5,643 research outputs found
Foreign Capital, Inflation, Sterilization, Crowding-Out and
Get PDFThis paper discusses some puzzles in the contemporary macroeconomic scene in India, from the perspective of public finance and economic development. These include a fiscal deficit higher than it was during the 1991 crisis, but without a large current account deficit or rise in inflation or interest rates, a rising inflow of external capital, accompanied by the RBI’s sterilizing these inflows and accumulating large reserves, even in the face of low inflation. We offer a critique of some previous analyses, and some models that are suggestive of how real and monetary factors might be integrated in providing a firmer grounding for the policy debates current in India.foreign capital, sterilization, absorption, crowding out, inflation, growth
INDUSTRY 4.0 AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN MANUFACTURING
Get PDFQuesta tesi di dottorato, intitolata “Industria 4.0 e Sostenibilità Ambientale: Il Ruolo delle Tecnologie Digitali per l’Economia Circolare nel Settore Manifatturiero”, analizza l’integrazione tra tecnologie digitali dell’Industria 4.0 (I4.0) e pratiche di Economia Circolare (EC) per promuovere la sostenibilità ambientale nel settore manifatturiero. Condotta presso il Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Industriale dell’Università degli Studi di Brescia, nell’ambito di un progetto europeo PON Ricerca e Innovazione, la ricerca affronta le sfide del modello economico lineare, proponendo sistemi rigenerativi abilitati da strumenti come IoT, intelligenza artificiale e produzione additiva. Nonostante il potenziale sinergico tra I4.0 ed EC, permangono lacune nella comprensione della loro evoluzione congiunta e nell’applicazione pratica, specialmente in contesti emergenti come l’India, dove l’adozione di principi circolari potrebbe ottimizzare l’uso delle risorse e mitigare gli impatti ambientali.
La tesi si articola attorno a tre domande di ricerca:
RQ1: Come si è evoluta la ricerca accademica su EC, sostenibilità ambientale e I4.0, e quali insight possono emergere da un’analisi bibliometrica per orientare le ricerche future?
RQ2: In che modo le tecnologie digitali influenzano i processi di gestione delle operations per supportare sostenibilità ambientale e circolarità?
RQ3: Quale livello di adozione di pratiche circolari è osservabile tra le aziende manifatturiere indiane?
La metodologia combina un approccio teorico, basato su analisi bibliometrica, revisione sistematica della letteratura e contingency analysis, con un’indagine empirica tramite survey e modellazione statistica. L’analisi bibliometrica rivela una letteratura frammentata ma in crescita, con cluster tematici che evidenziano la necessità di framework olistici per integrare tecnologie digitali, sostenibilità e gestione operativa. Il framework teorico sviluppato dimostra come IoT e produzione additiva possano ottimizzare i processi di Operations Management (OM), a patto di un impiego contestualizzato. Dal lato empirico, lo studio sulle aziende indiane evidenzia una moderata adozione di pratiche circolari: le grandi imprese mostrano maggiore preparazione, mentre le PMI affrontano barriere strutturali, come limitate competenze tecnologiche e finanziarie. Emerge inoltre il ruolo cruciale della collaborazione nella supply chain e di modelli di business servitizzati per accelerare la transizione circolare.
I contributi teorici includono una mappatura completa dell’evoluzione della ricerca e un’integrazione critica tra I4.0, EC e OM, identificando tendenze e lacune per futuri studi. Sul piano manageriale, la tesi offre linee guida per investire in tecnologie digitali in ambiti strategici (approvvigionamenti, produzione, logistica inversa) e promuovere collaborazioni intersettoriali. Le raccomandazioni pratiche sostengono le aziende, specialmente in economie emergenti, nel superare ostacoli sistemici attraverso formazione, politiche incentivanti e piattaforme condivise.
In conclusione, la ricerca fornisce una roadmap per bilanciare innovazione tecnologica e sostenibilità, dimostrando che l’interazione sinergica tra I4.0 ed EC, unita a strategie collaborative, può trasformare il settore manifatturiero verso modelli rigenerativi. Integrando rigore accademico e analisi empirica, la tesi sottolinea l’urgenza di approcci multidisciplinari per affrontare le sfide ambientali globali, offrendo strumenti teorici e pratici per accelerare la transizione circolare.This doctoral thesis, titled "Industry 4.0 and Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Digital Technologies for the Circular Economy in Manufacturing", presents the research conducted over three years at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, under a project co-financed by the European Union through the PON R&I 2014–2020 Programme. The study investigates the intersection of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and Circular Economy (CE) practices in addressing environmental sustainability challenges within the manufacturing sector.
Amid global concerns over resource depletion, waste generation, and unsustainable linear economic models, CE has emerged as a viable solution promoting resource efficiency and waste minimization through restorative and regenerative systems. At the same time, I4.0 technologies—including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, big data, and additive manufacturing—offer powerful tools to enable these circular practices. The thesis explores the synergy between I4.0 and CE as a pathway to sustainable growth and improved operations management in manufacturing.
Despite growing interest in this field, existing research remains fragmented, lacking in confirmatory and prescriptive frameworks that could better guide implementation. To bridge this gap, the thesis emphasizes both theoretical analysis and empirical investigation, particularly focusing on the Indian manufacturing context—a region with high industrial growth potential but facing critical environmental challenges.
To address this, the thesis is structured around three core research questions:
RQ1: How has academic research evolved regarding CE, environmental sustainability, and I4.0, and what insights can be gained from bibliometric analysis to inform future research?
RQ2: In what ways do digital technologies influence operations management processes to support environmental sustainability and circularity?
RQ3: What level of adoption of circular practices is observed among Indian manufacturing companies?
An interdisciplinary methodology is employed, combining both literature-oriented and practice-oriented approaches. The literature-oriented approach uses bibliometric, content, and contingency analyses to map intellectual developments, identify thematic clusters, and build a theoretical framework linking I4.0 technologies to sustainability and circularity in operations management. The practice-oriented approach applies survey research, including descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling, to assess the current state of CE adoption among Indian manufacturers.
Findings reveal that although literature in this area is expanding rapidly, it remains fragmented, underscoring the need for integrated strategies. Theoretical analysis shows that digital technologies can significantly enhance OM processes, though their sustainability impact depends on strategic implementation. Empirical data suggest that large firms show greater readiness for CE, while SMEs face systemic barriers. Moreover, collaboration across supply chains and the adoption of servitized business models are found to be crucial enablers of circular practices.
Overall, the thesis contributes theoretical insights and practical strategies for leveraging digital technologies to support CE and environmental sustainability in manufacturing
Expression of concern: A nanostarch functionalized ionic liquid containing imidazolium cation and cobalt chelate anion for the synthesis of carbamates from amines and dimethyl carbonate
No full text<jats:p>Expression of Concern for ‘A nanostarch functionalized ionic liquid containing imidazolium cation and cobalt chelate anion for the synthesis of carbamates from amines and dimethyl carbonate’ by Subodh Kumar and Suman L. Jain, <jats:italic>Dalton Trans.</jats:italic>, 2013, <jats:bold>42</jats:bold>, 15214–15218, https://doi.org/10.1039/C3DT52127C.</jats:p>
Trends in Women Studies, 2011-2020: A Computational Text Analysis
No full text<p>The interdisciplinary field of Women's Studies is manifested in diverse forms within the educational and research landscape of Indian universities and institutions. By scrutinizing trends and patterns in research, particularly focused in PhD theses, a comprehensive understanding of this field's evolution can be gleaned. In India, the discipline of Women's Studies is in a constant state of transformation, continually adapting its dimensions. In this study, we present our findings derived from an examination of the core theses produced over the last decade (2011-2020), exploring various facets of Women's Studies across multiple departments. Leveraging the Shodhganga digital theses repository, we meticulously selected 1389 theses as the basis of our analysis. The analysis reveals that the southern region of India has exhibited the highest publication output of these theses. To gain deeper insights into the breadth of research topics addressed by scholars, we employed computational text analysis techniques, specifically employing two prominent methods: Structural Topic Modelling (STM) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). These methodologies enabled us to unravel the hierarchical arrangement of topics and the co-occurrence patterns within the documents. In conclusion, our study underscores the significance and utility of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) repositories, particularly in the context of Women's Studies in India. These repositories not only facilitate comprehensive analysis but also provide a valuable resource for researchers and scholars aiming to comprehend the trajectory. </p>
Assessment and Mapping of Geodiversity in Darjeeling Hills, West Bengal, India
No full text<p>Geodiversity is a multifaceted idea that emphasizes how crucial it is to comprehend and protect the geological characteristics and processes that define the Earth and affect how it interacts with other living things. The purpose of this paper is to map and identify the geodiversity sites present in the Darjeeling Hills. With its rich green environment, mountain terrain, valley, and steep streams, Darjeeling Hills has tremendous potential for developing a Geodiversity site. The geodiversity of the Darjeeling Hills is assessed by analysis of lithology, soils, aspect, slope, topography roughness, and drainage density. The Geodiversity Mapping of Darjeeling Hills is categorized into five classes. These are very high (8.44%), high (23.45%), moderate (32.42%), low (23.92%), and very low (11.76%) Geodiversity zonation. After the fuzzification of Geodiversity Zonation, a significant multitude of alterations became evidenced in the spatial arrangement of geodiversity. These are very high (16.57%), high (26.18%), moderate (26.71%), low (19.91%), and very low (10.62%) Geodiversity zonation. Due to its geological attributes, steep watercourses, and mountainous vistas, the Darjeeling Hills hold immense potential for evaluating geodiversity. The Darjeeling Hills hold substantial promise for developing a geo-tourism destination because of their well-formed geological composition, rugged terrain, thick woodlands, and proximity to biodiversity hotspots in the Himalayan region.</p>
Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae)
No full textHalder, Suman, Kumar, Anant, Dey, Sangita, Venu, Potharaju (2014): Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae). Phytotaxa 188 (5): 287-291, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.188.5.7, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.188.5.
Management of mites with homemade neem fruit aqueous extract in capsicum under protected cultivation
No full textBhullar, Manmeet Brar, Kaur, Paramjit, Kumar, Sanjeev, Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, Kumar, Rajinder, Kumari, Suman, Singh, Vinay, Kaur, Arshdeep, Kaur, Jagdeep, Sharma, Urvi, Kaur, Jasjinder (2021): Management of mites with homemade neem fruit aqueous extract in capsicum under protected cultivation. Persian Journal of Acarology 10 (1): 85-94, DOI: 10.22073/pja.v10i1.61968, URL: https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/f143dbd7-151b-317f-a54c-e05015597a71
FIGURE 1 in Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae)
No full textFIGURE 1. Roxburgh's Handwiriting. a. Inscription present on Geneva herbarium sheet (G00309005); b. Inscription present on Edinburgh herbarium sheet; c. Specimen handwriting of Roxburgh after Forman (1997).Published as part of Halder, Suman, Kumar, Anant, Dey, Sangita & Venu, Potharaju, 2014, Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae), pp. 287-291 in Phytotaxa 188 (5) on page 288, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.188.5.7, http://zenodo.org/record/514753
FIGURE 3 in Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae)
No full textFIGURE 3. Roxburgh's Icon of Fimbristylis tenera [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2006). Roxbugh's Flora Indica. Published on the Internet: http://www.kew.org/flora indica/[accessed 1st December 2014:11.45 GMT]Published as part of Halder, Suman, Kumar, Anant, Dey, Sangita & Venu, Potharaju, 2014, Lectotypification of Fimbristylis tenera (Cyperaceae), pp. 287-291 in Phytotaxa 188 (5) on page 290, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.188.5.7, http://zenodo.org/record/514753
The development of early pioneer neurons in the annelid Malacoceros fuliginosus
Get PDFAbstract Background Nervous system development is an interplay of many processes: the formation of individual neurons, which depends on whole-body and local patterning processes, and the coordinated growth of neurites and synapse formation. While knowledge of neural patterning in several animal groups is increasing, data on pioneer neurons that create the early axonal scaffold are scarce. Here we studied the first steps of nervous system development in the annelid Malacoceros fuliginosus. Results We performed a dense expression profiling of a broad set of neural genes. We found that SoxB expression begins at 4 h postfertilization, and shortly later, the neuronal progenitors can be identified at the anterior and the posterior pole by the transient and dynamic expression of proneural genes. At 9 hpf, the first neuronal cells start differentiating, and we provide a detailed description of axonal outgrowth of the pioneer neurons that create the primary neuronal scaffold. Tracing back the clonal origin of the ventral nerve cord pioneer neuron revealed that it is a descendant of the blastomere 2d (2d221), which after 7 cleavages starts expressing Neurogenin, Acheate-Scute and NeuroD. Conclusions We propose that an anterior and posterior origin of the nervous system is ancestral in annelids. We suggest that closer examination of the first pioneer neurons will be valuable in better understanding of nervous system development in spirally cleaving animals, to determine the potential role of cell-intrinsic properties in neuronal specification and to resolve the evolution of nervous systems
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