eChapters

What is an IVR

IVR or Interactive Voice Response is a technology that automates interaction of a database with telephone callers. Enterprises are increasingly turning to IVR to reduce the cost of common sales, service, collections, inquiry and support calls to and from their company.

IVR solutions are generally used with pre-recorded voice prompts and menus to present information and options to callers, and touch-tone telephone keypad entry to gather responses. Modern IVR solutions however, also enable input and responses to be gathered via spoken words with voice recognition.

IVR solutions enable users to retrieve information including bank balances, flight schedules, product details, order status, movie show times, and more from any telephone. Additionally, IVR solutions are increasingly used to place outbound calls to deliver or gather information for appointments, past due bills, and other time critical events and activities.

Intercropping

Canopy of cashew to cover the entire area in about 8 to 10 years when grown under normal spacing of 8m x 8m in fertile soil. However, in marginal lands, it takes 10 to 12 years for the canopy to cover entire area. Cashew when grown in hilly regions there is a possibility of soil erosion and weed growth during initial years of planting (Yadukumar and Nayak, 2000). Intercropping is the only available best options to prevent such erosions and conserve soil and moisture in hilly areas and to obtain sustainable income.

Recently, establishment of large plantations and adoption of systematic package of practices and intercropping is practiced to realize additional income in the initial years of cashew cultivations. When the cashew canopy starts touching the neighbouring trees possibility of intercropping is ruled out. Mixed cropping with other tree species is not widely accepted and even not advisable (Anon., 1997), though there are a few instances of growing casuarina as mixed crop in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states (Yadukumar and Nayak, 2000).

Historical perspective: Planting of single crops or mono-cultural agriculture—is a recent invention of the industrial agricultural complex (Hirst, 2019). While unequivocal archaeological evidence is difficult to come by, it’s believed that most agricultural field systems in the past involved some form of mixed cropping. That’s because of even botanical evidence of plant residues such as starches or phytoliths of multiple crops are discovered in an ancient fields (Hirst, 2019). Mixed cropping, also known as polyculture, or co-cultivation, is a type of agriculture that involves planting two or more crop plants simultaneously in the same field so that they grow together. The primary reason for prehistoric multi or mixed cropping probably had more to do with the needs of the farmer’s family and perhaps to avoid crop failure. It’s possible that certain plants adapted to multi-cropping over time disappeared as a result of the domestication process (Hirst 2016).

Since time immemorial India has been leader in respect to spice, area, production and consumption. India is known as ‘Land of spices. Out of 109 spices listed by the ISO, India produce as many as 63 owing to its varied agroclimatic regions. Almost all the state and union territory of the country grow one or the other spices. Spices are the sources of livelihood and employment for large number of people in the country. Seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried seeds or fruit are used as spices. Spices are the nature’s gift to mankind and since antiquity, spices have been considered indispensable in the culinary art, as they are used to flavour foods and beverages The important seed spices are coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek. ajwain, dill,, celery, anise, nigella and caraway. The other seed spices s are poppy seed, rai, yellow mustard, white mustard, parsley and sesame. In India, Rajasthan and Gujarat has emerged as “Seed spice bowl” and together contributes more than 80 percent of total seed spices.

Burgeoning population exerts pressure on limited precious natural resources for enhancing production of food, fodder and fuel. In order to meet out increasing demand for food, fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, fodder and timber wood for burgeoning population, it is necessary to utilize each unit of natural rsesource very efficiently. The productivity of the precious natural resources is to be enhanced per unit time per unit area by agronomic ally managing stresses soil and land ecosystem to harvest more benefit. The cropping system as well as intercropping system practised by using different trees, fruits, vegetables, crops are the very efficient enterprises for realising higher productivity of natural resources available with in specified ecosystem.

Worldwide, agriculture contributes a lot for mankind by providing food and feed for human beings and livestock, respectively. The countries where agriculture plays a vital role, it has enough importance in the economy of the country as well as gross domestic product (GDP).

Weeds are a serious menace and these reduce the quality and yield of crops substantially. Chemical as well as mechanical methods are being used to control the weeds. The weeding was traditionally done by “khurpa” up to mid 60s. This tool requires its operation in a sitting posture, which reduces the work rate. The use of long handled tools like “kasola” became popular because these allowed their operation in a standing posture, which increases the mobility and thus the work rate. Weeder is a mechanical device to remove the weeds (unwanted plants) from the cultivated crop. A wide variety of weeders are used in the countries, which may be categorized in three groups viz. manual weeder, animal or tractor drawn weeder and power weeder or self-propelled rotary weeder (Singh, 2007; Pandey et al., 1997; Pandey and Ganesan, 2005).

In the orchard, several cultural operations like weeding, mulching, etc. are very important. Similarly protection from fire is also essential. The points are discussed here.

Weed Management

The Luxuriant weed growth is a common sight in neglected old cashew gardens. Weeds are not only harmful by competing for the nutrients and moisture but also cause inconvenience to take up effective plant protection measures and harvesting of fallen nuts; thus resulting in loss of yield. Therefore, sanitation of cashew orchard is very essential, it also minimise the incidence of cashew stem and root borer (CSRB). Careful weeding-clearing the area within 2 m radius of the trunk is essential. Clearing of weed growth is to be carried out twice in a year. Weeds may compete for nutrients and moisture with cashew. The weeding cycles are generally confined to the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods to coincide with the fertilizer application.

Weeds should also be controlled between the rows. This can be done by inter-cropping with certain crops for 3/4 years before the tree canopies close in. In addition a legume can be grown to both control weeds and fix nitrogen for the trees. This improves the soil and makes the nutrient available.

Simple interest?

Simple interest can be simply defined as the interest that is paid only on the principal amount. Unlike compound interest, simple interest does not consider “interest on interest” concept and the value is obtained by multiplying the interest rate by the principal amount and the number of days that elapse between payments.

Introduction

Some historians of agriculture believe that it was women who first domesticated crop plants and there by initiated the art and science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of food, women started collecting seeds from the native flora and began cultivating those of interest from the point of view of food, feed, fodder, fiber and fuel. This view is strengthened by the fact that women have been traditionally seed selectors. Even today this tradition has continued in many parts of the developing world. Women have played and continue to play a pivotal role in the conservation of basic life support system such as land, water, flora and fauna. They have protected the health of the soil through organic recycling and promoted crop security through the maintenance of varietal diversity and genetic resistance. In many remote areas agriculture is largely in hands of women. Men tend use to go to towns and cities in search of salaried jobs for fulfillment of family income. Therefore, without total intellectual and physical participation of women, it will not be possible to popularize alternative systems of land management for shifting cultivation, arrest gene and soil erosion, and promote the care of the soil and the health of economic plants and farm animals. Women also tend to look at problems in their totality from the sowing of the crop to its ultimate utilization either as food, feed or raw material for industry. Since they are usually incharge of marketing, they generally possess a clear understanding of market preferences and prejudices. Therefore, for an economically and ecologically sustainable agriculture the involvement of women farmers and farm women (agriculture farmers with and without assets) in the process of modernization of farming practices and village industries is absolutely essential. Horticulture is a major part of Indian agriculture, natural foods of man, fruits and vegetables provide protective nutrients like vitamins and minerals besides, some high quality sugars, proteins, oils and fats. Although belated, their importance has now been recognized in India not only to provide the much needed balanced nutrition and gainful occupation to our populace but also to develop viable internal and export trade. Fruits like banana, mango and minors fruit like mahuva, chironji, rayan etc. vegetables like potato being energy rich are considered prominent food crops e.g. banana can produce as high as 37 million calories per hectare. Unfortunately the component of fruits and vegetables in Indian diet is hardly six percent which should be raised at least five times so that the per capita per day consumption becomes 85 g. fruits, 75 – 125 g. leafy vegetables 85 g. other vegetable and 85 g. roots and tubers. To achieve this present production of fruits and vegetables would need to be pushed up considerably by increasing production levels and the area under fruits and vegetables would need to be pushed up considerably by increasing production levels and the area under fruits and vegetables (Lata and Singh, 2010).

8.1 Introduction

Interferometric or phase modulated sensors have received special attention because these are much more sensitive than intensity modulated sensors and can be used over a much larger dynamic range. The sensors rely on the interferometric technique. Generally, the sensor employs a coherent light source such as a laser and two single mode optical fibers. Light is split and coupled into both the fibers. If the measurand perturbs the optical properties of one of the fibers relative to the other, a phase shift occurs. The change in phase can be measured very precisely. For the measurement a sophisticated electronic processing equipment is needed. Thus the interferometric sensors are expensive compare to intensity modulated sensors. There are four kinds of interferometer configurations: Mach-Zehnder, Michelson, Fabry-Perot and Sagnac interferometers. The Mach-Zehnder, Michelson and Sagnac interferometers are the two beam interferometers while in the case of Fabry-Perot interferometer multiple beam interference occurs. In this chapter we shall first describe interference phenomenon and then different kinds of fiber optic interferometers. In the end we shall describe a number of sensors based on interference phenomenon or phase modulation.

13.1 Internal and External Factors Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises

Margi Lévy and Philip Powell argued that growth is determined by a combination of the entrepreneur, strategy and the firm organization. The author also defined key influences on SMEs growth, internal factors that reveal how decisions and features effect the growth of a firm.

(a) Entrepreneurial influences

A firm’s growth is dependent on the managerial knowledge (Macpher son & Holt 2007, 172-192). Training is crucial for the productivity and quality as well as it influences the effectiveness, efficiency and motivation of the employees (Thassanabanjong et al., 2009). The SME owner has considerable personal influence over a firm’s strategies, tactics and operations to engage in decision process across the firm.

As a result, although a flat, informal organizational structure is likely to exist, decisions making tends to be quite centralized around the owner. The entrepreneurs’ personality and behavior are to be causal factors for or against growth - orientated achievement. It is characteristic of small business that power decision are centralized at the level of owner - manager, so his or her personality, skills, responsibilities, attitude and behavior will have decisive influence on business strategy. (Levy and Powell, 2005).

Market competition has a larger affect for SMEs chance of survival and uncertainty is high as most of the smaller companies tend to have smaller share of the capital. This leads SMEs to have one or two major customers and are do not have big influence on prices. Larger companies with higher market share usually determine prices. (Levy & Powell, 2005).

Heat engines - A device which change heat received by fuel combustion into mechanical work is called a heat engine. It may be classified into two broad categories viz. are Internal and external combustion engines.[8]

Introduction to Internal Environment Analysis

Internal environment analysis is a critical component of strategic management that focuses on evaluating an organization's internal factors and resources. It involves assessing the internal strengths and weaknesses to gain insights into the organization's capabilities and competitive advantage. Here are some key points to highlight when discussing the introduction to internal environment analysis:

Internal environment analysis refers to the process of examining and evaluating an organization's internal factors, including its resources, capabilities, and core competencies. It helps identify strengths and weaknesses that can influence the organization's performance and competitiveness.

Purpose: The primary purpose of internal environment analysis is to understand the organization's internal dynamics and uncover key areas where it has a competitive advantage or faces challenges. It enables organizations to identify their core competencies and allocate resources effectively to achieve strategic goals.

Repairing fractures in small animal’s presence challenges to the veterinarians in their day to day service. These challenges include properly repairing fractures, each of which is unique, choosing the right fixation device, keeping an extensive inventory of costly instruments, and providing high standards of care for fracture repair. But fracture repair also gives veterinarians the opportunities to do something a little unusual in daily practice and to experience the immediate gratification of easing pain and promoting activity in injured animals.

Successful management of fractures mainly depends upon early diagnosis, type of fracture, timing of surgery and selection of proper method of fixation. The fixation of fractures can be achieved either by external or internal fixation methods. An ideal method of fracture fixation is one that can maintain early anatomical reduction, minimal soft tissue trauma, rigid stability and early motion of bone and joint. Restoring a fractured bone’s normal shape is important for return to function because it contributes to normal alignment of adjacent joint surfaces. Whereas, rigid stability of fracture fixation eliminates fragment movement and reduces pain. Soft tissue trauma adjacent to fractured bone should be minimum, which play a vital role in early vascularisation and prevents infection. Finally, early return to function maintains muscular tone of the limb allows normal weight mobility and joint nutrition and uses normal weight bearing forces to maintain bone density. These can be achieved with use of internal fixation devices.

Introduction

The characteristic features of a city are the result of the combination of various factors like topography, climate, history, economy, culture, etc. since these characteristics vary; every town/city is unique and has certain distinctive characteristics. These urban characteristics are, however, never static. They change both over time and space.

With the development of the economy, other factors like population growth, urbanization and improved technology have a combined effect on urban settlements, which grow bigger and more complex. The study of the internal structure of cities by urban geographers is a study of the structural and demographical variations (i.e., variations in building size, shape, height, function and social status) of urban settlement.

Theories on the Internal Structure of Cities

The internal structure of cities has attracted many generalizations in the form of theories. These theories have attempted to explain the city structure by examining cities at any location in a country largely from sociological viewpoint. The different theories on the internal structure of cities are the Concentric Zone theory of Burgess, Sector Theory of Hoyt, the Multiple Nuclei Theory of Ullman, the Social Area Analysis of Murdie and the Exploitative Model of William Bunge.

In previous sections we discussed about the validity and estimation of validity. Now the question is whether the reliable and valid measuring instrument is sufficient condition to ensure the reliable and valid results in actual experiments? What if the measuring instruments are perfectly reliable and valid but the experiment is conducted in less controlled conditions? Can we expect accurate predictions under such conditions? The answer is No.

No country is self-sufficient in plant genetic resources, and until recently this was thought to be sufficient to ensure the free flow of germplasm among nations. However, the concepts of ownership, sovereignty and intellectual property rights (IPR) have increasingly been invoked of late in discussions of how best to conserve and use plant genetic resources. This has resulted from the growing realization that germplasm has real economic value. At the same time, awareness has grown that the repercussions of overexploitation of natural resources, of the extinction of species and the disappearance of crop landraces, of environmental damage and of habitat destruction can be global, transcending national boundaries and short-term financial considerations (Anon. 1995). Therefore important international agreements/legislations on plant genetic resources management have been enacted from time to time. The important ones are as follows :

Introduction

International agricultural setup has appeared as it now taking all out consideration and agricultural heritage, crop voyage, crop classification and its significances. International cooperation has contended a big role in developing and strengthening the research system in Asian country. several developed countries like USA, UK, USSR, Canada, Australia, Japan, many European countries; Charitable establishments, etc.; altruist and Ford Foundations; varied International Agencies like FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank, etc.; and also the International Agricultural Research Centres below the consultatory cluster on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) System have contributed extensively to the explanation for agricultural RESEARCH in Asian country. Spectacular achievements in increasing the food production have raised the country’s image significantly, and also the bilateral arrangements have modified from the erstwhile donor-donee standing to relationship of equal partnership in research. The reciprocity and mutuality of interests with the less developed and in addition because the technologically advanced countries square measure the essence of international co-operation. The government has approved ICAR, motor-assisted by the board of directors of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), to enter into bilateral cooperative agreements with many countries and agencies. The mode of collaboration ordinarily follows the pattern of: (a) exchange of germ-plasm of plant and animal origin; (b) exchange of scientific and technical information; (c) visits of scientists and experts; (d) coaching of scientists; and (e) infrastructure development.

The 15 CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) Research Centers are independent, non-profit research organizations, conducting innovative research. Home to more than 8,000 scientists, researchers, technicians, and staff, CGIAR research works to create a better future for the world’s poor. Each Center has its own charter, board of trustees, director general, and staff. CGIAR Research Centers are responsible for hands-on research programmes and operations guided by policies and research directions set by the System Management Board.