Customer Satisfaction in Indian Retail Banking: A Grounded Theory Approach

Customer satisfaction is imperative for the long - term success of any organization. More the competition, higher is the necessity to keep the customers satisfied. After liberalization in 1990 and economic reforms and the entry of new service providers in the Indian market, Indian banks – both public sector and private sector are facing enormous competition. In this competitive atmosphere, it becomes essential to understand the factors which might affect customer satisfaction in the Indian retail banking sector. In this study the researchers studied the construct of customer satisfaction with respect to Indian retail banking from a qualitative perspective. We studied the dimensions of customer satisfaction . We applied Grounded Theory Method, a tool for qualitative analysis . We conducted depth interviews and focus groups of Indian retail banking customers. The participants were persons who have availed Indian retail banking services. The analysis included open coding of the data and writing memos, concept generation from the phenomena, index card sorting to identify categories and sub - categories, axial coding to relate the categories and sub - categories, and selective coding to identify the core category. The findings included the concepts generated which would determine the dimensions which might affect customer satisfaction

Ethnoveterinary practice followed by Santhal tribes to treat foot and mouth diseases of livestock in Ghatshila Block, Jharkhand, India

An ethnoveterinary study was conducted among the Santhal tribes residing in Ghatshila block of East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand state to document the ethno-medicinal plants, those are used to treat the foot and mouth diseases of livestock. The ethnoveterinary knowledge was documented from the traditional healthcare practitioners in eight villages of the block. The study has resulted use of four plant species belonging to 4 different families to treat foot and mouth disses among livestock.  Out of the four plant species, three are tress and one is shrub.  The paper describes the plants used for ethno-veterinary practices to treat food and mouth diseases of livestock with botanical names, family, local names, English name, parts used, mode of preparation and administration of herbal drugs

Qualitative Explorations into Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) for Medical Tourism in India

The focus of our research is Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) in Indian medical tourism which has gained wider attention world-wide. To be able to operationalize CBBE (brand equity) for medical tourism scale development, we generated items for such a scale through content analysis. The research questions for this study were (a) What are the dimensions for a brand equity scale for medical tourism considering social, economic, and market influences? (b) How is culture along with an economic indicator such as infrastructure/superstructure relevant in the context of CBBE for medical tourism? and (c) To what extent does the content analysis of interviews based on questionnaires from literature reviews support the variable? The respondents were contacted from two large East Indian Hospitals with continuous visits by heterogeneous foreign patients. Content analysis was used to evaluate the responses using the framework for coding as given by Corbin and Strauss (2008). This paper explores the reasons as to why the patients from western countries and the Middle East prefer other destinations as compared to India for medical tourism. The medical tourism market is growing due to comparatively affluent middle class, better connectivity and wiser cost decisions by patients. The Indian medical tourism market has gained wider attention due to well trained and competent physicians, cost consideration, quality service, better international accessibility and popular use of English as the primary mode for spoken and written communication language. However, there is no general relevant Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) scale for medical tourism market till present day. We have identified six dimensions (three new) for a consolidated and unified CBBE scale for medical tourism. In the later part, we have done a content analysis of 90 patient interviews conducted in Eastern Indian hospitals. The interview questionnaire was developed from the literature review. Lastly, a content analysis is done using Nvivo software for logical validation of literature findings. The content findings and prior literature review enabled us to propose the dimensions of the CBBE scale for medical tourism. The new dimensions may be used for future CBBE research in medical tourism at the global level

Primary clear cell adenocarcinoma of vagina - not associated with diethylstilbestrol exposure

The primary clear cell adenocarcinoma (PCCA) of the vagina and the cervix are commonly associated with in utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). However, it can occur without DES exposure in utero. Due to rare occurrence, there is paucity of data on the literature on non-DES associated PCCA of the vagina. Here we describe a case of 45 years old woman presented with irregular vaginal bleeding with small nodule in the vagina. The growth was excised and sent for histopathological examination, after which the diagnosis turned out to be a case of PPCA of the vagina. After the diagnosis, definite treatment was planned in the form of hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy and all structures were free of tumour on histopathological examination. The patient remained disease free on short term follow up. The rarity of the occurrence of such a case of PPCA of vagina in Indian scenario and the uniqueness of it in terms of non-association with DES exposure prompted us to report this case

Recent Advances in Research on Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 is one of the most important genetic causes of mental retardation. Sincere and significant attempts have been made towards understanding the congenital diseases that affect DS patients. Better understanding of gene networks associated with such malformations will help to predict the complex genetic trait behind congenital disease in DS and will also provide the basis for tailored gene therapies that could begin to heal or prevent such malformation without the need to resort to invasive surgery. Further, susceptible mutation screening in women will also be helpful for both prenatal diagnosis of DS birth and assessing the risk of predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease and congenital heart disease. Stress condition and neurodegeneration are two important markers in Down syndrome patients and mtDNA variation can also be used as an important biomarker. It has been suggested that nutraceuticals which reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) level may be used to treat trisomy 21 condition. As mitochondria play a crucial role in the regulation of free radicals, only a detail analysis will reveal the origin of phenotypic characteristics among trisomy 21 DS patients. On the other hand, several mechanisms are responsible for neurodegeneration as well as altered cognition. It includes impaired neurogenesis leading to hypocellularity in the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum, altered dendritic morphology, altered synapses, increased inhibition and neurodegeneration. The new knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms in DS individuals has been acquired from mouse model. These studies provide the basis for developing new drugs for clinical trials in DS individuals and to sustain the hope that some of these drugs will be useful in treating intellectual disability in DS individuals