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The purpose of this paper is to examine an auto‐assembled multimedia presentation from digital libraries, in which the retrieved media objects are dynamically composed to form a continuously played “TV‐like” presentation. This study seeks to propose techniques for ordering the media objects in such a presentation so as to reduce its total presentation lag in a high‐delay network environment.

Scheduling techniques adapted from conventional operational research for solving the proposed problem were applied. A number of computationally efficient heuristic algorithms that can obtain near‐optimal sequences are proposed. Numerical simulations and real‐life experiments for cases with different buffer constraints and bandwidth fluctuations were conducted to evaluate the proposed algorithms.

The result indicates that the proposed algorithms always significantly reduce the presentation lag of a given presentation, compared with a random sequence. Overall, for all the test cases, the average gaps between the idle rates of the heuristic sequences and random sequences range from 15 to 25 per cent. In particular, the RRB_3_2007 algorithm outperforms others in most of the cases involved in the experiment.

The study develops a sequence optimization technique for ordering the media objects and a framework for a prefetch‐enabled presentation system. The effectiveness and ease of implementation of the heuristic algorithms and the system framework make it feasible for practical digital library and meta‐search engine applications.

Hitherto, assessments of the effectiveness of Indian microfinance institutions in achieving their economic and social goals have largely identified only limited success. Critics of Indian regional rural banks (RRBs) and their prevailing culture have argued that a product‐focused rather than a market‐oriented approach to new service development (NSD) is responsible for their inadequate performance. With this in mind, this work aims to develop a conceptual understanding of the factors influencing market orientation in these institutions, and to assess its impact on outreach performance.

Following an extensive review of the literature on the Indian microfinance sector, market orientation and new service development, a model framework for understanding the relationships between the factors affecting outreach performance in Indian RRBs is developed. Research propositions for further evidence‐based investigation are posited.

The attitudes and behaviours of managers, along with institutional characteristics, are identified as influences on market orientation, service innovation, customer satisfaction and outreach performance within RRBs.

This paper is theoretical in its nature and as such proposes a basis for a detailed empirical examination of the proposed model and its associated propositions.

Banking practitioners need to be aware that market orientation may influence NSD and performance in this and related contextual situations.

The conceptual relationships proposed inform those seeking to enhance the performance of RRBs of some of the key internal marketing issues involved in their success, and thus give direction to the development of policies to reduce poverty. In particular, cultural issues relating to perceptions of customers and their effect on effective NSD are examined.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the issues and concerns of Indian rural credit, which is a powerful tool for enhancing production and productivity and for poverty alleviation. Further it highlights some of the strategies adopted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase the rural credit facilities in the rural area of India.

The various tools of rural credit are analysed in detail. The Regional Rural Bank (RRB) who play a vital role in increasing the rural credits is studied. Self Help Group (SHG)‐Bank Linkage model of NABARD which creates an interface of the informal arrangements of the poor with the banking system is also analysed in detail.

Rural credits serve as a tool for providing a sustainable livelihood for millions of rural Indians who don't have a means of livelihood. Several organisations like RRBs, Microfinance Institutions, NABARD, etc. are playing a major role in providing rural credit facilities to rural India. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is formulating and regulating the policies and procedure to make the rural credit facilities available to most of the needy. In spite of several efforts put up by various organisations to increase the rural credit facilities, several challenges will prevail in the years to come.

These aspects of the financial sector remain undervalued in mainstream literature on rural credit. With India being a nation in which more than 70 percent of people live in rural areas and rural credit being a powerful, and the only, tool for rural people in providing a means of livelihood, its importance and potential should be known to each individual.

Through this case, the students will be able: to study how developments in the external environment impact businesses, in general, and banking sector, in particular, banks/banking, environmental management, financing/borrowing, government, political business risk and politics; to identify the politico-legal constituents of the external environment which significantly influence businesses; and to analyse the pros and cons of loan-waivers as a policy decision on various stakeholders including banks, borrowers, governments as well as the larger society.

The case is symptomatic of the dilemmas faced by the Indian bank employees, in charge of loan-disbursals, torn between seemingly contradictory demands from their top management and the governments.

The case is meant to be used in the course on “Business Environment” both at the UG and PG levels. It can be used along with the module on “External Environment and its Constituents” to augment students’ understanding of the “Impact of Political Environment on Business.” The case can also enrich the class discussion on the PEST (politico-legal/economic/socio-cultural/technological) framework for analysing the forces in the external environment acting upon a business.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 4: Environmental Management.

COVID-19 has influenced the way we utilise the radio spectrum in terms of increasing data rates, the localisation of usage, and the transfer of traffic from urban to rural areas. Most regulators have shown sympathy towards operator requirements, stipulating a range of mitigation actions including allowing technology neutrality and temporary assignments. Internationally, the ITU-R suspended all physical meetings and launched a new global network resiliency platform named ‘REG4COVID’ to share experiences including those related to spectrum management.

It is argued in this chapter that the pandemic has supported the calls for additional unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz and accelerated the rollout of 5G. Moreover, despite of increasing use of streaming, it is quite difficult to assume that traditional linear TV will be replaced, at least in the near future for a variety of reasons. The pandemic has also raised the question as to whether an innovative assignment model could be used to assign the spectrum instead of auctions, and whether, in some countries where temporary assignments were made, frequencies are kept unutilised or reserved. Concerning international spectrum management, it is expected that WRC-23 will be held on time though there will be some implications for issues such as the regulatory time-limits for bringing into use satellite networks frequency assignments. Finally, it is argued that the pandemic has also demonstrated the importance of flexibility and agility in national spectrum management, and placed spectrum managers in a new position where they were forced to be proactive instead of their traditional reactive role.

The purpose of this paper is to address the need for increased understanding, awareness and recognition of the autism female phenotype in terms of repetitive behaviours and restricted interests (RBRIs).

A systematic PRISMA review was conducted. The main aim of the present systematic review is to identify studies which have investigated RBRIs in females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or the differences in RBRIs between males and females with ASD.

In sum, 19 relevant articles were identified: 5 studies found no significant evidence to support the notion of sex differences in RRBIs in ASD; 1 study did not report any differences in RRBIs between males and females with ASD; 12 studies found evidence that males with ASD had significantly more RRBIs compared to females with ASD; and, lastly, 1 study found that girls with ASD have features of RRBIs which are exhibited more compared to boys with ASD.

There is a real lack of in-depth knowledge and understanding of the female phenotype of ASD, and such lack of knowledge has a detrimental impact on the identification of autistic females and a lack of identification can have negative consequence. This is important to address in future research as it is well established that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcomes, due to the timely access to appropriate interventions.

The RBRIs exhibited in autistic females are not sufficiently captured by most currently diagnostic instruments. Clinicians are less likely to identify the RBRIs in females as they tend not to be the typical repetitive behaviours commonly associated with ASD. It has been recommended that clinicians consider “females as a whole” in terms of their clinical presentation and look for any indication of RBRIs, even repetitive interests which appear clinically innocuous.

There is relatively little research investigating RBRIs in autistic women and girls. There is a real need to highlight the importance of understanding and recognising how RBRIs can differ between males and females with ASD.

The authors provide a general framework of behavior under asymmetric information and develop indices of diligence, objectivity and quality by an analyst and analyst firm about a studied firm, and relate them to the accuracy of its forecasts. The authors test the associations of these indices with time.

The test of Public Information versus Non-Public Information Models provides the index of diligence, which equals one minus the p-value of the Hausman Specification Test of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) versus Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS). The test of Objectivity versus Non-Objectivity Models provides the index of objectivity, which equals the p-value of the Wald Test of zero coefficients versus non-zero coefficients in 2SLS regression of the earnings forecast residual. The exponent of the negative of the standard deviation of the residuals of the analyst forecast regression equation provides the index of analytical quality. Each index asymptotically equals the Bayesian ex post probability, by the analyst and analyst firm about the studied firm, of the relevant behavior.

The authors find that ex post accuracy is a statistically and economically significant increasing function of the product of the indices of diligence, objectivity and quality by the analyst and analyst firm about the studied firm, which asymptotically equals the Bayesian ex post joint probability of diligence, objectivity and quality. The authors find that diligence, objectivity, quality and accuracy did not improve with time.

There has been no previous work done on the systematic and objective characterization and joint analysis of diligence, objectivity and quality of analyst forecasts by an analyst and analyst firm for a studied firm, and their relation with accuracy. This paper puts together the frontiers of various disciplines.