bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Appropriate Return to Equity in Private Power Projects Case of the Enron Project
Authors: Sinha Sidharth
Published: September 2016

There has been considerable controversy about the appropriate return to equity in private power projects. This case study by Sidharth Sinha discusses the appropriateness of the return to equity in the Enron project.
The Risks of Financing Telecom Projects
Authors: Sinha Sidharth
Published: September 2016

This paper by Sidharth Sinha reviews the emerging competitive structure of the Indian telecom sector, identifies the constraints within which the private sector is expected to operate, and discusses issues related to interconnection cost and quantity. It also looks at the regulation of tariffs in the context of cross-subsidies in the existing tariff structure and identifies areas for further work.
Financing of Indian Telecom in a Competitive Environment
Authors: Saxena S.D.
Published: September 2016

An overall perspective of the telecom section in India—the existing situation, growth in urban and rural areas, development strategies, and the future growth—indicates that the deployment of resources in this sector has been abysmally low. This paper by S D Saxena discusses the various instruments for financing this sector and suggests a mix of equity participation and debt for future growth.
Indian Auto-Rubber Component Market
Authors: Krishnamoorthy S. , Jaju Anupam
Published: September 2016

As the market is becoming more and more competitive, a careful analysis of the environment and domain of operations of the industry and a well thought out set of strategies has become imperative. In this article, the authors address the opportunities thrown open to the auto-rubber component industry by the economic reforms and the probable areas of growth in the sector. An attempt has been made by them to carry out a brief and unbiased audit of the industry, the market, and other external influences that affect the autorubber component industry.
Managing Working Capital in a Manufacturing Organization
Authors: Garg R K
Published: September 2016

A proper management of working capital in a large manufacturing concern assumes importance as it reflects on the sound financial health of an organization. Achieving budgeted growth rate and excelling past performance in sales turnover do not necessarily indicate proper management of working capital as even a highly profitable company may be having a precarious cash position. According to R K Garg, a thorough analysis of working capital position, drawing of appropriate action plans for improvement, a through revamping of existing systems, and a multi-disciplinary team approach are essential to achieve the objective of efficient management of working capital.
India's Economic Reforms: Dismantling the Machine for Going Backwards
Authors: Bhagwati Jagdish
Published: September 2016

This paper by Jagdish Bhagwati presents a critical appraisal of India's economic strategy over the last five decades. According to Bhagwati, while India's democratic success has been outstanding, her economics has been a big disappointment leaving the economy in a state of economic backwardness. By 80s⁄ India's economic failure became a classic case study to lean what not to do. Recent reforms, which signal the final discrediting of the failed ideas⁄ have started dismantling the past policies that crippled India's performance. However⁄ Bhagwati feels that the prospects for a complete transition still remain problematic partly on account of the politics of coalitions at the centre and partly because the dissent from the supporters of India's earlier policies may create confusion and delays.
India's Fiscal Reform: Some Signposts
Authors: Bagchi Amaresh
Published: September 2016

This paper by Bagchi seeks to review the magnitude and quality of fiscal consolidation that has taken place in India in the process of economic reforms and identify the tasks ahead. The broad conclusion is that while there has been some notable success in reducing the deficits of the centre, the fiscal situation marked by large revenue deficits remains fragile. Fiscal correction has also had an adverse impact on government's capital spending. For the growth momentum to pick up⁄ budgetary support for investment in infrastructure must be stepped up and government expenditure restructured to provide larger allocation for health and education. If these are to be achieved while adhering to norms of fiscal prudence⁄ the revenue-ratio would need to be raised by nearly 4 per cent of GDP. That would call for massive efforts towards augmenting tax and non-tax revenues at both levels of government. Some fundamental institutional reforms will also be needed such as in the system of federal transfers⁄ the judicial system⁄ and the administrative organization and methods.
Y2K Conversion Projects: What a Manager should be Aware of
Authors: Rao V Venkata
Published: September 2016

Most data processing systems in the world use two digits to represent the year number in a date field. This representation will lead to errneous results as the current century draws to a close. The consequences of this year 2000 (Y2K) crisis are very alarming. Even more alarming is the fact that a significant number of managers are still not aware of the seriousness of the Y2K problem. If not tackled on a war footing, this bug might cause some organizations to go out of business. This paper by Venkata Rao discusses those aspects of the Y2K problem which are of interest to managers as they have a key role to play in the initiation of a Y2K conversion project in their organization and in defining its scope. According to him, many lessons are to be learnt from this crisis by the IT community, and, in future, new design strategies should be used to prevent this crisis from recurring.
Evaluating International Competitiveness at the Industry Level
Authors: Momaya K
Published: September 2016

In recent years, the importance of competitiveness has been increasingly recognized. In this article⁄ Momaya discusses different levels of competitiveness and reviews its significance at the industry level. To enhance the understanding of the dynamics of competitiveness, it is divided into three facets: assets, processes, and performance. A methodology to evaluate the relative competitiveness at the industry level is developed and listed in the context of the construction indus try in Canada, Japan, and the United States. While presenting the findings of the international project, Momaya confirms the important role strategic management processes play in enhancing competitiveness and stresses on the need to evaluate international competitiveness of crucial Indian industries.
Influencing the Superior: A Factor Analytical Study
Authors: Singh Anup Kumar
Published: September 2016

Traditionally, managerial effectiveness research has focused on downward influ ence. However, a manager needs to have adequate amount of upward influence to accomplish his objectives. The present study by Singh explores the ways through which middle managers influence their immediate superiors. Data obtained from 110 respondents were subjected to principal components factor analysis. Five factors of influencing the superior were found, namely, information sharing, expertise, manipulation, confrontation, and personalized relationship. The findings are discussed in the light of the superiorsubordinate relationship and in the Indian context. Directions for future research are also suggested.
Consultancy Services for Small Scale Sick Units
Authors: Chhikara M S
Published: September 2016

Development of small scale industrial sector and providing multiple socio-economic benefits is one of the priorities of Indian planning. Though a number of measures were introduced to sustain healthy growth of this sector⁄ a significant k -portion of small scale units have started Ming sick. Consultants from various technical consultancy organizations⁄ small industry service institutes⁄ and private firms do play a major role in preventing and curing sickness.

Based on a field study of 20 problematic units⁄this paper by Chhikara evalu ates certain important aspects of the consulting profession such as hiring consultants and utilizing their services; in volvement and commitment of promoters; the role of financial institutions and banks; overall impact of consultancy services; major gaps and limitations⁄ and additional requirements needed for making consultancy services more result-oriented.
Competitiveness of Indian Manufacturing
Authors: Chandra Pankaj , Sastry Trilochan
Published: September 2016

This paper by Pankaj Chandra and Trilochan Sastry reports the findings of a survey to study the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing sector. The paper identifies the priorities of Indian manufacturing firms, the programmes that they undertake to reach their objectives, and the outcome or the performance of these firms. The authors also present some international comparisons based on a similar study done in the US. The paper highlights the role of innovation and supply chain management as a part of any robust manufacturing strategy in developing world-class operations.
Integrated Decision Support Models for Manufacturing: An Example from the Electronics Industry
Authors: Tirupati Devanath
Published: September 2016

In response to increased competition, shorter product life cycles, and more demanding customers, manufacturers in many industries have been forced to adopt a service orientation to be more responsive in meeting customer needs. These developments during the past decade have caused significant impact on the internal operations and emphasized the need for greater operational flexibility and improved coordination within the firm, in particular, between marketing and manufacturing. In this paper, Devanath Tirupati describes a decision support system that was developed in response to such needs faced by a printed circuit board manufacturer in the electronics industry. The core functionality of this order analysis and rescheduling system (OARS) was based on a hierarchical approach and comprised of a series of mathematical programming based optimization models, while data integrity was assured by an integrated set of data bases. Finally, successful development and implementation was, in no small measure, due to the use of an interdisciplinary approach with project team involving representatives from the user groups from the beginning.
Two Organizational Roles: Manager's and Leader's
Authors: Singh Sampat P
Published: September 2016

In this decade⁄ leadership has been one of the most popular topics with speakers and writers on management. It is by its nature a somewhat enigmatic concept and⁄ therefore⁄ not largely amenable to research. Still⁄ it has been possible to develop better understanding. Leader's personality is not so much in focus now. It has shifted to leadership role and tends to shift further to leadership as a process. Distinction between leadership and managerial roles is becoming clearer. Whether leaders are born or made is no longer a serious controversy. It is asserted that leadership success or failure depends more on learning processes and situational contexts. How to interpret the life around and how to promote meaningful action are some of the vital questions which only better understanding can help in answering. The purpose of this paper by Sampat Singh is to promote efforts in that direction.
Splendor Decorative Laminates India Ltd.
Authors: Koshy Abraham
Published: September 2016

Evaluating market research proposals and selecting an appropriate market research agency is the major task before Mr Vivek Chandra⁄ Marketing Manager of Splendor Decorative Laminates India Ltd. What criteria should he use to evaluate the proposals and decide on the agency as he found several valid points in all the three proposals?

Readers are invited to send their responses on the case to Vikalpa Office.
Lessons from East Asia
Authors: Rangarajan C
Published: September 2016

A year has passed since the onset of the Asian financial crisis. We are not sure that we have seen the final act of the drama. The East Asian experience shows that if there is an open capital account, the recipient country must have a stricter system of monitoring the inflows. A supervisory control over the financial system must also be very stringent. A loose domestic financial system and large capital inflows are the worst combination. It invites danger. According to Rangarajan⁄ the lesson to draw from the East Asian crisis is that the capital account liberalization and reform of the financial system should move in tandem.
Asian Crisis and Finance Theory
Authors: Varma Jayanth R
Published: September 2016

The Asian crisis did not involve generalized financial panic. Stock markets behaved rationally and the crash in exchange rates is explained by the presence of credit risk. According to Jayanth R Varma, the crisis highlights the need for better risk management at the national level focusing less on the size of the external debt and more on its currency and maturity composition. There should be more freedom in capital outflows and less reliance on the banking system. IMF assistance to crisis stricken countries should be in the form of a currency swap which addresses the root cause of the crisis and subjects the IMF itself to financial discipline.
Financial Crisis in East Asia: A Macroeconomic Perspective
Authors: Dholakia Bakul H
Published: September 2016

The East Asian crisis occurred despite highly impressive macroeconomic performance and prudent fiscal policies pursued by the severely affected countries which enjoyed excellent international credit rating till June 1997. The crisis came as a rude shock to the international financial community and the policy-makers on account of its unprecedented magnitude and global impact. In this paper, Bakul Dholakia argues that the crisis resulted from a strong combination of mutually reinforcing factors such as appreciation of real exchange rates, high levels of current account deficit, extremely high growth of short-term external debt⁄ and highly fragile financial sector. According to Dholakia⁄ the overall impact of East Asian financial crisis on the Indian economy can be described as moderate. The slow-down of India's industrial growth and exports and fall in the stock market since the last quarter of 1997 can be attributed more to the climate of political uncertainty than the East Asian crisis. Given the favourable macroeconomic fundamentals⁄ Indian economy currently does not face any threat arising from the Asian virus.
Agricultural Development under the New Economic Environment: A Case of Zambia
Authors: Desai Bhupat M , Namboodiri N V
Published: September 2016

The case featured in this issue discusses Zambia's agricultural development particularly in the context of the new economic environment. Zambia is unique compared to most developing countries in that its share of agriculture in national income is less than 20 per cent while its share of work-force is over 80 per cent. Even the percentage of people living in absolute poverty is high. Also⁄ labour in general is underutilized and 75 per cent of agricultural labour compose of women. Thus⁄ according to Bhupat Desai and Namboodiri⁄ there is a compelling case for developing agriculture.

Readers are invited to send their responses on the case to Vikalpa office.
Personnel and Management Philosophies for IT Companies
Authors: Gupta P P
Published: September 2016

In this article⁄ P P Gupta discusses some of the value systems and personnel policies which he feels are essential for the growth of Information Technology in our country.
Bharat Seaports Authority
Authors: Ramani K V
Published: September 2016

The main objective of port management is to reduce the ship turnaround time by optimally utilizing the port resources. Reduced turnaround time encourages trade and improves the competitiveness of the port to provide efficient and effective services at low cost. The management of Bharat Seaports Authority is wondering how to achieve this objective.

Readers are invited to send their responses on the case to Vikalpa office.
Japan in Transition, 1995
Authors: Vachani Sushil
Published: September 2016

Japan has been envied for its spectacular post-war growth, making the severity of its problems in the 90s especially striking. This case by Vachani presents the major challenges confronting Japan in the 90s and the underlying cultural, economic, political, and structural issues. While solutions to some of Japan's problems might appear simple, their implementation is by no means easy.
Board Size and Corporate Financial Performance: An Investigation
Authors: Kathuria Vinish , Dash Shridhar
Published: September 2016

This paper examines the association between board size and corporate financial performance using data on 504 corporations belonging to 18 industries. The results suggest that the size of the board plays an important role in influencing the financial performance of corporations. The analysis shows that the performance improves if the board size increases, but the contribution of an additional board member decreases as the size of the corporation increases. The results, however, fail to indicate any significant role of directors' equity ownership in influencing the performance.
Natural Resource Accounting by Tree Growers' Co–operatives: Framework and Case Study
Authors: Saxena Rakesh , Agrawal Rajesh
Published: September 2016

This paper proposes a natural resource accounting system which can be used with the conventional financial accounts of village level Tree Growers Co-operative Societies operating under the umbrella of the National Tree Growers' Co-operative Federation. The proposed system has been applied to a society, namely the Sarnal Tree Growers' Co-operative Society which is located in Kheda distric t of Gujarat. It is expected that the adoption of the proposed system by these societies would help in improving their overall performance. Though the proposed framework has been developed specifically for the tree growers' co-operatives, the framework may also provide useful insights to social accounting and natural resource accounting in other types of organizations.
Fear of Success among Women Managers: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Buddhapriya Sanghamitra
Published: September 2016

Fear of success is regarded as a major problem facing women managers in the organizational setting. Such female-specific fear of success motive originates from sex-role socialization process. In the present study, an attempt is made to study the impact of managerial level and sex-role orientation on fear of success. The study is based on an empirical investigation conducted among 160 women managers from senior, middle, and junior levels of management from 10 major PSUs. Contrary to expectations, the results reveal that the average score of women managers on fear of success is low and managerial level does not have any significant influence on it. However, sex-role orientation is found to be having significant influence on fear of success. Androgynous and masculine sex-role type women managers experienced much less fear of success than the feminine sex-role type.
Dividend and Bonus Policies of Indian Companies: An Analysis
Authors: Mohanty Pitabas
Published: September 2016

This article presents the findings of a study of dividend paying behaviour of more than 200 Indian companies over 15 years. It attempts to examine whether the companies offering bonus issue have been able to generate greater returns for their shareholders than those that have not offered any bonus issue but have maintained a steadily increasing dividend rate. It is found that most of the companies either maintained the dividend rate after the bonus issue at the pre-bonus level or decreased it (but not proportionately) thereby increasing the dividend payments to the shareholder. In fact, a few companies increased the dividend rate after a bonus issue. It is found that, during 1982-91, the bonus issuing companies yielded greater returns to their shareholders than those that did not make any bonus issue but maintained a steadily increasing dividend rate. This phenome - non got reversed during 1992-96. The declining tendency of the MNCs to issue bonus shares is found to be one of the reasons for such behaviour.
Takeover Announcements, Open Offers, and Shareholders' Returns in Target Firms
Authors: Pandey Ajay
Published: September 2016

The empirical studies in the context of developed countries have consistently pointed out substantial valuation gains for target firms, particularly in case of successful takeovers. This effect has been "found to be higher for tender offers compared to mergers and proxy contests, the other forms of plays in the market for corporate control. Subsequent to enactment of takeover enabling regulations in 1997 in India, takeovers and substantial acquisition of shares necessitate making open offer to the investors. Based on the empirical investigation of 14 large (above Rs 10 crore) takeover related open offers using event study methodology, we document significant announcement effect (» 10%) associated with the takeovers in Indian capital market. We also find that the target firm valuations increase in the runup to announcement. However, unlike developed countries, substantial part of these gains are wiped out subsequently indicating that valuation gains associated with takeovers in large part reflect private value of control, expected to be high in the Indian context The fact that only one large open offer (out of 16 in all) was associated with an attempted unsuccessful hostile takeover bid suggests that given relatively large insiders' shareholdings, takeovers as governance mechanisms are not likely to be effective and private value of control may be the driver in the market for
New Directions in Strategic Insights from Literature and Management: Case Studies
Authors: Venugopal R.
Published: September 2016

In this paper, Venugopal presents new directions in strategic management based on insights from literature and case studies. He introduces a term called resource modularity to capture the dynamics of strategic management.
Abstracts
Authors: Sarkar Mitali
Published: September 2016

This section features abstracts of articles covering empirical studies, experiences, ideas, and theories published in Indian and international journals. Sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, this service is intended to facilitate Indian management research.

Authors desirous of having their publications considered for inclusion in this feature may please send reprints of their articles to Vikalpa Editorial Office.
Contrarian and Momentum Strategies in the Indian Capital Market
Authors: Sehgal Sanjay , Balakrishnan I
Published: September 2016

The study attempts to evaluate if there are any systematic patterns in stock returns for the Indian market. The empirical findings reveal that there is a reversal in long-term returns, once the short-term momentum effect has been controlled by maintaining a one year gap between portfolio formation period and the portfolio holding period. A contrarian strategy based on long-term past returns provides moderately positive returns. Further, there is a continuation in short-term returns and a momentum strategy based on it provides significantly positive payoffs. The results in general are in conformity with those for developed capital markets such as the US.
Precious Shipping Public Company Limited
Authors: Raghuram G
Published: September 2016

The July-September 2001 (Vol 26, No 3) issue of Vikalpa had published a Management Case titled “ Precious Shipping Public Company Limited” by G Raghuram. In this issue, we feature three responses on the case from Ajay Pandey; Justin Paul; and Amit Paranjape, Indraneel Pandit, and Umesh Bali.

Precious Shipping Public Company Limited (PSL) went through a process of financial restructuring in response to the economic crisis that hit Thailand in 1997. PSL faced trouble since payments were due in dollars and they had investments in Thai baht, which had devalued during the crisis. Being a professionally managed company with a high level of transparency in their transactions, they came out of the situation by managing to restructure their secured and unsecured debts. A large part of the unsecured debt proved a little more complex since it was tied to a swap. The case describes the financial restructuring process and the business scenario during the crisis, and provides an opportunity for learning about financial risk management.
Scooters India Limited
Authors: Kumar Krishna , Srivastava Ritu
Published: September 2016

The April-June 2001 issue of Vikalpa had published a Management Case titled “Scooters India Limited” and the diagnoses was featured in the October-December 2001 issue. In this issue, we are carrying three additional responses on the case by Sharmishtha Mahajan, Abhijit Bhide, Prasad Bade; Indu Jacob, Minal Shah and Reena Choudhary; and V Srivatsa and Jaya Gupta.
Indian Management Research
Authors: Sarkar Mitali
Published: September 2016

This section features abstracts of articles covering empirical studies, experiences, ideas, and theories published in Indian and international journals. Sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, this service is intended to facilitate Indian management research.

Authors desirous of having their publications considered for� inclusion in this feature may please send reprints of their articles to Vikalpa Editorial Office.
Management of Claims and Reimbursements: The Case of Mediclaim Insurance Policy
Authors: Bhat Ramesh , Reuben Elan Benjamin
Published: September 2016

The Mediclaim scheme run by the government- owned General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India is currently the only private voluntary health insurance scheme available in India. This scheme has been in operation since 1986 and from time to time a number of revisions has been made to address the needs of its clients. The analysis of claims and reimbursements under this scheme is scanty. This paper analyses 621 claims and reimbursements pertaining to policy initiation years 1997- 98 and 1998-99 of the Ahmedabad branch of GIC's subsidiary. The study estimates that about a third of claims amount increase is due to the problems of adverse selection or provider- induced demand. The analysis of breakup of reimbursements suggests that more than one-third of reimbursements are made towards doctor's fees, followed by diagnostic charges which account for about one-fourth. The findings also suggest that the insurance company took on an average 121 days to settle the claim.
Role of Information Systems in Banks: An Empirical Study in the Indian Context
Authors: Rawani A M , Gupta M P
Published: September 2016

In the current era of competition, the use of computers and allied technologies has become inevitable and it has been well recognized that Information Systems (IS) plays different roles in different industries. This paper makes an attempt to explore empirically the difference in the role of IS in the banking industry, i.e., between public sector, private sector, and foreign sector banks operating in India. The study indicates that IS plays a supportive role in public sector banks and a strategic role in private and foreign sector banks. The study also indicates that the future impact of IS does not vary significantly with the banking groups.
Victor Brand
Authors: George Simon
Published: September 2016

Victor India Ltd (VCIL) was established in 1989 as a public limited company for manufacturing and marketing cocoa-based products, mainly chocolates. The company launched its cocoa-based brown milk beverage brand Victor in 1996 and expected that it would be able to do well in the market against established and aggressive competitors leveraging on the costing and pricing advantage. However, Victor's sales in the initial year could not reach the expected target. In 2000, the company initiated a brand-building programme to revitalize the brand by making interventions in the brand's attributes, benefits, and package leading to. modifications in positioning. The results were encouraging but the brand was still struggling to break even. The company was reviewing the costing of the product as well as its promotion strategies. The case focuses on the challenges faced by VCIL in its brandbuilding programme.
Double Loop Process: The Next Innovation Paradigm
Authors: Thomas Philip S
Published: September 2016

A turning point in the innovation process may have been reached with the appearance of arecent proposal to emphasize customer toolkits in a bid to alleviate the dilemma between customer dissatisfaction and supplier overextension in the innovation process. This proposal is based on two decades of experience with software toolkits (including simulation) by the semiconductor industry.

In the present article, the focus is on the main implication of a double loop innovation process involving the concurrent design of a base (or general purpose) product as well as the toolkit used by customers to optimize customization.

A historical perspective reveals that the precedent for the double loop process can be found in two areas of concurrent engineering (CE) (viz. of product and process technologies) and in the concurrent evolution of markets for innovations. All three are clubbed together as “CE” and all three emphasize rapid knowledge transfers (including on a global basis) and rapid problem-solving (including via simulation). Thus, CE, along the three foregoing dimensions, provides a quasi-analytical framework for shaping the emerging double loop innovation process.

However, it becomes necessary to evaluate a potential drawback which might negate the prospects of the double loop process at this stage. This lies in the observation that: with the transfer of design work from firms to their customers, there would be a decline of design in the supplier firms, and with a tendency for “followers” to simply replicate toolkits developed by “leaders,” the double loop process would get pre-empted.

To bypass this, the additional category of “strivers” is proposed, especially given the obvious shortcoming of relying on a “one best way” philosophy.

Having placed the double loop process (referred to interchangeably as CE II) in the historical context and in order to overcome a potential drawback to its viability, an attempt is made to apply it to a strategic societal issue. In the past, CE has helped expand markets for a variety of developed-country products such as cars and computers mostly in developed country markets. Thus, it is believed that CE II will help boost business in the so-called “base-of-pyramid” (BOP) markets around the world.

The software and services industry of India may be well placed to apply the customer toolkit concept. This is because: It basically involves the extension of existing practices in the computer industry. There is a huge global need for lower cost, lower complexity software applications that need to be customized.

Software toolkits should thus help leverage scarce personnel resources in the software industry as well as accelerate customization in other industries worldwide.
How Does Internet Stock Trading in India Work?
Authors: Goswami Chandana
Published: September 2016

Internet trading started in India on 1st April 2000 with 79 members seeking permission to do so. Geojit Securities was the first to go online. On 1st February 2000, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened up the internet-based trading system for its members, the first stock exchange in India to do so. However, after two years of trading, only a dozen brokers continue offering online service. The SEBI Committee on Internet-based Securities Trading and Services has allowed the net to be used as an Order Routing System (ORS) through registered stockbrokers on behalf of their clients for execution of transactions. This paper aims at understanding the needs of the customers, comparing it with the offerings of the websites, identifying the gaps, and offering possible solutions for filling up the gaps. It is revealed that: Online traders took buying decisions on their own. A few backed it up by analysts' recommendations. Those who took decisions independently claimed to go through the websites, did fundamental and technical analysis, watched the trends, and then finally made a decision. No one solely followed brokers' recommendations blindly. Well-educated people in their 30s and 40s, who were highly informed and also knew how to tap sources of information, took decisions on their own and did not depend upon the broker. They were self-directed traders. The major perceived benefit of online system was its convenience. The broker's reliability followed by the execution speed was the key to logging on to a website. An analysis of the Indian sites indicated that they were mainly promotional and provisional in nature. Provisional information about stock quotes, database searches, research reports, etc. were provided in the site empowering the user to take independent decisions. Promotional activities in the form of facilities locator, educational forums, web designs, demos, etc. had lured many to visit their sites but whether this had converted into online clients could not be confirmed from the results of this study. Indian websites offered a basic plain package with lot of scope remaining for value addition. Excluding the technical and legal aspects over which the e-finance service providers did not have much control, certain value additions could be done on the existing websites. Moreover, the Indian investors having access to the foreign websites were quite well versed with what was being offered by the American counterparts and hence they were highly demanding customers.

The following services could make Indian sites more attractive to customers: Interactive counselling Customer care centre Investment tips Warning systems Extended hours trade Account management Inter-organizational alliances.
Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
Authors: Pandey I M , Nair Rajesh , Awasthi Dinesh , Mehta Kaushal , Varshney Vishnu , Rewari Rakesh , Ramachandran K
Published: September 2016

Entrepreneurship is the driver of growth. It helps creating innovative enterprises which provide foundation for building a nation's competitiveness. Enterprise creation needs risk capital. Venture capitalists provide risk capital and facilitate the development of entrepreneurship. There are several issues relating to entrepreneurship development and venture capital that deserve serious discussion. To put these issues into perspective, the Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship and Entre Club at IIMA organized a panel discussion which was coordinated by I M Pandey, Professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Some of the key questions that the panel has addressed to are: What is the contribution of entrepreneurship in the economic development of India? What factors have facilitated or hindered the development of entrepreneurship in India? What role has venture capital played in fostering the growth of entrepreneurship in India? What do entrepreneurs look for from venture capitalists other than the capital in the growth of their enterprises? What are the experiences of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs vis-a-vis the interface between venture capital and entrepreneurship?

The following are some important points that emerged from the panel discussion: There is a direct link between entrepreneurship and the economic growth. There is some evidence that entrepreneurship has made contribution to India's growth. Factors responsible for the slow growth of entrepreneurship and lack of innovative spirit included the faulty education system, absence of proper incentives and environment to innovate, lack of proactive and favourable government policies, non-availability of risk capital, and the Indian mindset favouring comfortable and secured career choices. Entrepreneurship is a prerequisite for building our nation's global competitiveness. There is no short-cut. The liberalization of the Indian economy and the increased access to the global capital have paved way for entrepreneurship development and for facing international competition. The role of venture capital in fuelling the growth of entrepreneurship is inevitable. Venture capitalists need to play a proactive role. The Indian experience shows that venture capital is capable of creating a facilitating environment to build entrepreneurship culture and help entrepreneurship develop as a preferred career option. Venture capitalists should play the dual role of financiers and mentors. They should facilitate the networking of entrepreneurs with customers, distributors, financial institutions, consultants, etc. Efforts should be made by public and private sectors to create critical mass of venture capital funds, especially to finance start-ups and ventures of the first-time entrepreneurs. The education system in India should focus on developing entrepreneurship skills and risk-taking abilities of students.
Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibition eliminates microglia and attenuates brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage
Authors: Li Minshu , Li Zhiguo , Ren Honglei , Jin Wei-Na , Wood Kristofer , Liu Qiang , Sheth Kevin N , Shi Fu-Dong
Published: September 2016

Microglia are the first responders to intracerebral hemorrhage, but their precise role in intracerebral hemorrhage remains to be defined. Microglia are the only type of brain cells expressing the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor, a key regulator for myeloid lineage cells. Here, we determined the effects of a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor (PLX3397) on microglia and the outcome in the context of experimental mouse intracerebral hemorrhage. We show that PLX3397 effectively depleted microglia, and the depletion of microglia was sustained after intracerebral hemorrhage. Importantly, colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibition attenuated neurodeficits and brain edema in two experimental models of intracerebral hemorrhage induced by injection of collagenase or autologous blood. The benefit of colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibition was associated with reduced leukocyte infiltration in the brain and improved blood–brain barrier integrity after intracerebral hemorrhage, and each observation was independent of lesion size or hematoma volume. These results demonstrate that suppression of colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor signaling ablates microglia and confers protection after intracerebral hemorrhage.
Differential knee skin temperature following total knee arthroplasty and its relationship with serum indices and outcome: A prospective study
Authors: Zeng Yirong , Feng Wenjun , Qi Xinyu , Li Jie , Chen Jinlun , Lu Lu , Deng Peng , Zeng Jianchun , Li Feilong
Published: September 2016

Objectives

To monitor knee skin temperature changes for 12 months following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and identify potential reasons for any differences in skin temperature and to investigate if there is a relationship between the differential temperature and clinical outcome.

Methods

Patients who attended for a unilateral TKA due to primary osteoarthritis between August 2012 and August 2014 were eligible for this prospective study. The skin temperature of both knees was monitored preoperatively and postoperatively using an infrared thermometer. Serum indices and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee scores were assessed.

Results

Thirty-nine patients were involved in the study. The skin temperature of both knees as well as the differential temperature increased following TKA. Serum haemoglobin, haematocrit and days from surgery showed inverse correlations with the differential temperature, while body mass index and American Society of Anesthesiologists scores showed positive correlations. There was a strong inverse correlation between the differential temperature and HSS. score.

Conclusions

Differential knee skin temperature elevation 12 months post-TKA may be a normal surgical response.
Use of WhatsApp in Higher Education
Authors: Güler Çetin
Published: September 2016

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of WhatsApp application in anonymous peer assessment in higher education. The mobile phone application WhatsApp was used as both an anonymous and nonanonymous peer assessment tool in a classroom environment. The participants of the study were the students of two classes (sophomores and juniors), half of which were assigned to the anonymous peer assessment group and the other half to the nonanonymous peer assessment group for each class. The members of the anonymous groups used the personal messaging function of WhatsApp for assessment, whereas the nonanonymous groups used the group chat function of the application. WhatsApp was confirmed to be a valid tool for peer assessment, and it was shown that the required anonymity of the method was appropriate for the task. The students' perceived attitudes toward the procedure were found to be rather high, with no significant difference identified between the sophomores and junior groups related to the procedure.
Allicin ameliorates kidney function and urinary bladder sensitivity in cyclosporine A-treated rats
Authors: El-Kashef DH , El-Kenawi AE , Suddek GM , Salem HA
Published: September 2016

Cyclosporine-A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive drug which has been used to prevent rejection after organ transplantation and to treat certain autoimmune diseases. However, its therapeutic use is limited by nephrotoxicity. In this study, the modulator effect of allicin on the oxidative nephrotoxicity of CsA in rats was investigated. Furthermore, the effect of allicin on CsA-induced hypersensitivity of urinary bladder rings to acetylcholine (ACh) was estimated. Rats were divided into three groups, control, CsA (15 mg/kg, subcutaneously), and CsA/allicin (50 mg/kg, orally). At the end of the study, all rats were killed and then blood, urine samples, and kidneys were taken. CsA administration caused a severe nephrotoxicity which was evidenced by elevated kidney/body weight ratio, serum creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, and urinary protein with a concomitant reduction in serum albumin and Cr clearance as compared with control. A significant increase in renal contents of malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha with a significant decrease in renal reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase activities, and nitric oxide (NOx) content was detected upon CsA administration. Exposure to CsA increased the sensitivity of isolated urinary bladder rings to ACh. Histological analysis revealed that CsA caused tubular necrosis and moderate diffuse tubular atrophy. Allicin protected kidney tissue against the oxidative damage and the nephrotoxic effect of CsA and significantly reduced the responses of isolated bladder rings to ACh. Our study indicates that allicin administration has the potential to protect against CsA-induced renal injury by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation and restoring NOx level.
Nickel oxide nanoparticles induced pulmonary fibrosis via TGF-β1 activation in rats
Authors: Chang XH , Zhu A , Liu FF , Zou LY , Su L , Liu SK , Zhou HH , Sun YY , Han AJ , Sun YF , Li S , Li J , Sun YB
Published: September 2016

Nano nickel oxide (NiO), widely used in industry, has recently been discovered to have pulmonary toxicity. However, no subchronic exposure studies about nano NiO-induced pulmonary fibrosis have been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate pulmonary fibrosis induced by nano NiO and its potential mechanism in rats. Male Wistar rats ( n = 40, 200–240 g) were randomized into control group, nano NiO groups (0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg), and micro NiO group (0.024 mg/kg). All rats were killed to collect lung tissue after intratracheal instillation of NiO particles twice a week for 6 weeks. To identify pulmonary fibrosis, Masson trichrome staining, hydroxyproline content, and collagen protein expression were performed. The results showed widespread lung fibrotic injury in histological examination and increased content of hydroxyproline, collagen types I and III in rat lung tissue exposed to nano NiO. To explore the potential pulmonary fibrosis mechanism, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF- β1) content was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the messenger RNA expression of key indicators was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The TGF- β1 content was increased in nano NiO exposure groups, as well as the upregulated gene expression of TGF- β1, Smad2, Smad4, matrix metalloproteinase, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase. The findings indicated that nano NiO could induce pulmonary fibrosis, which may be related to TGF- β1 activation.
Tool lending librarianship
Authors: Söderholm Jonas
Published: September 2016

This article explores the work of tool lending libraries from the perspective of staff and decision makers. It addresses what role serving community members with tools plays, and what this in turn means for the professional role of library work. The study builds on semi-structured interviews with tool lending specialists and managers from three US municipalities. Participants are found to perceive their library and their work as something of practical, local and immediate relevance. Compared to traditional library work, participants perceive their setting to require patrons and staff to be more directly and actively social. Several participants stress the importance of staff being experienced tool users themselves, leading the article to conclude with a discussion on reference competence.
Book Review: Sumit Sarkar, Out-Think: How to Use Game Theory to Outsmart Your Competition
Authors: Tandon Neelam
Published: September 2016

Sumit Sarkar, Out-Think: How to Use Game Theory to Outsmart Your Competition. New Delhi: SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd., 2016, 213 pp. ₹395 (ISBN: 978-93-515-0563-1) (Paperback)
Book Review: G. S. Iyer, A China Primer: An Introduction to a Culture and a Neighbour
Authors: Nayak Somya
Published: September 2016

G. S. Iyer, A China Primer: An Introduction to a Culture and a Neighbour. New Delhi: Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2016, pp. 178, ₹ 750. ISBN 978-93-85563-24-9
Imagining a multicultural community in an everyday football carnival: Chants, identity and social resistance on Western Sydney terraces
Authors: Knijnik Jorge
Published: September 2016

Football fans around the world chant together to generate a carnivalesque atmosphere as well as to proclaim their collective identity. This paper unveils the key social issues that are behind the chants of the most culturally diverse cohort of football fans in Australia, the Western Sydney Wanderers FC supporters. Using a theoretical approach based on the everyday to look at data gathered over two years of ethnographic fieldwork, the paper reveals how the lyrics of the chants and the noisy carnival of the Wanderers fans express their multicultural identity and their hopes for a non-conflictive community. The findings also demonstrate how the chants challenge mainstream fandom culture in the country and in so doing, express fans’ resistance to the constraints of the current social order. Additionally, the results show how the carnivalesque quality brought to Western Sydney by the chants enters the fans’ daily routine. Closing notes suggest that the methodology used in this research should be employed in different Australian sports codes to examine how multiculturalism is currently enacted in these sites. The paper concludes by proposing that, more than singing for the club, this multicultural cohort is chanting for themselves.