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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of service marketing mix (SMM) as service input and service output in terms of students’ performance, satisfaction and referral act in context to higher and technical education (HTE) through the application of structural equation modeling.

A quantitative research, conducted through a self-administered survey composed by a closed-ended structured questionnaire, was incorporated for the students who were enrolled in the technical educational institutions situated in the Khandesh region of India.

The findings of this study revealed that traditional SMM is statistically linked with the performance of students in terms of skill and knowledge enhancement, satisfaction and referral act of students, which are perceptible new emerging SMM; performance, pleasure and pointing out in terms of service output.

Integrating SMM as service input and service output are productive for HTE in enhancing growth (quantitatively) by the inclusivity of diversified students and development (qualitatively) by enhancing their performance for global standing, making them satisfied and motivating them for recommending their institution to others. This integration can be utilized as a yardstick by the institutions for staying ahead in students’ market with a distinctive competitive advantage.

Growth and development of HTE will raise a society’s quality of life and thereby increase a country’s socio-economic status.

The study has exhibited SMM as input and output of a service system that is useful for the growth and development of HTE. The measurement tool presented is effective in (re)framing policies on SMM as service input based on desired service output.

The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the readers with the insights regarding the interventions of microalgal technology for production of metabolites and functional ingredients from microalgae for food and nutraceutical application and exploration of microalgae biomass for food application.

Various information databases such as journals, library catalogues and professional websites were used to collect information pertaining to application of microalgae in food and nutraceutical sector. Systematic review was made with recent studies covering the vital aspects of art of microalgae cultivation for metabolite production, functional ingredients from microalgae, market scenario and utilisation of microalgae biomass for the valorisation of the food products. Key points have been discussed after every section to highlight the practical implications to make this review more insightful for the readers.

Microalgal technology provides sustainable solution for its application in food and nutraceutical sector. The heart of metabolite production lies in the optimisation of cultivation conditions of microalgae. Wide array of functional components are obtained from microalgae. Microalgae offer an alternative source for omega-3 fatty acids. Microalgae is widely exploited for production of pigments, namely, ß-carotene, astaxanthin, lutein, phycocyanin and chlorophyll, that have important implication as natural colourants and nutraceuticals in food. Larger diversity of sterols found in microalgae confers bioactivity. Microalgae is finding its place in market shelves as nutraceuticals where its functional ingredients are in the form of powder, tablets, extract and beverages and in innovative products such as microalgae protein and fat, culinary algae oil and butter. Sprulina and Chlorella are popular choice for the supplementation of food products with microalgae biomass.

This is a comprehensive review that highlights the application of microalgal technology for the development of healthy food products and presents holistic intervention in food and nutraceutical sector.

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the dissemination systems that hospitals use to spread information about particular safety incidents can be enhanced using behavioural economics concepts.

The current service evaluation took place within eight wards in a single acute care hospital. It was conducted as a randomized controlled trial with two groups. In the control group nothing was altered. In the intervention group ward managers received additional support to disseminate information to their nurses. Nurses were randomly selected to be surveyed during their scheduled shifts. The surveys revealed how the nurses learned about particular safety incidents and how many they remembered.

Nurses in the intervention group were more likely to learn about particular safety incidents than nurses in the control group.

Enhancing common dissemination systems in hospitals can increase organizational learning about safety incidents. The current study presents some means by which dissemination systems can be enhanced.

The current service evaluation is a unique application of behavioural economics concepts to enhance organizational learning of particular adverse safety incidents in an NHS hospital.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of visually impaired undergraduate students about the digital environment in their institutions and develop an online information system suiting their requirements.

A survey was conducted on undergraduate students enrolled in ten colleges of the University of Delhi. A total of 95 visually impaired students were interviewed individually. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed and interpreted using simple percentage method and is presented in the form of figures.

The study found that maximum (35.8 percent) respondents access online electronic resources daily. Major constraints faced by them are as follows: inaccessibility of the college notice board, lack of accessibility to existing facilities and resources, lack of assistive technology facilities and unavailability of readers and writers. In total, 51.6 percent respondents indicated that it is cumbersome to access the college website because they are not designed according to the accessibility standards developed for visually impaired students. The respondents also revealed that they are not very familiar with useful devices like Vachak (Hindi Reading Device), SARA CE, Lex (Scanner for Hindi Script). The major reason cited by them is the lack of training and non-availability of trained staff.

DigitVaran contains course contents of the University of Delhi. Course contents of other Universities are not included. However, it is expected that contents related to the syllabi of other universities would be added in future.

The study will help visually impaired students to get the desired course contents conveniently. In addition, librarians of other universities can utilize the findings of the study to develop a comprehensive digital environment for visually impaired students. The study can be helpful in the assessment of digital infrastructure and services to visually impaired students by National Assessment and Accreditation Council and other funding agencies.

The study developed an information system DigitVaran to assist visually impaired undergraduate students in India. The system will help them to access the study materials and make aware of various extracurricular activities of the institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and other AI-enabled technologies and to describe how COVID-19 affects various industries such as health care, manufacturing, retail, food services, education, media and entertainment, banking and insurance, travel and tourism. Furthermore, the authors discuss the tactics in which information technology is used to implement business strategies to transform businesses and to incentivise the implementation of these technologies in current or future emergency situations.

The review provides the rapidly growing literature on the use of smart technology during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The 127 empirical articles the authors have identified suggest that 39 forms of smart technologies have been used, ranging from artificial intelligence to computer vision technology. Eight different industries have been identified that are using these technologies, primarily food services and manufacturing. Further, the authors list 40 generalised types of activities that are involved including providing health services, data analysis and communication. To prevent the spread of illness, robots with artificial intelligence are being used to examine patients and give drugs to them. The online execution of teaching practices and simulators have replaced the classroom mode of teaching due to the epidemic. The AI-based Blue-dot algorithm aids in the detection of early warning indications. The AI model detects a patient in respiratory distress based on face detection, face recognition, facial action unit detection, expression recognition, posture, extremity movement analysis, visitation frequency detection, sound pressure detection and light level detection. The above and various other applications are listed throughout the paper.

Research is largely delimited to the area of COVID-19-related studies. Also, bias of selective assessment may be present. In Indian context, advanced technology is yet to be harnessed to its full extent. Also, educational system is yet to be upgraded to add these technologies potential benefits on wider basis.

First, leveraging of insights across various industry sectors to battle the global threat, and smart technology is one of the key takeaways in this field. Second, an integrated framework is recommended for policy making in this area. Lastly, the authors recommend that an internet-based repository should be developed, keeping all the ideas, databases, best practices, dashboard and real-time statistical data.

As the COVID-19 is a relatively recent phenomenon, such a comprehensive review does not exist in the extant literature to the best of the authors’ knowledge. The review is rapidly emerging literature on smart technology use during the current COVID-19 pandemic.