKR 3.36 million per month for the company. It further revealed that the methodical and systematic application of the Six Sigma system using the thinking process of DMAIC enabled the team to identify sources of variations that had been undetected for a long period of time. The success of the experiment paves the way for further studies as well as the application of Six Sigma methodology in the manufacturing environments of all production units of the company.

“M-Tailing” – The New Buzz Word in Retailing

Objectives: This paper is on the concept of M-Tailing wherein the power of the mobile phone technology is harnessed in retailing. With the exponential increase in communication technology and penetration of mobile phones, M-Tailing will be the future-retailing model. This paper traces the evolution of M-Tailing, the drivers, the hurdles and its future in the country. The explosive growth of E-commerce bodes well for the future of M-Tailing. The retail sector growth in today’s India is considered to be the major driver of M-Tailing India is seen today as the organized retail destination and the GRDI has placed India as number two developing retail market in the world. Organized retail and mall development have gone hand in hand in the country and today we have both large international and local companies making their foray into retail. One other driver is the changing Indian demographics. The increasing upward mobile urban youth market that is very tech savvy will be the future hunting ground for M-Tailers. Applications: The growth of mobile technology i.e. the launch of the 3G in India will be one of the key factors, which will further fuel the growth of M-Tailing. Every coin has the other side. The hurdles to M-Tailing are also examined in this paper. Findings: The paper concludes with what the future model should be and how retailers should design and develop their offering for the future.

University Students' Perspective towards Online Shopping

Online shopping is a gift of new technological era and has become a buzz word in the present market which has presence in global market in proliferating manner. It is also spreading with rapid pace in Indian market and has changed the total phenomenon in the modern business. With the fast upgradation of technology, the numbers of internet users are increasing day by day in India. The growth of e-commerce has provided a new momentum to marketing and distribution of goods and services which save the time and became a convenience medium for the users. The users can click on the products of their choice to be purchased and received it at their doorstep. In the present time, it is experienced that most of the youngsters show their interest on the online purchasing. Therefore, there is a need to understand how they perceive online shopping; hence, the present study is a modest effort to examine the factors that influence the youngsters (University students) perception as well as their level of trust towards online shopping. The findings reveal that students hold positive perception towards online shopping; however, female students have more positive inclination rather than male students.

Do labels matter when implementing change? Implications of labelling an academic as a champion − results from a case study

Organisational change literature is littered with labels for those who instigate, support, resist, or implement change. Absent is research into the perspectives of those who are given these labels. This paper reports findings from a literature search, journal scan and a case study of an Australian university where change agents were labelled ‘School Champions’. Data analysis of the authors suggests that labels do matter, not only to change agents, but also other academics who interacted with them such as Associate Deans. The authors found that, because a label implies an identity, when the choice of labels is unexamined, unintended consequences can result. These include ridicule, derision, and serious or light-hearted teasing, plus dismissive and cynical attitudes towards senior management’s endorsement of buzz words as labels. The authors suggest strategies to ensure that a label or identity badge suits academe, has minimal potential to cause emotional or professional harm, and is embraced rather than renounced.

Viral Social Media Campaigns Changing the Dynamics of Marketing

The success of an advertising and promotional campaign, off late is not only dependent on the creativity of a marketer and his team but is largely dependent on the medium chosen to run the campaign. The digital marketing per se has been evolving itself in to a new phase with the advent of internet related online environment which has become a major medium of digital marketing spend. Social media the new paradigm in online has recreated and made the marketing mega minds rethink their business strategies in exploiting the potential of the new age technology which has given them a medium of reach where making the customers communicate without any inhibitions is possible. “Viral” is the buzz word in online marketing, especially in social media which is gaining unprecedented momentum. Smarter companies are exploding in to people’s minds and consciousness by developing campaigns which in turn compel their target consumers to share their content with among their social circle which creates a circle effect and created unprecedented interest. This paper analyses how social media is changing the dynamics of online marketing especially with special reference to viral campaigns which has created a new breed of customers who become addicted to such campaigns and in turn become brand advocates. The findings are drawn from analysis of secondary sources collected from different sources such as internet, industry data and quoted references shows that Viral Campaigns are not a fad but are becoming a way of changing dynamics of online marketing process. Also examples for successive viral campaigns and failures are discussed with.

Powering the Smart City

We believe the biggest challenge facing cities of the future is two-fold: power reliability and power sustainability, says David Chiesa, senior director of business development at the SC in fact, outages cost world economies hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Additionally, during major weather events like hurricanes, snow storms, heat waves and earthquakes cities rely on their electrical infrastructure to coordinate first-responders and provide essential services to citizens. It's hardly surprising that `resilience' has become the buzz word for companies like S&C when they talk about power and smart cities. From an infrastructure point of view, Hurricane Sandy in New York and Katrina in New Orleans caused unprecedented flooding and power cuts. But with such extreme weather events expected to increase as climate changedevelops, important questions still remain: what does being `smart' or 'resilient' really mean, and is the push for more technology-driven, power-hungry cities just exacerbating the problem?

Cultural competence or speaking the patient’s language?

Cultural competence has become yet another buzz word in the education of healthcare professionals. According to Prasad et al ., ‘culturally competent care assumes that healthcare providers can learn a quantifiable set of attitudes and communication skills that will allow them to work effectively within the cultural context of the patients they come across’. The questions that arise, therefore, are whether clinical trainees are being fully supported to acquire this fundamental skill and whether overloaded curricula can accommodate the ongoing demand for more ‘teaching time’.