Store Choice in the Emerging Indian Apparel Retail Market: an Empirical Analysis

Store Choice has been a subject of frequent research in the developed retail markets of the west. However, the retail sector in India has been largely fragmented and unorganized. However, the retail scenario in India is changing at a very brisk pace. Many international retailers entering India and many Indian retailers in the organized segment are coming up with stores all across the country, but a majority of these stores have merely transplanted western formats onto the Indian retail scene without actually evaluating the salience of various store attributes from the customer perspective. In light of this the purpose of this paper is to study the store choice criteria in the context of apparel retailing in India. Drawing from major global and Indian studies conducted in the past, this research has identified two dimensions, which in different combinations could create sustainable store choice and hence, store loyalty. These two dimensions are termed “loyalty drivers†and experience enhancersâ€.Consumer Behaviour

A Naturalistic Inquiry of Pilgrims’ Experience at a Religious Heritage Site: the Case of a Shaktipitha in India

Religion in the Indian context is an inseparable element that dominates Indian lives, culture and psyche wherein significant number of people undertake pilgrimages every year. Pilgrims travel to different religious sites spread throughout the country and an intimate bonding exists between people and religious sites that invariably constitute their heritage. The worship of deities is a significant and popular ancient custom in the history of Indian culture. Pilgrims to any religious heritage site participate in different activities and their involvement in these activities builds their spiritual experience. So, the purpose of this research was to investigate the pilgrims experience at a religious heritage site. For this, a suitable framework called ASEB framework (activity, setting, experience and benefit) was used, and qualitative research was conducted in a natural setting at one of the venerated Hindu pilgrimage sites in North India. Certain themes and codes were identified which acted as salient parameters to evaluate the pilgrim experience at a Goddess worshipping site, called Shaktipithas. The parameters used in the study which are described as themes and codes in the research process, include specific words, phrases or issues, which commonly occurred within and across the discussion groups. The entire study is based on the authors’ direct and participant observation on site for a period of three years from 2015-2018 and the interviews conducted with different stakeholder groups. The conducted research contributes to the current body of knowledge on religious studies, as it provides a deeper insight into how the various parameters affect the spiritual experiences of a pilgrim at a religious site and moderate the visitor experience affecting the notion of pilgrimage. The research also opens up opportunities to do more qualitative / quantitative studies on the themes identified in this exploratory study or may lead to the identification of similar themes which affect the pilgrims during their most important journey, called pilgrimage, to attain salvation

Portal annular pancreas : a rare and overlooked anomaly

BACKGROUND: Portal annular pancreas is a rare pancreatic developmental anomaly which is often overlooked at imaging, and often diagnosed retrospectively when it is detected incidentally at the time of surgery. Although the anomaly itself is asymptomatic, it becomes important in cases where pancreatic resection/anastomosis is planned, because of varying ductal anatomy, risk of ductal injury and increased risk of postoperative pancreatic fistula formation. CASE REPORT: We present imaging findings in a case of portal annular pancreas in a 45-year-old male patient. CONCLUSIONS: Portal annular pancreas is a rare and often neglected pancreatic anomaly due to a lack of awareness of this entity. With the advent of MDCT and MRI, accurate preoperative diagnosis of this condition is possible

India-Pakistan: Contours of Relationship

Even after about 70 years of separation, India and Pakistan continue to live in the prison of the past. The rhetoric of partition is still alive in the memory of the people of both the countries. They have constructed fixed, unchanging and competing images for each other. While Pakistan became an Islamic Republic, India adopted secularism, thereby, negating the two-nation theory. The ‘differences’ along with memories of partition has made Indian and Pakistani to remain in permanent hostile situation. The leaders of the two countries try to settle their disputes but fails because of lack of support from their social and political institutions. Since its coming into power in 2014, the NDA government under the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has managed to engage the Pakistani establishment, despite many problems between the two countries. This article tries to highlight upon the contours of relationships post-2014