Evaluation of Financial Inclusion in the Villages of India

Financial inclusion refers to making financial services available at the doorsteps of the citizens of India. There has been a lot of research to identify the various factors that lead to the adoption of technology for banking and availing of financial services. But there is no study on the factors that impact the adoption of technology and formal banking services in India. A large section of the population in India still uses the informal banking channel such as money lender, relatives which leads to difficulties in availing the financial services. Qualitative research and that grounded theory have been used for research. Direct interview has been used to collect data from the participants across 11 different villages. The study highlights that the level of financial and digital literacy has improved in India though the Kisan credit card scheme faces various problems in implementation.

LOGISTICS PLATFORMS - TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

Logistics platforms (LP) are business models developed to improve the performance of all logistics activities of a supply chain (SC). About logistics platforms, the scientific literature details the management, implementation, importance, typologies, comparisons with international platforms, as well as cited case studies therein. The literature also highlights many trends of the adoption of technology as well as challenges resulting from the rapid evolution of said technology. We present a discussion of an LP, as well as an LP’s importance to its SC. We discuss eight types of LPs, their applications, and their associated implementation phases. This important volume of articles that we summarize seeks to solve complex problems with mathematical formulations. The literature potentiates the processes carried out in LPs by means of case-study analyses through comparing some LPs of South America against the more technological-based and automation-based LPs of Europe, of Southeast Asia, and of North America. The studies of LPs in global SCs, and enclosed cycle SCs, have shown that there are many challenges stemming from global climate change, which places uncertainty in the process of estimating stochastic parameters in the new global market. This would mandate strengthening the methodologies of Hub- and Cross-docking and understanding trends, such as the need to fortify the management of LPs by utilizing information technologies and communication technologies and updating local markets to make global markets more resilient in the face of pending environmental shifts.

Perception of Physiotherapy students on virtual classes

Background- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Indian governments had issued stay-at-home directives, and as a result, colleges and universities have been shut down across the world. The major response to the pandemic has been to try to move both teaching-learning and assessment lectures online. so, studying the student’s perception of virtual classes is a must to consider the views. This study is important because of the physiotherapy profession's practical and skill-based practice, it is vital that we not lose focus on the non-technical skills that are required for effective clinical practice. Methods- This is an observational study with a study duration was of 1 year. All physiotherapy students from DVVPF’S college of physiotherapy were recruited by purposive sampling method by using a google form. Result- Data has been summarized by using the descriptive analysis method. Our data showed that 108 undergraduate physiotherapy students answered the questionnaire. They shared their experiences about online classes as compared to offline classes. they shared firstly about communication skills. in online classes students experienced that it does provide a platform to improve communication skills most of the time, & sometimes challenges due to the online environment during an emergency may delay the adoption of technology-enabled education. some students have technophobia because of that they cannot communicate on online classes or they faced difficulties. Conclusion- Our study revealed that on basis of the experiences of physiotherapy students’ actual classes are much more efficient and productive as compared to virtual classes.

Adoption of Modern Hive Beekeeping Technology: The Case of Kacha-Birra Woreda, Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Beekeeping is one of the livelihood options available to Ethiopian farmers. The objectives of this study were to analyze the level of adoption of modern hive technology by farmers and to identify the variables influencing the adoption of modern beekeeping hive technology in Kacha-Birra Woreda. Primary data were collected from 89 respondents chosen using a multistage sampling process, while qualitative data were collected through focus group discussion and key informant interviews. Data were analyzed using a binary logit regression model and descriptive statistics. According to the results of the model, several factors, such as the educational level of the respondents, the size of the land, the extension, the contact, and the access to financing and market, had a substantial impact on the adoption of modern hive beekeeping technology. It is suggested that the Livestock and Fish Resource Development office develops a strategy to help the community's illiterate members benefit more from the use of contemporary hive beekeeping technologies, develops a strategy to benefit farmers who have large land sizes with modern hive beekeeping technology, establishes extension contact with farmers before technology innovation leads to better adoption of technology, and strongly advises to link a strategy with micro-enterprises. Promotional activities focused on preventing the access to the market of respondents that must ensure their active participation in adoption.

The Impact of a Switch from Conventional Media to Digital Media in the Treatment of Vicarious Trauma During Art Therapy

In the United States, the use of digital media has become omnipresent and has changed how people communicate, conduct business, and create art and music. However, art therapy lags behind the current culture of prolific use of digital media. To date, there is very little experimental research on the use of digital media in the field of art therapy. The deficiency of evidence that digital media is as effective as conventional media is an obstacle to a full embrace and adoption of technology in practice by the field. The present study was designed to address this lack of evidence. Specifically, this study examined the impact of a switch from conventional to digital media in a mandala-based art therapy upon three dependent variables of interest. These variables were anxiety, vicarious traumatization, and client treatment satisfaction. An ABAB reversal design was used. Results suggested that such a switch had no impact.

An Instrument for Measuring Teachers’ Trust in AI-Based Educational Technology

Evidence from various domains underlines the key role that human factors, and especially, trust, play in the adoption of technology by practitioners. In the case of Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven learning analytics tools, the issue is even more complex due to practitioners’ AI-specific misconceptions, myths, and fears (i.e., mass unemployment and ethical concerns). In recent years, artificial intelligence has been introduced increasingly into K-12 education. However, little research has been conducted on the trust and attitudes of K-12 teachers regarding the use and adoption of AI-based Educational Technology (EdTech). The present study introduces a new instrument to measure teachers' trust in AI-based EdTech, provides evidence of its internal structure validity, and uses it to portray secondary-level school teachers' attitudes toward AI. First, we explain the instrument items creation process based on our preliminary research and review of existing tools in other domains. Second, using Exploratory Factor Analysis we analyze the results from 132 teachers’ input. The results reveal eight factors influencing teachers’ trust in adopting AI-based EdTech: Perceived Benefits of AI-based EdTech, AI-based EdTech's Lack of Human Characteristics, AI-based EdTech's Perceived Lack of Transparency, Anxieties Related to Using AI-based EdTech, Self-efficacy in Using AI-based EdTech, Required Shift in Pedagogy to Adopt AI-based EdTech, Preferred Means to Increase Trust in AI-based EdTech, and AI-based EdTech vs Human Advice/Recommendation. Finally, we use the instrument to discuss 132 high-school Biology teachers' responses to the survey items and to what extent they align with the findings from the literature in relevant domains.The contribution of this research is twofold. First, it introduces a reliable instrument to investigate the role of teachers’ trust in AI-based EdTech and the factors influencing it. Second, the findings from the teachers’ survey can guide creators of teacher professional development courses and policymakers on improving teachers’ trust in, and in turn their willingness to adopt, AI-based EdTech in K-12 education.

Psychological attachment in the new normal working context: Influence of career navigation and career well-being attributes

Background: The new normal working context, characterised by fast changes, rapid upskilling, adoption of technology, and remote working, requires employees to remain psychologically attached to their organisations. More insight is needed regarding how career navigation (as an attribute of career agility) and career well-being attributes explain the psychological attachment of employees in order to invest in their career development amidst the chaos and demands driven by the new normal working context.Objective: The study explored career navigation and career well-being attributes (i.e. positive career effect, career networking/social support, and career meaningfulness) as potential explanatory mechanisms of individuals’ psychological attachment.Method: The study used a cross-sectional research design, which involved a convenience sample (n = 177) of national and international employees (mean age = 34 years; standard deviation [SD] = 10.14), represented by 39% managerial employees, 38% staff, and 23% professional consultants. Most of the participants (72%) were employed by South African organisations.Results: Multiple regression analysis revealed that career navigation explains higher levels of psychological attachment (including affective, normative, and continuous attachment). Positive career effects significantly predicted continuous attachment, whereas social support/career networking positively predicted overall psychological attachment and affective and normative attachment. Career meaningfulness was found to explain higher levels of overall and affective psychological attachment.Conclusion: The findings contribute new insights into the construct of career navigation and career well-being attributes and extend research on the antecedents of psychological attachment in the new normal working space, characterised by remote working and technology.

Playful Metaphors for Narrative-Driven E-Learning

A team of e-learning specialists was assigned the mission to design and develop seven short e-learning modules for young learners on popular topics with a prime focus on social-emotional learning. However, these courses had to be produced on a limited budget, hosted in a Moodle platform, and be delivered for free in asynchronous only mode. Hence, a playful method of meaningful storyfication was applied in e-learning to captivate attention and spark interest. In each module, a fictional story or metaphorical challenge with playful elements was introduced where learners were invited to assist the story’s protagonists or become the heroes themselves by engaging with content. As the role of teachers is vital for the adoption of technology-based solutions in education, a mixed method evaluation was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the method. Forty-two educators reviewed the courses, answered a questionnaire and participated in interviews. Results indicated that participants highly appreciated the narrative aspects, visual, and auditory elements rendering the e-learning courses effective for the target audience. This article can assist educators, distance education designers and developers to adopt a playful mindset and learn how to integrate practically storytelling elements into their classroom-based and online teaching.

Securing Environmental IoT Data Using Masked Authentication Messaging Protocol in a DAG-Based Blockchain: IOTA Tangle

The demand for the digital monitoring of environmental ecosystems is high and growing rapidly as a means of protecting the public and managing the environment. However, before data, algorithms, and models can be mobilized at scale, there are considerable concerns associated with privacy and security that can negatively affect the adoption of technology within this domain. In this paper, we propose the advancement of electronic environmental monitoring through the capability provided by the blockchain. The blockchain’s use of a distributed ledger as its underlying infrastructure is an attractive approach to counter these privacy and security issues, although its performance and ability to manage sensor data must be assessed. We focus on a new distributed ledger technology for the IoT, called IOTA, that is based on a directed acyclic graph. IOTA overcomes the current limitations of the blockchain and offers a data communication protocol called masked authenticated messaging for secure data sharing among Internet of Things (IoT) devices. We show how the application layer employing the data communication protocol, MAM, can support the secure transmission, storage, and retrieval of encrypted environmental sensor data by using an immutable distributed ledger such as that shown in IOTA. Finally, we evaluate, compare, and analyze the performance of the MAM protocol against a non-protocol approach.