eChapters

The Indian farm women have extensive workloads with triple responsibility for farm, household and community. Gradually their work is becoming harder due to climate change, degradation of natural resources, natural calamities, male migration and changing agricultural technologies. Women are extensively involved in crop production, horticulture, livestock management, post harvest operation, fisheries, agroforestry and household activities. Majority of their time is devoted towards collection of fuel, fodder and water, growing vegetables in homestead and rearing backyard poultry. They also considerably contribute for household income as agriculture wage earners and through cottage industry.

Women play a significant and crucial role in agricultural development and allied fields. The nature and extent of women’s involvement in agriculture varies greatly from region to region. But regardless of these variations, women are actively involved in various agricultural activities.

As per Census 2011, out of total female main workers, 55 per cent were agricultural labourers and 24 per cent were cultivators. However, only 12.8 per cent of the operational holdings were owned by women, which reflect the gender disparity in ownership of landholdings in agriculture. Moreover, there is concentration of operational holdings (25.7 per cent) by women in the marginal and small holdings categories. Worker Population Ratio (WPR) of women (24 %) is lower as against men (54.4 %) in the country. The workforce participation rate for rural females is higher at 30.5 percent against urban women participation rate of 20.20 percent (Mo SPI, 2022-23). As per the Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Report 2022-23, agriculture had the highest estimated percentage distribution of female workers, ie. 64.3 %, with 76.2 % in rural areas and 11.7 % in urban areas.

Sex

Sex is the biological make-up of male and female human beings. It is biological difference between men and women. Sex is universal, permeant, Biological. John money draw the distinction between the biological differences and behavioural characteristics that differentiates male and Female. First person used Gender opposite to sex. Founder of Gender Identity clinic at John Hopkins University in the Baltimore in US in 1966.

Gender

First used by anna Oakley. It is neutral term, dynamic, change over time and place. It is a socially constructed roles and responsibilities assigned to men and women in a given society. It refers to socio-cultural differences between males and females. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman / man in different contexts. In simple words, gender refers to the set of relationships between men and women at a particular point of time in a given society

Gender Blindness

It is the failure to recognize that gender as an essential determinant of social outcomes impacting projects and policies. Gender-blind policy ignores the different situation, roles, needs and interests of women, men, girls and boys.

A student investigator confronted time constraints, such as course credit pressure, and resource constraints, such as physical, budgetary, and managerial constraints, in the current investigation. However, every effort and consideration made the study as objective and scientific as feasible. Despite the researcher’s best efforts, the study depends on the respondents’ opinions, which may or may not be devoid of their perceptions and biases.

As a result, it is a modest piece of labour that may be completed over a more extended period.

Suggestions for Future Research

• The findings of the present study warrant the need for further investigations in several directions. The following suggestions are made for further research in the following areas.

• The study was confined to one state; therefore, the results cannot be generalised to the whole country. Similar analyses can be taken up in other states to generalise the results.

The quality and effectiveness of extension services are critical to the agricultural sector’s long-term viability and output. Farmers have been getting agricultural information from extension workers via interpersonal communication for many years. Still, the number of extension employees has been declining while the number of farming families has increased. As a result, the country’s current extension service needs to improve in reaching out to farmers with timely and relevant agricultural information. ICTs are considered a partial answer to quickly getting information to the growing number of farming households because relevant and timely information is vital in agriculture. Farmers may receive up-to-date knowledge and information on agricultural technologies, best practices, markets, price patterns, and customer preferences through its use.

Since farmers in many parts of India, including West Bengal , are becoming more mobile and internet savvy, disseminating useful real-time information about crops, soils, climate, cultivation practices, financing, produce storage, and marketing to farming communities is more important and challenging. Many concerted efforts from the government, non-government organizations, and industry are now required to make our farmers ICT -friendly so that the benefits of rapidly evolving technological advancements in farm production, storage, and marketing can be shared equally among all communities and sectors of farming.

This chapter deals with the research findings of the study together with a relevant discussion of the facts. Results of the study have been presented, and inferences are drawn from them about the specific objectives of the study set forth. Findings of the present investigation on Webometric Content Analysis of Websites of Agriculture and allied sectors in West Bengal and the inferences drawn from them about objectives are presented under the following headings:

6.1 The current web presence of institutions under agricultural and allied sectors in West Bengal . The number of websites under each sector and their URL domain.

6.2 Contents features of the websites , the form of web contents used, information domain and language used in websites.

6.3 Thematic areas intended audience (internal and external users), and the media presence of the websites .

6.1 Current Web Presence of Institutions Under Agricultural and Allied Sectors in West Bengal

An attempt was made to explore the web presence of the institutions related to agricultural and allied sectors viz-a-viz website domain and URL in West Bengal . The variables like the number of websites , their URL address, and domain use status under different institutions were presented in this section.

This chapter deals with an in-depth description of the methods and procedures employed in conducting the research in an organized manner. The research methodology gives the study’s work plan. The research objectives and theoretical base offer an initial framework for identifying the appropriate methodology to answer the research questions.

The procedures followed were described under the following headings.

5.1 Research design

5.2 Locale of the study

5.3 Content analysis of websites

5.4 Statistical tools used for the analysis of data.

5.5 Preparation of report

India is considered a pioneer in software development and a favourite destination for IT-enabled services. West Bengal is predominantly an agrarian State. Comprising only 2.7% of India’s geographical area, it supports nearly 8% of its population. There are 71.23 lakh farm families, of whom 96% are small and marginal farmers. The average size of land holding is only 0.77 ha. However, the State is bestowed with diverse natural resources and varied agro climatic conditions that support the cultivation of a wide range of crops.

The net cropped area is 52.05 lakh ha, comprising 68% of the geographical area and 92% of arable land. The cropping intensity is 184%. However, as the State is in the humid tropic and the Bay of Bengal is close by, it often must face natural vagaries like floods, cyclones, hailstorms, etc. Though the State has a surplus production of rice, vegetables and potatoes, a huge gap exists between the requirement and production of pulses, oilseeds, and maize. The deterioration of soil health due to imbalances in chemical fertilizers, the paucity of suitable improved seed varieties, inadequate farm mechanization, unorganized marketing structure, etc., is a major challenge to agricultural growth.

Websites

Information science is an interdisciplinary field that skirts the study of the organization, production, retrieval, storage, retrieval, use of information, and dissemination. Information and Metric studies of storage and recovery are the primary areas of Information Science. Today’s challenges for information personnel are to pave the way through enormous volumes of information brought about by different means.

The World Wide Web (WWW ), an information space, is a complex structure that incorporates all types of information that need different users and a layperson to the researcher. It is a system of interlinked hypertext documents approached via the Internet . The web pages can be viewed in a way that contains images, text, videos, and several multimedia through the forms of a web browser and negotiated between them with the help of hyperlinks.

It is also a system of multimedia that supports uniquely formatted, using markup languages like HTML or digital documents. These scripting languages support links to other documents, video files, graphics, and audio.

The term ‘Webometrics ’ (Bajorneborne & Ingwersen, 2001) was coined for content analysis , search engine performances, quantitative analysis of web related phenomena, links, and web technology analysis from an information science perspective.

A literature review attempts to discover, locate, and synthesize relevant research reports, articles, books, and other resources relating to a study subject. The review can be based on published sources like journal articles, conference papers, research abstracts, chapter books, research institution websites , and so on, as well as unpublished materials like theses and dissertations. By examining the literature, a researcher can take advantage of past research and results made by professionals to get the most out of their research.

Examining literature is an important part of every research project since it gives the investigator the information, they need to frame the study on the chosen topic. It directs an investigation on the appropriate path, keeping up with the most recent data.

Studies on Broad Areas of Webometrics

Webometric studies, ranging from earlier to more contemporary studies, have been recognized and organized under the following headings:

• Studies on the Growth and Development of Webometrics

• Studies on theoretical studies of content analysis

• Studies on Web Content Analysis

• Studies on web usage analysis

The agriculture sector in India accounts for about 20.2 per cent of its gross value added (GVA) and 17.34 per cent of the total export earnings. It employs approximately 60 per cent of the country’s workforce. It is an unavoidable source for generating demand for industrial goods and services, and domestic savings in rural India are a huge source of resource mobilization in the Indian economy. This sector plays a key role in ensuring national food security and, in the meantime, national security as well. For these reasons, the development of agriculture has a strong multiplier effect on the economy. There is also an increasing consensus that a globalizing economy and a long-term economic development plan for India are practicable only if it has agriculture and raises rural incomes as its central concern.

ICT and Information Needs of the Stakeholders

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extension-related term used in information technology (IT) that emphasizes the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications like wireless signals and telephone systems and computers; it is also useful in the software system, middleware, storage, and audio-visual, that enable users to store, transmit, access, manipulate information by understanding the whole process.

16.1. Introduction

Game theory is a mathematical framework designed for understanding and analyzing strategic interactions among rational decision-makers. It has applications in various fields such as economics, political science, psychology, biology, and computer science. The foundational premise of game theory is that the outcome of a decision made by one agent depends on the decisions made by others. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of game theory, covering its fundamental concepts, types of games, solution concepts, and applications.

16.2. Fundamental Concepts

16.2.1. Players

In game theory, a player is any individual or entity that makes decisions within the context of the game. Players are assumed to be rational, meaning they aim to maximize their own utility or payoff based on their preferences and the information available to them.

17.1. Introduction

Grounded Theory (GT) is a systematic methodology in the social sciences that involves the construction of theories through methodical gathering and analysis of data. Developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in 1967, GT is widely used in qualitative research to generate theories that are grounded in empirical data. Unlike traditional research methods that test hypotheses, GT allows theories are to emerge from the data itself, making it a valuable tool for exploring complex social phenomena.

This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of Grounded Theory, including its origins, key principles, methodologies, applications, and criticisms. By the end of this article, readers will have a thorough understanding of GT and its significance in qualitative research.

15.1. Introduction

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to combine the results of multiple studies to produce a single, more precise estimate of the effect size of a particular intervention or association. It is a powerful tool in research, particularly in f ields such as medicine, psychology, education, and social sciences, where it is often necessary to synthesize evidence from numerous studies to draw meaningful conclusions. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of meta-analysis, including its history, methodology, advantages, limitations, and applications.

15.2. Historical Background

The concept of meta-analysis dates back to the early 20th century, but it was not until the 1970s that the term was coined by Gene V. Glass. Glass defined meta-analysis as “the statistical analysis of a large collection of analysis results from individual studies for the purpose of integrating the findings” (Glass, 1976). Since then, meta-analysis has evolved significantly, with advancements in statistical methods and software making it more accessible and robust.

15.3. The Need for Meta-Analysis

15.3.1. Accumulation of Evidence

In many fields, particularly in medicine and psychology, a large number of studies are conducted on the same or similar research questions. However, individual studies may have small sample sizes, leading to low statistical power and inconclusive results. Meta-analysis allows researchers to pool data from multiple studies, increasing the overall sample size and statistical power, thereby providing a more reliable estimate of the effect size.

Project managers need to make sense on the many data that they have. Analytical tools are used in project management to achieve such need. Such tools are used to create a forecast of potential outcomes based on the variations present in the environmental and project variables. There are different types of analytical tools used and one of the most common tools is regression analysis.

14.1. Multiple Regression

Concept: Multiple regression is the most commonly utilized multivariate technique. It examines the relationship between a single metric dependent variable and two or more metric independent variables. Multiple regressions are often used as a forecasting tool. Goal is to use the linear composite of two or more continuous and/or categorical variables (predictors) to: 1) predict scores on a single continuous variable (criterion), or to 2) explain the nature of the single continuous criterion variable from what is known about the predictor variables. In prediction, the criterion is the main emphasis because decisions are made on its value, but often times, it is difficult to directly measure or obtain a subject’s actual score on the criterion; therefore, it is important to estimate or predict one’s criterion score based on the value of the predictor scores.

13.1. Introduction

The Delphi technique is a systematic, interactive forecasting method that involves gathering expert opinions to make informed decisions, predict future trends, or address complex problems. The core idea behind this technique is to use the knowledge and insights of experts in a structured manner to produce well-informed and reliable outcomes. By combining expert judgment with iterative feedback, the Delphi method allows for deeper analysis, greater accuracy, and a better understanding of complex issues that cannot be easily solved through traditional data analysis or quantitative methods (Ismail and Taliep, 2023).

Originally designed for defence-related forecasting, the Delphi technique has since evolved into a versatile tool used across a wide range of fields, such as business, healthcare, education, public policy, environmental science, and social research. Its versatility stems from its ability to gather expert opinions in a manner that allows for rigorous analysis of complex issues, without the constraints of traditional group meetings or face-to-face discussions.

12.1. Introduction

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are computational models inspired by the way biological neural networks in the human brain process information. They consist of interconnected nodes or “neurons” arranged in layers: an input layer, one or more hidden layers, and an output layer. Each neuron in the network processes data and passes the results to the next layer. ANNs are designed to recognize patterns, learn from data, and make predictions or classifications based on that learning.

In an ANN, the connections between neurons are weighted, meaning each connection has a strength or value that determines the influence of one neuron on another. Through a process called training, the network adjusts these weights to minimize errors in its predictions. This is typically done using techniques like backpropagation, where the error is propagated backward through the network to update the weights (Abiodunet al., 2018).

ANNs are highly versatile and have been applied across various domains, including image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and decision-making systems. Their ability to model complex relationships in large datasets makes them a crucial component in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence (Ahmed et al., 2023).

11.1. Introduction

Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) is a powerful soft computing technique that integrates elements of fuzzy logic and cognitive mapping to model complex systems. It allows for the representation of causal relationships between variables in an interpretable and flexible manner, making it particularly valuable for analyzing and simulating real-world dynamic systems. FCM has its roots in cognitive science, systems thinking, and artificial intelligence, enabling researchers and practitioners to model uncertainties and interdependencies effectively (Tyrovolas et al., 2023). The approach is particularly advantageous when dealing with complex, ill-structured problems where traditional mathematical modeling techniques fall short. By capturing expert knowledge and combining it with computational techniques, FCM helps in making informed predictions and policy decisions.

It is widely applied across multiple domains, including environmental management for sustainability assessments (Özesmi and Özesmi, 2004), decision support systems in business and governance, healthcare for medical diagnostics and treatment planning (Apostolopoulos et al., 2024), and socio economic planning for policy analysis and forecasting (Gray et al., 2015). Furthermore, its adaptability has led to its increasing integration with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, making it a promising approach for tackling contemporary challenges.

10.1. Introduction

Decision-making is a fundamental aspect of human life, influencing choices in both personal and professional settings. Every individual, whether consciously or unconsciously, engages in decision-making daily, ranging from simple tasks like selecting a meal to complex strategic planning in organizations. However, decision-making becomes increasingly challenging when multiple conflicting criteria are involved. The presence of numerous factors, each with varying degrees of importance, often creates ambiguity and uncertainty, making it difficult to arrive at the most suitable option. To address these challenges, structured decision-making methodologies have been developed to provide a systematic and logical framework for evaluating alternatives.

One such widely recognized method is the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), introduced by Thomas L. Saaty in the 1970s. AHP was designed to assist decision-makers in breaking down complex problems into a structured and systematic hierarchy. This approach allows for a step-by-step evaluation of different factors, making it easier to analyze their relative importance. By structuring a problem into different levels - such as goal, criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives - AHP provides clarity in decision-making and enhances consistency in judgments. The method is particularly beneficial when dealing with decisions that involve both tangible and intangible factors, as it allows subjective preferences to be quantified systematically (Saaty, 2008).

9.1. Introduction

The human population of the world will reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, boosting agricultural order-in a situation of humble financial development (FAO, 2017). At present, approximately 37.7% of total land surface is being utilized for crop production. From employment generation to contribution to National Income, agriculture sector is contributing a significant role in economic prosperity of the developed nations and is playing an active part in the economy of the developing countries as well. The growth of agriculture has resulted in a significant increase in the per-capita income of the rural community. Thus, a greater emphasis on agricultural sector is the need of the hour. For countries, like India, the agricultural sector accounts for 18% of GDP and provides employment to 50% of the country’s workforce. Development in the agricultural sector will enrich the rural development which will lead toward rural transformation and ultimately the desired structural transformation (Mogili and Deepak, 2018; Shah et al., 2019). The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been obvious in the agricultural sector recently. The sector needs the impetus from AI based technology to maximize its yield including improper soil treatment, disease and pest infestation, big data requirements, low output, and knowledge gap between farmers and technology.

8.1. Introduction

Sometimes writing reference list could be so confusing since there are a lot of different rules. Each universities or even each faculty use different rule in writing reference list. The different rule of writing reference list is normal because they refer to different style guide. There are a lot of styles guide available. MLA (Modern Language Association of America) style; the Chicago Manual of Style; the Oxford Guide to Style are some examples of style guide. Difference reference of style guides chosen will result in totally different way of writing reference list. The most widely accepted style guides in social science is the APA (American Psychological Association) style. In some higher education journals (e.g. Journal of Studies in International Education, Higher Education) it is stated clearly that author must submit their paper according to APA style. Referencing in a general sense means to give credit to someone for using his or her own ideas or thoughts in a research activity. Referencing helps in gaining the originality of the ideas and thoughts used in the research activity. Failure to reference is treated as disrespect to the original author or writer and seen as a major misconduct in the area of academic research writing. Generally students made the mistake of not mentioning proper referencing at the end of their research projects, essays or any other piece of work. This may lead to cancellation of the written matter. If we do not reference properly the written matter is treated as if it is copied from somewhere. The research paper or material cannot be submitted for further research or reading purpose. We find a lot of data when we search for something.