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Today, the sustainability and outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are crucial to the success of microfinance and the sector’s potential to make a lasting impact. The ability of MFIs to operate financially well without sacrificing their social goals has come under scrutiny. This study aims to identify the kind of relationships between the two objectives of MFIs in Ethiopia.

This study investigated the association between the outreach and financial sustainability of Ethiopian MFIs from the years 2012 to 2021 using a balanced set of panel data. The study used secondary data and employed a descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach. To this end, random and fixed effects estimation models, as well as three-stage least squares, with the model of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) are used.

According to the study, outreach performance enables MFIs to achieve sustainability/financial performance. On the other side, MFI that are financially sound improve social performance. There was therefore no trade-off between the two objectives.

As Ethiopia’s microfinance sector shifts away from government and non-government backing and toward commercialization, such research is crucial. This aspect of the Ethiopian microfinance industry has gotten little consideration in research. The SUR model was used in the study together with random and fixed effect estimators, and the most reliable estimation result was chosen based on the necessary tests.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the key food safety practices among street food handlers that lead to microbial contamination in selected street foods of Hyderabad, India. These key food safety practices will help develop and design tailor-made training material for street food vendors in future.

It is a cross-sectional study conducted in south Indian city of Hyderabad. Stratified random sampling method was employed. A total of 463 samples of street foods were collected from five zones of Hyderabad. They included 163 salad toppings, 150 fresh fruit juices and 150 panipuri samples. Identification and enumeration of foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms (S. aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Bacillus cereus, Yersinia spp.) were performed as described by USFDA-BAM. Information on food safety knowledge and handling practices from street vendors were collected using a structured questionnaire. Associations between hygiene practices and bacterial pathogens were done using ANOVA. Risk estimation of food safety practices was assessed by calculating odds ratio.

Microbiological analysis indicated that a large number of carrot (98.1 percent) and onion (75.5 percent) samples were contaminated with E. coli. Peeled and cut fruits left uncovered have 13.4 times risk (OR: 2.40-74.8) of E. coli contamination compared to the covered ones. Panipuri samples picked from the vendors who did not have soap at the vending unit had significantly (p<0.001) higher contamination of fecal coliforms than those who had.

This study is the first of its kind in the study area.

Data from HCL company and their corporate entrepreneurship activities were sourced using interviews and discussions. Secondary data was collected from the company website and other information available in the public domain.

This case narrates activities undertaken by the Enterprise Technology Office (ETO) of HCL Technologies Infrastructure Service Division to build the Corporate Entrepreneurship function. Around 2015–2016, the ETO started engaging with multiple people and organizations associated with the technology ecosystem outside the firm boundary for novel technologies and solutions. These entities included venture capitalists and start-ups. The ETO also began engaging with internal teams and existing customers to promote the identified novel technologies and innovative solutions. The ETO function grew organically by hiring resources from internal and external pools. ETO also undertook specific programs to increase the involvement of internal teams in their initiatives, like the Joint Exploration Program. ETO explored several options to further the ecosystem innovation strategy and institutionalize corporate entrepreneurship activities. The ETO team deliberated on ways to align the stakeholder goals and evaluate if technology could play a role.

This case can be used in any course on “Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” “Strategic Management of Technology Enterprises” or any course focused on managing technology and innovation for graduate (MBA) or executive participants.

This study aims to offer an overview of the models of clinical care of the patients with dual disorders in India.

All the members of the Dual Diagnosis India Network (DDIN) who shared the clinical care delivery at their center were invited to share the details of their model. In addition, an invite was also sent to those members who could not attend the online session but were interested in contributing the required information about their model. The information shared by the respondents was collated. The different models were then categorized based on their features.

Following the categorization of the clinical care services organization across different settings, five different models emerged. These were specialized dual diagnosis clinic; services for dual disorders offered as substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services within general psychiatry care; services for dual disorders in general psychiatry care; services for dual disorders offered as SUD treatment services separated from general psychiatry care; and services for dual disorders offered in general psychiatry services combined with exclusive SUD treatment services.

Currently, there is limited literature on models of dual disorders from the low- and middle-income countries. The authors believe that the documentation of these models from India shall be of help while setting up services for dual disorders in other health-care settings. This study can be a valuable resource for making informed choices while setting up new services.

Micro-finance self-help groups empower caregivers to indulge in productive activities based on the local availability of resources to reduce their financial burden. The purpose of this paper is to assess the need for and feasibility of initiating micro-finance groups for the caregivers of persons with mental disability in a rural socio-economically backward community of Karnataka, India.

The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, with mixed methodology design out of the eight localities where the Mental Health Public Health Centres (PHC) were running successfully in Konandur area, Thirthahalli Taluk, Karnataka, one PHC was selected using simple Random Sampling Design and a 5 kms radius from Konandur town was selected as the area of the survey (190 households). During door-to-door survey, if the family indicated that a particular member is mentally unwell, the GHQ-5 and Symptoms and Others checklist were administered on him/her and the women caregiver was interviewed using qualitative needs assessment schedule and Perceived Social Support Scale.

Ten persons/households with mental illness (5.26 per cent) were identified in the community. Themes of financial needs, capacity of the caregiver, community resources, need for the microfinance self-help groups, informational needs, social support, burn out, and stigma elicited in the interview were depicted in the form of a conceptual framework to understand the inter-connectedness between the various themes.

This study is the first initiative in the field of micro-finance self-help groups for the persons with mental illness and families. The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, which is found globally to be the most suited in conducting prevalence studies, as it provides accurate results for future studies as well as it is the first step to obtain accurate baseline values to later plan a prospective follow up study. The study used mixed methodology design. Though the sample size was small, the information collected from the participants in qualitative and quantitative method was triangulated and conceptual frameworks were developed. As this study is one of the first of its kind in the country, the results of this study from the stated sample can be considered as an important pilot for future longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to be planned in the community.

There is hardly any scientific literature which talks about the need for Micro-finance self-help groups for Persons with Disability, especially with person with mental disability. In order to initiate any Micro-finance SHG activities, it is essential to first undertake the need for and feasibility of initiating such micro-finance group activities in any given area. This study will be an important milestone in initiating any self-help group activity for caregivers of persons with mental disability, as it would help us understand the financial needs of the community, based on which a draft proposal to initiate micro-finance self-help group activities can be drawn up.

This paper deals with numerical studies into combined conduction, convection and radiation from a heated vertical electronic board are provided here.

Here three inbuilt heaters with decrease in their heights were placed in the vertical electronic board. With respect to the non-heat portions, two configurations were studied. The first considers the non-heat portions to be adiabatic, while in the second, they are non-adiabatic. The heat that is produced in three heaters is conducted along the board and is dissipated either from the heater portions alone or from the whole board by convection and radiation. Air is considered as working medium, while the equations of heat transfer and flow of fluid are handled without boundary layer approximations. These equations were further solved using finite volume method with Gauss–Seidel iteration method.

Results of various comparative studies were discussed to bring out the relevance of thermal conductivity, modified Richardson number and surface emissivity on different heat transfer and flow results concerning this problem.

The optimum values of surface emissivity, thermal conductivity and modified Richardson number have also been notionally explored.

The research paper examines the complex relationship between gamification, student engagement and academic performance in educational environments. The study employed a structural equation model that highlights important connections among key constructs within the educational setting.

This research aims to explore the connection between gamification, student engagement and academic performance in educational settings. The study employs various statistical techniques such as factor analysis, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO), Bartlett’s test, component transformation matrix, correlation and regression analysis, descriptive statistics, ANOVA, coefficients and coefficient correlations, residual statistics and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to analyze the data.

It was found that active participation by the instructor and good time management skills have a positive impact on student engagement levels (β = 0.380, p < 0.001; β = 0.433 and p < 0.001). However, peer interaction does not significantly predict student engagement (β = −0.068 and p = 0.352). Additionally, there is a positive correlation between student engagement and performance (β = 0.280 and p < 0.001).

The study highlights the importance of innovative design to fully utilize gamification. Future research should consider design, user characteristics and educational context. The findings can guide informed decisions about gamification in education, fostering motivation and learning objectives.

The study presents a reliable tool for assessing student engagement and performance in educational settings, demonstrating high Cronbach’s alpha and robust reliability. It identifies student engagement and time management as significant predictors of Global Learning Outcome. The findings can inform decisions on implementing gamification in educational settings, promoting intrinsic motivation and aligning with learning objectives.

The research highlights the transformative impact of gamification on educational practices, highlighting its potential to enhance student experiences, motivate, promote diversity and improve long-term academic performance, highlighting the trend of integrating technology into education.

In today’s ever-changing education landscape, it is essential to incorporate innovative techniques to keep students engaged and enthusiastic about learning. Gamification is one such approach that has become increasingly popular. It is a concept that takes inspiration from the immersive world of games to enhance the overall learning experience.

The purpose of this study is to identify the prominent research constituents in the domain of integration of Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 techniques and analyze the intellectual structure among them.

A bibliometric analysis of articles based on Donthu et al. (2021a) has been adopted to conduct a systematic review of the integration of Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 using the Scopus database.

The co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling depicted three clusters and themes around which the research related to the integration of Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Publications related to the topic have majorly focused on the development of conceptual models and frameworks for integrating Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0, analyzing the compatibility between the two techniques for better implementation of one another and the techniques' combined impact on operational performance.

Most of the review studies related to the domain of integration of Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 have adopted a systematic literature review methodology. The present study has tried to infer the intellectual framework of the research being conducted in the said domain using the bibliometric analysis to identify the prominent research constituents in the field and examine the intellectual relationship between them.

The purpose of this research paper is to optimize the process parameters of selective laser sintering process, and the sintered parts of PA2200 prototypes are built with minimum surface roughness within the range of 10-12 microns using the Taguchi design of experiments approach.

In this research paper, a 3D model is created using catia V5 and exported to rapid prototype machine, and the 3D model file was repaired by using Magics software to remove the facets and saved with file extension .stl (standard triangulation language).Taguchi design of experiments approach L9 orthogonal array was selected with three factors at three levels each and total nine experiments were conducted with the quality index lower-the-better signal-to-noise ratio to produced better quality prototypes by optimizing the process parameters like laser power, layer thickness and temperature and tested on surface tester for surface roughness. The experimental results of surface roughness were compared with Regression Analysis, S/N Ratio, Analysis of Mean and predicted model on sintered prototypes.

The experimental results obtained after testing on the surface tester compared with mathematical model for the quality index lower-the-better signal-noise ratio with optimal process parameters operating at Temperature at level 3, Layer thickness at level 3, and Laser power at level 3, regression analysis, and predictive model the output response variable surface roughness, is with in the range of 9-10.5 microns are all most same and from ANOM (Analysis of Mean), temperature at leve1, layer thickness at level 2, laser power at level 2 is 9 -9.6 microns.

The process parameters such as beam diameter and table speed were not considered on output response variable surface roughness in this research paper.

All the experiments were conducted and the parts are produced by using the material PA2200 in the powder from and sintered by Co₂ laser by varying the process parameters with optimal settings to produce minimum surface roughness the out put from this paper is the influence of process parameters on surface roughness can be predicted at optimal settings with in less time and cost.

The purpose of this paper is to incorporate prior knowledge in the artificial neural network (ANN) model for the prediction of continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram of steel, so that the model predictions become valid from materials engineering point of view.

Genetic algorithm (GA) is used in different ways for incorporating system knowledge during training the ANN. In case of training, the ANN in multi-objective optimization mode, with prediction error minimization as one objective and the system knowledge incorporation as the other, the generated Pareto solutions are different ANN models with better performance in at least one objective. To choose a single model for the prediction of steel transformation, different multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) concepts are employed. To avoid the problem of choosing a single model from the non-dominated Pareto solutions, the training scheme also converted into a single objective optimization problem.

The prediction results of the models trained in multi and single objective optimization schemes are compared. It is seen that though conversion of the problem to a single objective optimization problem reduces the complexity, the models trained using multi-objective optimization are found to be better for predicting metallurgically justifiable result.

ANN is being used extensively in the complex materials systems like steel. Several works have been done to develop ANN models for the prediction of CCT diagram. But the present work proposes some methods to overcome the inherent problem of data-driven model, and make the prediction viable from the system knowledge.