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The fully developed laminar mixed convection flow in inclined tubes subject to axially and circumferentially uniform heat flux has been studied numerically for a Boussinesq fluid. Dual solutions characterized by a two‐ and a four‐vortex secondary flow structure in a cross‐section normal to the tube’s longitudinal axis have been found for different combinations of the Grashof number Gr and of the tube inclination α for all Prandtl numbers between 0.7 and 7. In the two‐parameter space defined by Gr and α dual solutions occur: at a given α, if the Grashof number exceeds a critical value Gr_ℓ (for horizontal tubes Gr_ℓ is approximately 5.5 × 10⁵, 1.7 × 10⁵ and 1.7 × 10⁴ respectively for Pr = 0.7, 7 and 70); at a given Gr, if the tube inclination is below a critical value α_c (for Gr = 10⁶ this critical angle is approximately 62.5° and 83.5° respectively for Pr = 0.7 and 7). Numerical experiments carried out for developing flows indicate that the two‐vortex solution is the only stable flow structure.

In the past few years Indian companies witnessed competition from their Chinese counterparts in acquiring overseas petroleum resources. In an attempt to avoid competition with each other the two governments have taken various measures, which finally led to the two countries signing a Memorandum of Understanding for energy cooperation especially for joint overseas bidding for exploration and production. Although the Indian side perceives the cooperation effort as a major breakthrough in avoiding Chinese competition in the overseas energy arena, it appears to be of limited prospects to India in terms of acquiring overseas petroleum assets or exploration and production contracts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prospects and implication for India in the overseas energy cooperation with China.

The paper analyses the strategy which China is pursuing, in order to maximise its gains and outmanoeuvre India in the overseas energy asset biddings.

The main findings of the paper show that competition would be the prevailing factor in their interaction in overseas energy search.

While there are many potential areas of cooperation between India and China, this paper focuses only on their cooperation to jointly procure energy fields in order to evaluate the likely prospects and implications for India.

This paper is original work based on facts and information regarding energy cooperation between India and China. The paper offers an analysis of India‐China interaction in the overseas energy arena, and the prospects and implications of cooperation to India.

The primary aim of the research presented in this paper is to address the gap in the literature with regard to the factors that affect the uptake and application of e‐procurement within the public sector.

This analysis was achieved through five in‐depth case studies – based upon extensive interviews, observation and documentation reviews ‐ conducted within central and local government organisations.

The study shows that despite being very different in terms of their form and function, each of the five case study organisations had achieved similar levels of progress in terms of their adoption of e‐procurement technologies. In short every organisation had already adopted BACS, all five were also actively planning to implement: e‐tendering; e‐award; e‐contract and e‐catalogue systems, but none had any intention of adopting e‐marketplaces or e‐auctions.

The results of this study will help individual organisations to better understand their current situations and the barriers that will need to be overcome before they can significantly expand their adoption of e‐procurement technologies.

In addition to presenting one of the first detailed studies of the adoption of e‐procurement technologies, this study also breaks new ground through its use of the lens of “Institutional theory” to help interpret the findings.

The purpose of this study offers a theoretical model, hypotheses and empirical analyses of how formal and informal institutions influence the ease of market entry of startups in the context of India.

A theoretical model based upon institutional and market entry theories is presented with hypotheses. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.

Results of the study suggest that college preparations and a culture of creativity and innovation are positively related to ease of market entry by Indian startups. A culture of personal success is negatively related to ease of market entry. Government assistance related to ease of market entry is not significant.

This paper offers a new perspective, linking formal and informal institutional influences to startup ease of market entry. In addition, informal institutions are viewed from the cultures of personal success and creativity/innovation within the entrepreneurial domain, which is also new to the literature. This paper offers specific insights in the context of India startups and offers some interesting findings that can contribution to the literature, policy and practice.

The study investigates the moderating effect of personal resources, including optimism and resilience, on the link between fear of Covid-19 and perceptions of academic safety among university students in Ghana.

A total of 618 students took part in the research by completing an online self-reported questionnaire. The respondents were chosen using a simple random sample method. The data was processed and analysed using IBM SPSS version 24 and SEM-PLS, respectively.

Results reveal fear of Covid-19 positively influence students' perception of academic safety. Furthermore, both resilience and optimism mitigate the impact of fear of Covid-19 on students' perceptions of academic safety.

This is the first study to examine personal resources as a moderator between fear of Covid-19 and students' perceptions of academic safety. Practical and theoretical implications are added to the text.

The purpose of current analytical work is to identify the critical barriers in social isolation in India amid Coronavirus infection disease (COVID) outbreak using the fuzzy-analytical hierarchical process (AHP) method.

The conventional AHP is insufficient for tackling the vague nature of linguistic assessment. Fuzzy AHP had been developed to resolve the hierarchical fuzzy problems, avoiding its risks on performance. In AHP, all comparisons are not included; thus, to find the priority of one decision variable over other, triangular fuzzy numbers are used.

A total of eight critical barriers in social distancing in India during COVID-19 have been compared and ranked. Dense population has emerged as the most culpable barrier in social isolation in India amid COVID outbreak followed by compulsion for pecuniary earning and general incautiousness. A total of eight critical barriers in social distancing in India during COVID-19 in four categories (societal barriers, insufficient facilitation barriers, growth-related barriers and population related barriers) have been compared and ranked.

On the basis of the numeral values, “growth-related barriers” attained top position followed by “population-related barriers” and “insufficient facilitation barriers.” The current work has explored the possible factors which can become key game changers to control the pace of spread of the pandemic.

This study aims to investigate the erosion wear rate of a stainless steel automobile exhaust manifold, both computationally and physically.

The experiment was performed on a motorcycle exhaust manifold as well as on a 3D model, created using SolidWorks 2022 CAD software. The analysis was later achieved using ANSYS 19.2 simulation software using Fluent – code.

The analysis of solid particle erosion in the exhaust manifold revealed that erosion wear is concentrated predominantly at the extrados of the manifold, with the most significant wear occurring at the lowermost bend. The erosion wear rate increases with larger particulate sizes and varies among bends, with negligible wear observed in straight pipes. The SEM analysis further confirmed surface degradation, with rugged textures, pits and grooves indicating abrasive wear. Spine-like structures and fractured soot particles suggest erosive and abrasive forces caused by high-speed contact of exhaust gas compounds. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed significant carbon abundance, indicating carbonaceous compounds from fuel combustion, along with notable amounts of oxygen and iron, typical of oxidized metallic constituents. The discrete phase modeling (DPM) analysis highlighted peak particulate matter deposition at the first bend exit, with maximum concentrations observed at specific angles. This deposition is influenced by centrifugal force, leading to increased PM concentration at outer bend walls. Velocity magnitude contours showed asymmetrical flow profiles, with high turbulence levels and secondary flow induced by centrifugal effects in bend areas. Dynamic pressure contours revealed varying pressures at intrados and extrados, with maximum pressure observed at the intrados of the manifold’s bends. These findings provide valuable insights into erosion wear, particulate dispersion and flow dynamics within the exhaust manifold.

The study investigated an automobile exhaust manifold model using ANSYS Fluent code and DPM to analyze erosion wear rate phenomena and its various constituents. This analysis was conducted in comparison with a physically eroded sample. The study offers insights into the mechanism underlying the exhaust manifold of an automobile.

National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA) is a unique step taken by Indian government to fight against hunger and protect right of the people for food. With its peculiarities like the life cycle approach, women empowerment, consideration of vulnerable sections in society and proposed reforms in public distribution system (PDS), NFSA is a promising effort for food security in India. The purpose of this paper is to put forth various aspects of NFSA and to identify issues and challenges for its implementation in the light of Indian PDS.

Understanding the implications of NFSA, mapping the existing system of foodgrains distribution in India and analysing existing literature and secondary data available from assorted sources are the steps followed in this endeavour.

Limited resources and exponentially increasing population, lack of infrastructure, operational inefficiencies and poor performance of the PDS are the major hurdles in successful implementation of the proposed act. This study gives emphasis on the need of major reforms in procurement, storage, movement and distribution of foodgrains strategies.

This paper focusses mainly on the operational and strategic aspects of PDS and its implications on NFSA. There is a wide scope for future research on sustainability of the act through agricultural and biotechnological innovations, financial analysis and strategic aspects.

This study is an unique attempt of mapping and auditing of the entire complex value chain of the Indian PDS for implementation of NFSA. As NFSA is going to redefine the food security aspects, this pioneering work will be useful for researchers and policy makers working in this field in India and other developing countries.

The growing uses of digital technologies have been creating several new business opportunities. Recently, a new concept has emerged in the literature, the “digital entrepreneurship ecosystem” (DEE). However, it has been empirically understudied. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity. The meta-organization theory was used as a perspective of analysis. A quantitative methodology was applied in a sample that includes data from 28 European countries through the generalized method of moments. It was concluded that the DEE pillars, informal and formal institutions, market conditions, physical infrastructure, human capital and talent and networking and support positively influence entrepreneurial activity. It was also found that the variables knowledge, creation and dissemination and finance have a negative impact on entrepreneurial activity. Several theoretical and empirical contributions are also left for the various stakeholders. The present study is original, as no known studies analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity in European countries from the perspective of meta-organization theory.

This paper aims to respond to recent calls by Jones (2014) and Jones and Solomon (Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2013) for more studies on biodiversity accounting and reporting. In particular, this paper explores biodiversity reporting of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), an Australian public sector enterprise.

The paper uses content analysis of MDBA’s published annual reports over the period of 15 years (1998-2012). Archival data (from different government departments) are also used to prepare natural inventory model.

The paper finds that although specific species, such as flora and fauna, and habitats-related disclosures have increased over the time, such information still allows only a partial construction of an inventory of natural assets, using Jones’ (1996, 2003) model. However, unlike prior studies that find lack of data availability to be the main impediment for operationalising biodiversity accounting, the abundance of biodiversity data in Australia makes it comparatively easier to produce such a statement.

Informed by the environmental stewardship framework, the results of this paper suggest that the disclosures made by MDBA are constrained potentially due to its use of traditional accounting mechanisms of reporting that only allow tradable items to be reported to stakeholders. An alternative reporting format would be more relevant to stakeholder groups who are more interested in information regarding quality and availability of water, and loss of biodiversity in the basin area rather than the financial performance of the MDBA.

Although there are a growing number of studies exploring biodiversity reporting in Australia, this paper is one of the earlier attempts to operationalise biodiversity (particularly habitats, flora and fauna) within the context of an Australian public sector enterprise.