Finding a Way Out of the Ethnographic Paradigm Jungle

In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a hybrid ethnographic paradigm, taking the best points from the different approaches of ethnographic research. The pioneering proponents of ethnography differed in their conceptualization of the method, resulting in the development of three distinct schools of thought-holistic, semiotic and behavioristic. These three ethnographic paradigms have their respective benefits and shortcomings. Following any one of these approaches may lead to only partial comprehension of the phenomenon by the ethnographer. This study wished to address this issue by developing a best practice approach, which will have the virtues of all the three paradigms. It is hoped that this evolved paradigm will help in making the work of the ethnographer a lot more comprehensive and the experience much richer

Analysis of R134a–DMAC vapour absorption refrigeration system with add-on components

AbstractR134a–DMAC vapour absorption refrigeration system (VARS) needs rectifier. Because of incomplete rectification, a small amount of DMAC is carried to evaporator. It results in a temperature gradient and also formation of residual liquid in the evaporator. This liquid causes cooling loss which can be recovered significantly by using liquid vapour heat exchanger (LVHX). The same cooling temperature can be attained at a range of evaporator pressures due to the temperature gradient. For fixed cooling temperature, the system COP enhances with evaporator pressure. The enhancement rate is more when efficiencies of rectifier and LVHX are high. Efficient solution heat exchanger (SHX) is vital owing to its large heat duty. Rectifier loses its importance if high efficiency LVHX is used. Roles of these three components increase at low cooling and high sink temperatures

Constructing and validating a scale to measure Social media brand community enjoyment (SMBCE)

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF NATIONAL VS. REGIONAL CELEBRITIES ON CONSUMER ATTITUDES

The present study explores the differential effects of having a National/Regional celebrity in an advertisement/ endorsement. More specifically the study intends to find out whether a National celebrity would have a more favorable impact on consumer attitudes than a Regional celebrity when endorsing the same product. Experimental design was used as the research methodology. A 3 (National Celebrity/Regional Celebrity/No Celebrity) X 2 (High/Low Involvement Product) design was conducted on student sample. The experiment was conducted on a total of 240 respondents with fictitious ads as stimuli. National celebrities were found to create more favorable consumer attitudes than regional celebrities. However, the National celebrity was also found to create a more favorable consumer attitude given the product was low involvement. It was interesting to find that the no celebrity treatment created more favorable consumer attitudes than regional celebrity condition. The study suggested that celebrity endorsements were useful but the nature of the product also has an influence on the success. One limitation was the restriction to print advertisements and another was restriction to celebrity of only one region. A major implication for the manager is that it is always better to use a National celebrity than a regional one. However, for high involvement products, celebrity endorsement need not be the only success factor. The contribution of the study is in an area which is well researched but addressing a research question which has not been investigated before.Celebrity endorsement, Consumer Attitudes, Experimental Design, Regional celebrity.

MEMORABLE TOURISM EXPERIENCES (MTE): INTEGRATING ANTECEDENTS, CONSEQUENCES AND MODERATING FACTOR

Purpose - The concept of tourism as an experience is gaining interest among practitioners and academics alike. This study contributes to the tourism literature by integrating the antecedents and outcomes of memorable tourism experiences (MTE) and consumer-level factors as moderators into a single model. Design - The study applies primary survey using structured questionnaire. The study hypotheses are empirically tested based on survey data of 700 tourists (both domestic and foreign) in India. Methodology - The data collected is analyzed using structural equation modeling. The model also includes the moderating role of tourists’ openness to experience. Findings - Findings show a positive impact of destination attributes on MTE. MTE is observed to positively affect its immediate outcomes, perceived value and satisfaction from tourism experiences. Subsequently, satisfaction has a positive effect of loyalty and word of mouth (WOM), but perceived value affects only on word of mouth. Openness to experience moderated the impact of destination attributes on MTE. Originality - The study makes new theoretical and managerial contributions. The study is one of the first of its kind to integrate the antecedents and outcomes of MTE in a single study. Moreover, the study also considers the moderating influence of tourist personality in the same study

Prediabetes, dyslipidemia and c-reactive protein levels among stroke patients: a hospital-based study in north-east India

Background: Stroke is defined as an abrupt onset of a neurologic deficit lasting for more than 24 hours that is attributable to a focal vascular cause. Hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia are often documented in stroke patients. Elevated CRP level is independently associated with the excessive risk of ischemic stroke. Aim and Objectives were to evaluate the glycemic status, lipid profile and c-reactive protein level in stroke patients admitted in a teaching institute of north-east India.Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted in the department of medicine, Agartala Government Medical College and GBP hospital, within a period of January 2020 to June 2021. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 15 using appropriate statistical tests.Results: Among 200 patients of stroke, 50% was found to be pre-diabetic, 40% known diabetic and 10% newly diagnosed diabetic. 60% were hypertensives. Among them, 80% had ischaemic stroke and 20% hemorrhagic stroke. 70% of the patients had hypercholesterolemia, 60% had hypertriglyceridemia. 80% had raised serum LDL and 57% decreased serum HDL. Out of 200 patients, 60% was found to have raised serum CRP level. 55% of ischaemic stroke patients and 5% of hemorrhagic stroke patients had raised CRP level.Conclusions: Prediabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes are highly prevalent in patients with stroke or TIA. As the prevalence of prediabetes is growing rapidly, prediabetes might become one of the most important modifiable therapeutic targets in both primary and secondary prevention. Early detection of dyslipidemia and treatment with drugs along with dietary modifications and lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of stroke. Since, it was a cross-sectional study, these results need to be validated by further long-term prospective studies

Exploring Axions through the Photon Ring of a Spherically Symmetric Black Hole

In this study, we examine the phenomenon of photon axion conversion occurring in the spacetime surrounding a black hole. Specifically, we focus on the potential existence of a magnetic field around the supermassive black hole M87*, which could facilitate the conversion of photons into axions in close proximity to the photon sphere. While photons traverse through the curved spacetime, they spend time near the photon sphere, where conversion of these photons into axions takes place. Consequently, this process leads to a decrease in the intensity of the black hole's photon ring. To explore the possibilities of detecting these hypothetical axion particles, we propose observing the photon sphere using higher resolution telescopes. By doing so, we can gain valuable insights into the conversion mechanism as well as the nature of the spherically symmetric black hole geometry. Moreover, we also investigate how the photon ring luminosities are affected if the black hole possesses a charge parameter. For instance apart from U(1) electric charge, the presence of extra dimension may induce a {\em tidal charge} with a characteristic signature. It is important to note that the success of the conversion mechanism relies on the axion-photon coupling and mass. As a result, the modified luminosity of the black hole's photon ring offers a valuable means of constraining the axion's mass and coupling parameter within a certain range. Thus our findings contribute to a better understanding of photon axion conversion in the environment of a black hole spacetime and helps us explore the possible existence of extra spatial dimension

Fixed points of generalized cyclic contractions without continuity and application to fractal generation

In this paper, we define a generalized cyclic contraction and prove a unique fixed point theorem for these contractions. An illustrative example is given, which shows that these contraction mappings may admit the discontinuities and also that an existing result in the literature is effectively generalized by the theorem. We apply the fixed point result for generation of fractal sets through construction of an iterated function system and the corresponding Hutchinsion–Barnsley operator. The above construction is illustrated by an example. The study here is in the context of metric spaces