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The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and mixed technology as ontology for self and distance learning in the state of Meghalaya in North East India. The points of reference are the population of the state, the men/women ratio, gender ratio of learners, the tele-density of the state, the number of colleges and the rural urban divide. Data and statistics are taken from secondary sources. The chapter highlights the specific use of mixed technologies to address the new breed of learners today; a hybrid of text and hypertext; the digital learner, with his or her penchant for technology; and the mobile phone. Distance education is now gradually merging with online ontology of teaching/learning. The chapter has come up with suggestions for improving delivery of educational services in the state of Meghalaya in North East India. The originality/value of this chapter lies in the cross currents of using technology for learning in the mid of the rural urban divide, strongly advocating the course of digital learners in a state of India besotted with poor road connectivity and envisaging mixed technologies: the computer, radio and the mobile phone as integrated methods of learning.

Undergraduate/Masters/MBA.

Anamika Enterprise Limited (AEL) is an export-import company founded in 1988. Today, AEL primarily imports coal from India which it then sells to customers in Bangladesh. However, a recent ban on coal mining in the Indian state of Meghalaya has created a huge problem for AEL. It is now considering opening trade routes to China and Indonesia. For that, it will need to consider both the short- and long-term factors related to its decision. It will need to take into consideration the cultural, economic and social factors in all three countries and trade accordingly. Tariff barriers and transportation costs will be a problem for AEL in the short run but in the long run, that may be overcome because of the experience effect arising from international business. Information and communication technology is also expected to have a huge impact.

Students are expected to learn the challenges of running international business in the real world and ways to overcome these challenges.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 5: International Business.

The present study analyses Khasi Food as an ethnic food to be promoted as a tourism product encouraging tourists to visit Meghalaya, India. The food tourists are primarily motivated to eat Khasi Food to provide authentic ethnic food experiences. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to explore the willingness of tourists to eat ethnic foods and the consequent ethnic Khasi Food Experience (KFE).

This paper adopts a convergent triangulation approach. Statistical data analysis and thematic analysis were incorporated, and the combined results were compared to see if they converged to achieve the same objective or purpose, which is willingness to eat ethnic foods that influences KFE in the study area (selected villages in East Khasi Hills District and West Jaiñtia Hills District).

The converged findings from statistical analysis and thematic analysis indicate that tourists who visited the study area were willing to eat ethnic foods, which is Khasi Food and their willingness to do so has a positive influence on KFE.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is original and the first of its kind because this study has not been conducted yet in the state of Meghalaya, India. This paper has an authentic value of projecting Khasi Food globally as a cultural and ethnic tourism product giving meaningful experiences to tourists and locals alike.

This paper aims to improve the performance of approximate multiplier in terms of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and quality of the image.

The paper proposes an approximate circuit for 4:2 compressor, which shows a significant amount of improvement in performance metrics than that of the existing designs. This paper also reports a hybrid architecture for the Dadda multiplier, which incorporates proposed 4:2 compressor circuit as a basic building block.

Hybrid Dadda multiplier architecture is used in a median filter for image de-noising application and achieved 20% more PSNR than that of the best available designs.

The proposed 4:2 compressor improves the error metrics of a Hybrid Dadda multiplier.

The 12^th South Asian Games were held in India in Guawhati and Shillong in February 2016, after repeated rescheduling. There were a number of challenges to organizing the games such as lack of infrastructure, legacy of corruption from past games, shortage of time etc. However, the games were held within 90 days of the announcement of venues and final dates. Sri Yadav, the Secretary, Department of Sports wants to understand the key drivers of success behind organizing the event. He also wants to understand how the success of Indian athletes at SAG could be leveraged for success at larger events.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the differences in literacy and schooling attainment among the scheduled tribe women in India.

The paper uses data from the Census of India, Department of Education in India, and National Human Development Report prepared by the Government of India.

The high status of women among the tribal groups in the northeastern states has important effects on the literacy rates, enrollment ratios and dropout rates of girls in that region. High‐poverty rates pose to be significant obstacles in attaining literacy and education among tribal women in India. However, large differences in literacy rates in the various states in India show that social and cultural norms, proximity to the mainstream Hindu culture, and the role of women are also important determinants in achieving literacy among tribal women.

Literacy is considered to be an important tool for improving the status of women among the scheduled tribes. Aggregate statistics often paint a dismal picture of the low‐literacy rates and schooling among the scheduled tribe women. This paper shows that such statistics fail to capture the different trends in literacy rates and value placed in schooling among the various tribal groups in India. Differences in economic, social, and cultural backgrounds among the various tribes need to be emphasized in order to understand the differential nature of investments in literacy rates and schooling among tribal women in India.

This paper aims to derive insights from Kongthong village, popularly known as the “whistling village,” a low-key rural tourism destination that has often gone under the radar. As an upcoming rural tourism destination, mothers create a unique tune for their children, ensuring that their identity remains unique. This is because the residents of Kongthong have two names: an official name and another in the form of a whistled tune. The primary objective of this study is to better understand the rural tourism activities at Kongthong and to explore the symbiotic relationship between indigenous cultural practices and holistic development through tourism.

The study uses an ethnographic approach wherein the researchers conducted in-depth interviews and group discussions. The study respondents are the village elders, youth, men and women across different age groups. The various governing bodies act as secondary data sources concerning tourism and development.

The study observes that rural tourism activities in Kongthong go hand in hand with understanding indigenous knowledge. The governing bodies and the local community are on the right path to achieving potential growth and preserving the village as a holistic rural tourist destination.

Rural tourism in Kongthong highlights the traditional practices of the Khasi community. Owing to this, Kongthong was nominated for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) best tourism village by the Government of India as it showcases local culture through social, economic and political elements at the destination that add value to a tourism product.

Livelihood interventions are recognized as instruments to deliver sustainable development by addressing multidimensional issues of poverty. Despite several interventions, success still remains trivial due to various interactive determinants. The purpose of this paper is to present the hierarchical model of determinants of rural livelihood interventions in India.

This study adopts interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach to explore the interactive relationships among determinants. Then, by using the Matrice d’ Impacts Croises - Multipication Applique a classement (MICMAC) approach, these determinants are classified into four groups on the basis of their driving power and dependence power.

The research findings include identification of nine critical determinants using hybrid research process. These nine determinants are classified into four distinct levels revealing different extents of influence on livelihood outcomes. The results show that strong emphasis should be given to local institutions and enclosing institutional environment in terms of good governance and better convergence.

The research findings offer insights for policy-makers on the hierarchical model among determinants. The study will help to close the existing dominant gap between theory and practice and imply corresponding methods and processes to deliver better livelihood outcomes.

This study contributes to policy literature by providing a structural model for interventions. This model identifies the dominant as well as mediating determinants and thereby guides policymakers to develop corresponding instruments and strategies. The study also contributes to rural development literature by identifying various interactive contextual relationships and thereby classifying the high priority determinants.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the author had carried out the implementation of the radio-frequency identification (RFID) system at Central Library, Fakiragram College and to explain to the library professional on how to integrate RFID with Koha integrated library management system (ILMS) in their respective library without taking IT/technical experts assistance. This paper will encourage library professionals to implement RFID technology for the library security and embrace open source software in their institutions.

The paper describes the author’s practical experiences regarding implementation of the RFID system and integration of middleware RFID software with library management software.

From the present study, it was found that the library staff are having a positive attitude toward embracing RFID technology in their library. The present implementation of RFID technology in the studies area gives a clear picture about integrating a third-party software/tool like RFID to the existing systems and how the new system has helped the library to provide better service to their users

There were some teething problems at the start between the Koha ILMS SIP2 software and the RFID system. The main issue faced while integration was with setting up the hostname, integrating the instance (i.e. database) and with setting up the port.

This paper will help librarians to implement RFID technology in a practical way to their libraries. The author implemented Koha ILMS with RFID system at the Central Library, Fakiragram College within 1 month and the author migrated data from common communication format (CCF) format to MARC 21 formats. CCF is basically used in SOUL 2.0 developed by INFLIBNET.

This study discusses issues and possible solutions in the process of implementing RFID applications for two innovative applications in library services. This will influence library professionals to learn Koha ILMS and RFID technology implement it in their libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative production efficiency of state‐wise clusters in the registered small‐scale sector in India.

For this, data envelopment analysis under the assumption of variable returns to scale is used. Using BCC model, technical and scale efficiencies for 23 states and three union territories are estimated.

Seven states namely, Delhi, Meghalaya, Uttranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Andaman and Nicobar and Tamilnadu are found to be technically efficient whereas Delhi and Meghalaya came out to be the only scale efficient states. Most of the states are found to be operating at decreasing returns to scale, which signifies the scope for investment and further employment generation.

Since the results indicate massive scope for expansion and employment generation in small industries in India, therefore, policy makers can use it as a tool to achieve the goal of inclusive and sustainable growth.

Originality lies in providing, for the first time, an inter state technical and scale efficiency analysis for small scale industries in India which in turn reflects the performance efficiency of the state level policies for the small scale industries.