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The purpose of this paper is to study the recent work carried out in enhancing the properties of bitumen using nano-additives. Bitumen is a by-product obtained from the refining process of crude oil, therefore making it a diminishing product. It has been used by mankind since ages for various applications like sealants, binders, waterproof coatings and pavement construction material. It is a black viscous substance with adhesive nature.

Bitumen is used as a binding material because of its ability to become liquid when heated and become solid when cooled and thus used largely in construction of roads because of its unique properties. Low softening point of bitumen leads to melting of bitumen during summer and causes rutting of roads, whereas during winter it leads to cracking as bitumen acts brittle in nature during low temperature. Increasing global demand of bitumen has created gap between demand and supply which is increasing with the passage of time. Further modern life has created very high traffic volume and heavy load which makes it essential to improve performance of bitumen.

Research studies have reported that the thermal properties of bitumen are enhanced by using thermoplastic polymers such as styrene-butadiene-styrene, polyethylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate, rubber and bio waste etc.

This paper reviews various types of materials which have been used to improve the properties of bitumen and explores the possibility to synthesise bitumen composite materials with nanoadditives with improved structural, mechanical and thermal properties.

The present paper is an attempt to explore the emerging stem cell innovation system in India. It is contended that the social capital in terms of linkages of various sorts can no longer be ignored to strengthen the innovation system and that the coevolution of technology and institutions is yet to emerge. It seems that given the nature of complex technologies involved, there is a greater need felt for R&D and training collaboration and hence linkages of various types are taking place. For shaping futures for a balanced growth of this sector, the institutions in India will have to be geared towards greater coordination, promotion of greater knowledge flows at national as well international levels. This paper also analyses the strengths and barriers in the development of rapidly growing stem cell research in India along with future challenges.

This paper aims to examine the influence of leaves of Cucurbita maxima (LCM) extract on the corrosion of mild steel (MS) in 1N H₂SO₄ by gravimetric measurement and electrochemical study. The inhibition efficiency increased with increase in concentration of LCM. The corrosion rate increased with increase in temperature and decreased with increase in concentration of inhibitor compared to blank. The maximum inhibition efficiency of 96 per cent was obtained at 3 per cent v/v LCM at 343K for 1 h. The inhibitory action was explained on the basis of adsorption of secondary metabolites in the plant extract on the mild steel surface. The adsorption process obeys Langmuir, El-Awady, Temkin and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and was best fitted by Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Some kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are also discussed.

Weight loss measurements were conducted under total immersion of already weighed mild steel coupons in 100 ml of the test solution containing 0.05, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 per cent of LCM extract and in blank solution at different temperature range (303, 313, 323, 333 and 343 K) for 1h. The electrochemical experiments were conducted at room temperature and at various concentrations of LCM extract. The electrochemical experiments were performed using a potentiostat. A three-electrode cell was used for the impedance measurements conducted at open circuit potential.

The inhibitor (LCM) shows good inhibition performance for the corrosion of mild steel in 1N H₂SO₄ solution. The inhibition efficiency increased and the corrosion rate decreased with increasing concentrations of inhibitor.

The studied plant material is a new one in mild steel corrosion. The influence of the plant material is clearly explained in the submitted paper.

United Nations’ World Population Ageing Report states that falls are one of the most common problems in the elderly around the world. Falls are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among mature adults, and the second leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury/death after road traffic injuries. The rates are higher in hospitalized patients and nursing home residents. Major contributing reasons for falling are loss of footing or traction, balance problem in carpets and rugs, reduced muscle strength, poor vision, mobility/gait, cognitive impairment: in other words lack of balance. Balance can be improved by the practice of yoga which helps to balance both body and mind through a series of physical postures called asanas, breathing control and meditation. Elders, especially women, are often unable to practice yoga regularly, largely brought on by a feeling of discomfort at having to do so in full public view, preferring instead to have private sessions at home, and at leisure. A computer-assisted self-learning system can be developed to help such elders, though improper training and the postures associated with it may harm the body’s muscles and ligaments. To have a flawless system it is essential to classify asanas, and identify the one the practitioner is currently practicing, following which the system can offer the guidance necessary. The purpose of this paper is to propose a posture recognition system, especially of sitting and standing postures. Asanas are chiefly classified into two: sitting and standing postures. This study helps to decide the values of the parameters for classification, which involve the hip and joint angles.

To model human bodies, skeleton parts such as head, neck (which are responsible for head movements), arms, hands (to decide on hand postures), and legs and feet (for standing posture identification) have been modeled and stored as a vector. Each feature is defined as a set of movable joints. Every interaction among the skeleton joints defines an action. Human skeletal information may be represented as a hierarchy of joints, in a parent–child relationship. So that whenever there is a change in joint its corresponding parent joint may also be altered.

The findings have to do with analyzing the reasons for falls in the elderly and their need for yoga as a precautionary measure. As yoga is ideally suited to self-assisted learning, it is feasible to design a system that assists people who do not wish to practice yoga in public. However, asanas are to be classified prior to doing so. In this paper, the authors have designed a posture identification framework comprising the sitting and standing postures that are fundamental to all yoga asanas, using joint angle measurements. Having fixed joint angle values is not possible, given the variations in angle values among the participants. Consequently, such parameters as the hip joint and knee angles are to be specified in range for a classification of asanas.

This work identifies the angle limits of standing and sitting postures so as to design a self-assisting system for yoga. Yoga asanas are classified and tested to enable their accurate identification. Extensive testing with older people is needed to assess the system.

The increase in the population of the elderly, coupled with their need for medical care, is a major concern worldwide. As older people are reluctant to practice yoga in public, it is anticipated that the proposed system will motivate them to do so at their convenience, and in the seclusion of their homes.

As older people are reluctant to adapt as well as practice yoga in public view, the proposal motivates and helps them to carry out yoga practices at their convenience.

This paper fulfills the initial study on the need and feasibility of creating a self-assisted yoga learning system. To identify postures and classify them joint angles are used; their range of motion has been calculated in order to set them as parameters of classification.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers to knowledge management (KM) due to various national cultural dimensions and to understand how social media can be used to mitigate those barriers to KM processes within organizations.

The paper begins with a focussed review of existing literature to understand the key concepts in KM and national culture. The paper then outlined the important dimensions of national culture and the barriers they introduce to the KM processes. The paper also briefly reviews the features of some of the popular social media tools available. The paper then conceptually link the three areas of KM, national culture and social media to emerge with a clear picture of how social media can overcome KM barriers due to specific cultural traits.

National culture has multiple dimensions and each of these dimensions can act as a significant barrier to KM within organizations. Social media tools have rich interactive features which can help overcome these barriers. Choosing the correct social media tool with specific features can help alleviate the issues introduced by specific cultural traits.

This paper integrates the three areas of KM, national culture and social media. It provides an understanding of how the various cultural dimensions can act as barriers to KM. It particularly outlines specific social media tools to remedy obstacles to KM due to each of the national culture dimension.

This study aims to explore consumers' perceptions of stealing thunder and to investigate significant factors for maximizing its effect.

This study used a mixed-methods approach. First, qualitative responses from 286 Korean participants were collected and analyzed (Study 1). Second, the experiment employed a randomized 2 (crisis communication timing: stealing thunder vs thunder) × 2 (transparent vs nontransparent communication) × 2 (follow-up actions: good vs poor) between-subjects experimental design with 426 Korean participants to investigate and confirm the results of Study 1.

Qualitative data showed that the participants' evaluation of corporations' stealing thunder strategy is complicated. Some do not perceive corporate use of stealing thunder at face value, but rather view it as yet another hopeless, selfish and irresponsible crisis communication strategy, distrusting it based on strong cynicism toward all corporations. An experiment confirmed that stealing thunder was significantly more effective in eliciting consumers' ethical judgment (EJ) and word-of-mouth (WOM) on corporations than the thunder strategy. Significant two-way interaction effects between crisis timing and follow-up actions showed that the stealing thunder strategy should be accompanied by follow-up actions to increase consumers' credibility and WOM intentions.

This study investigated how consumers evaluate stealing thunder by adopting both a qualitative and quantitative approach to explore how they make meaning out of this phenomenon.

Over the past decade, plant extracts are ultimate green candidatures to substitute the expensive and noxious synthetic corrosion inhibitors. In this regard, this study aims to focus on evaluating anti-corrosion properties of green inhibitor Cyperus rotundus (C. rotundus), a perennial herb found throughout India.

The biocompatible components present in C. rotundus extract was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy analysis. The corrosion inhibitory effect of C. rotundus was assessed by impedance, polarization and surface morphometric study [atomic force microscopy (AFM)]. Density functional theory (DFT) study was carried using DFT/B3LYP, and basis set used for calculations was 6-31G (d, p) using Gaussian 03 program package.

Predominant components such as octadecanoicacid, ethylester, n-hexadecanoic acid, pentanoicacid-4-oxoethyl ester, cyclotrisiloxane, hexamethyl, cyclotetrasiloxane and octamethyl were identified from the extract of C. rotundus. Impedance study demonstrated that the addition of inhibitor reduces the double-layer capacitance and increases the charge transfer resistance. Furthermore, polarization studies indicated that the extract of C. rotundus acted as a mixed-type inhibitor with decrease in corrosion current density with increase in concentration. AFM study evinced the formation of inhibitor film on mild steel surface. The donor–acceptor interactions of active sites of predominant phytoconstituents were substantiated by computational analysis (DFT).

This paper deals with the inhibition effect of extract of C. rotundus on mild steel in 0.5M H₂SO₄. C. rotundus has a capability to adsorb on the metal surface, thus hindering corrosion.

This study aims to understand how integration efforts at both communication and channel levels can foster customer engagement behavior in the retail sector from the perspective of employees.

Data were collected through 231 face-to-face questionnaires completed by frontline employees in shopping centers. A structural equation modeling approach was applied to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results highlight the importance of integration efforts as external stimuli for enhancing employees’ perceptions about customer engagement behavior. Findings extend the stimulus-organism-response model by predicting responses that go beyond employees’ behavior to predict customer engagement behavior. Results also confirm the mediating role of attitudes toward marketing communications and synergy realization in the proposed model.

Retailers should integrate their multiple channels and operate consistently and in coordination through them to develop employees’ perceptions about customer engagement behavior. Managers should regularly collect information from their employees as they represent an important touchpoint in omnichannel retailing.

There is a gap in the omnichannel retailing literature regarding how integration efforts at a communication level may complement integration efforts at a channel level for developing customer engagement. This study addresses this gap by adopting a novel perspective using frontline employees as a source of information for assessing customer engagement behavior. It extends knowledge about how customer engagement behavior may be developed and strengthened from the employees’ point of view.

Este estudio analiza, desde la perspectiva del empleado, cómo la integración de la comunicación y la coordinación de los canales de distribución fomenta el engagement de los clientes en el sector minorista.

Los datos fueron recogidos a través de 231 cuestionarios personales realizados a empleados de centros comerciales. Las hipótesis se contrastaron mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.

Los resultados destacan la importancia de la integración para fomentar la percepción de los empleados acerca del engagement del cliente. Estos resultados extienden la aplicación del Modelo de Estimulo-Organismo-Respuesta para predecir no sólo el comportamiento de los empleados si no el engagement del cliente. Los resultados también corroboran el rol mediador de la actitud hacia las comunicaciones de marketing y la obtención de sinergias.

Los distribuidores deben integrar todos los canales y actuar de forma coordinada y consistente para mejorar la percepción de los empleados acerca del engagement del cliente. Se debe recabar información periódica sobre las percepciones de los empleados ya que constituyen un importante punto de contacto en la gestión omnicanal de los establecimientos comerciales.

Este estudio aborda un gap existente en la literatura acerca de cómo los esfuerzos de integración a nivel de comunicación complementan los esfuerzos a nivel de canal para fomentar el engagement del cliente. La novedad de este estudio reside en estudiar estos aspectos desde la perspectiva de los empleados.

本研究旨在从员工的角度了解沟通和渠道层面的整合工作如何促进零售部门的顾客参与行为。

数据收集于购物中心一线员工所填写的231份面对面问卷。应用结构方程建模方法来检验所提出的假设。

本文结果强调了整合工作作为外部激励对于提高员工对顾客参与行为的认知的重要性。研究结果通过预测超越员工行为的反应来预测客户参与行为, 从而扩展了刺激-机体-反应模型。结果还证实了对营销传播和协同实现的态度在所提出的模型中的中介作用。

零售商应该整合其多种渠道, 并通过这些渠道持续协调地运作, 以培养员工对顾客参与行为的认知。管理者应该定期从员工那里收集信息, 因为他们是全渠道零售的一个重要接触点。

在全渠道零售业的文献中, 关于沟通层面的整合工作如何补充渠道层面的整合工作以发展顾客参与的问题, 存在研究差距。本研究通过采用新颖的视角, 将一线员工作为评估顾客参与行为的信息来源来解决这一差距。它扩展了关于如何从员工的角度发展和加强顾客参与行为的知识。

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strain distribution, stress-based fracture limit and corrosion behaviour of titanium Grade 2 sheets during single point incremental forming (SPIF) process, with various computerized numerical control (CNC) spindle rotational speeds and step depths. The development of corrosion pits in 3.5 (%) NaCl solution has also been studied during the SPIF process.

A potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) study was performed to investigate the corrosion behaviour of titanium Grade 2 deformed samples, with various spindle rotational speeds in 3.5 (%) NaCl solution. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis was carried out to study the fracture behaviour, dislocation densities and corrosion morphology of deformed samples.

The titanium Grade 2 sheets exhibited better strain distribution, fracture limit and corrosion resistance by increasing the CNC spindle rotational speeds, tool diameters and vertical step depths (VSD). It was recorded that varying the spindle speed affected plastic deformation which in turn affected corrosion rate.

In this study, poor corrosion rate was observed for the as-received condition, and better corrosion rate was achieved at maximum speed of 600 rpm and 0.6 mm of VSD in the deformed sheet. This indicates that corrosion rate improved with increase in the plastic deformation. The EDS analysis report of corroded surface revealed the composition to be mainly of titanium and oxides.

This study discusses the strain distribution, stress-based fracture limit and corrosion behaviour by using titanium Grade 2 sheets during SPIF process.

This study is useful in the field of automobile and industrial applications.

With an increase in the spindle rotational speeds and VSD, the titanium Grade 2 sheets showed better strain distribution, fracture limit and corrosion behaviour; the same is evidenced in fracture limit curve and PDP curves.

This paper aims to contribute to a growing literature in sustainable and green banking by exploring the views of senior banking representatives towards the implementation of sustainability initiatives through extensive interview research. The authors explore the extent to which such initiatives are embedded within the banking industry, whether they represent risk management mechanisms and whether they are imbued with reputational risk management rather than a genuine response to ethical societal concerns.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with UK bank managers. The interviewees’ utterances are interpreted through a sociological theoretical lens derived from the study of Giddens and Beck, allowing us to conclude that external initiatives such as the Equator Principles seem to be adopted as re-embedding mechanisms that can rebuild societal trust, as well as representing mechanisms of reputational risk management.

The analysis suggested that internal sustainability initiatives were interpreted as coping mechanisms whereby bank employees can recreate their protective cocoon, reinstating their ontological security in response to the high consequence risks of climate change and other related systemic factors that create overwhelming feelings of engulfment.

Using Beck’s risk society theory as a theoretical lens through which to interpret the interview data allows a number of concluding comments and suggestions to be made. The findings resonate with earlier research into institutional investors’ attitudes towards climate change that found their engagement and dialogue with companies around climate change issues to be imbued with a risk discourse: their initiatives and actions were dominated by risk management motivations.