Conceptualisation Of Model For Studying Consumer Purchase Behaviour Of Passenger Cars

Automobile Industry in India is influenced by the presence of national and multi-national manufacturers. The presence of many manufacturers and brands in the state provides many choices to the customer. The current market for car manufacturers has been transformed from a monopoly of one or two manufacturers in the seventies to oligopoly of many manufacturers in the current marketing scenario. The main objective of the research paper is to explore and conceptualize various parameters and develop a model, which influence the purchase patterns of passenger cars in the State of Kerala. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to come up with a model, which shall facilitate further study on the consumer purchase behaviour patterns of passenger car owners in the State of Kerala, India. The author intends to undertake further quantitative analysis to verify and validate the model so developed. The main methods used for this paper are secondary research on available material, depth interview of car dealers, car financing agencies and car owners in the city of Cochin, in Kerala State in India. The depth interviews were conducted with the use of prepared questionnaire for car dealers, car customers and car financing agencies. The findings resulted in the identification of the parameters that influence the consumer purchase behaviour of passenger cars and the formulation of the model, which will be the basis for the further research of the author. The paper will be of tremendous value to the existing and new car manufacturers both indigenous and foreign, to formalize and strategies their policies towards an effective marketing strategy, so as to market their models in the State, which is known for its high literacy, consumerism and higher educational penetration

Dominant partial least square factors of consumer purchase behaviour of passenger cars

Globalization and liberalization, with the entry of many prominent foreign manufacturers, changed the automobile scenario in India, since early 1990’s. World Leaders in automobile manufacturing such as Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai, Renault, Mitsubishi, Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan set up their manufacturing units in India in joint venture with their Indian counterpart companies, by making use of the Foreign Direct Investment policy of the Government of India, These manufacturers started capturing the hearts of Indian car customers with their choice of technological and innovative product features, with quality and reliability. With the multiplicity of choices available to the Indian passenger car buyers, it drastically changed the way the car purchase scenario in India and particularly in the State of Kerala. This transformed the automobile scene from a sellers’ market to buyers’ market. Car customers started developing their own personal preferences and purchasing patterns, which were hitherto unknown in the Indian automobile segment. The main purpose of this paper is to develop a model with major variables, which influence the consumer purchase behaviour of passenger car owners in the State of Kerala. Though there are innumerable studies conducted in other countries, there are very few thesis and research work conducted to study the consumer behaviour of the passenger car industry in India and specifically in the State of Kerala. The results of the research contribute to the practical knowledge base of the automobile industry, specifically to the passenger car segment. It has also a great contributory value addition to the manufacturers and dealers for customizing their marketing plans in the State

Dominant Mean Percentage Score Factors Of The Consumer Purchase Behaviour Of Passenger Cars

Globalization and liberalization, with the entry of many prominent foreign manufacturers, changed the automobile scenario in India, since early 1990’s. World Leaders in automobile manufacturing such as Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai, Renault, Mitsubishi, Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan set up their manufacturing units in India in joint venture with their Indian counterpart companies, by making use of the Foreign Direct Investment policy of the Government of India, These manufacturers started capturing the hearts of Indian car customers with their choice of technological and innovative product features, with quality and reliability. With the multiplicity of choices available to the Indian passenger car buyers, it drastically changed the way the car purchase scenario in India and particularly in the State of Kerala. This transformed the automobile scene from a sellers’ market to buyers’ market. Car customers started developing their own personal preferences and purchasing patterns, which were hitherto unknown in the Indian automobile segment. The main purpose of this paper is to come up with the identification of possible parameters and a framework development, that influence the consumer purchase behaviour patterns of passenger car owners in the State of Kerala, so that further research could be done, based on the framework and the identified parameters.

Ecological studies of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats of India, using Remote Sensing and GIS

mbikulam Tiger Reserve of Western Ghats using Geospatial technology. The major objectives of the study are Land use land cover mapping (LULC) and Phytodiversity analysis. Satellite data was used to map the land use / land cover using supervised classification techniques in Erdas imagine. The change for a period of 32 years was assessed using the multi-temporal satellite datasets from Landsat MSS (1973), Landsat TM (1990), and IRS P6 LISS III (2005). A geospatial approach was used for the land cover analysis. Digital elevation models, Satellite imageries and SOI topo sheets were the data sets used in the analysis. Vegetation sampling plots distributed over the different forest types were enumerated and studied for Phytodiversity analysis.

Characterization and FTIR spectral studies of human urinary stones from Southern India

Urinary stones resected from urinary bladders of patients hailing from Kollam district of Kerala State, India were analyzed by SEM, XRD and by thermal analysis techniques. The analytical results indicate that, stones have different composition, i.e., calcium phosphate, calcium phosphate hydroxide and sodium calcium carbonate. Infrared spectral studies also reveal the presence of phosphates or carbonates in these samples. Further, IR spectral investigations have revealed that amorphous carbonated species are occupied in PO4 sites in calcium phosphate type stone and OH sites in calcium phosphate hydroxide sample. Thermal studies of these samples also reveal that, carbon dioxide is released from carbonated samples upon heating which is related to amount of carbon content and bond strength. Crystals with defects and irregular morphology are grown inside the urinary bladder due to variation in crystal growth conditions

Analytical Characterization, Thermal And Ftir Studies Of Urinary Calculi

Urolithiasis is identified to be a major urological disorder affecting people all over the world irrespective of their age, sex and race. Urinary stone samples resected from the urinary bladders of two patients belonging to tropical region, Kollam District of Kerala State, India are investigated by using XRD,SEM, EDAX, TGA, DSC and FTIR to understand its chemical structure. Uric acid shows exothermic peak around 432°C is due to the decomposition with the evolution of CO and cracking of the remaining products. Results of analytical studies reveal that samples under investigation consist mainly in uric acid and hydrated uric acid. Hydrogen bonding exists in hydrated uric acid samples

Educational Loans And The Higher Education Sector In India

In 2001 the Indian Banks Association have come up with a model frame work for educational loans in the country. With the approval of the Central Government the public sector banks in India started to give education loans. The private and cooperative banks also joined the fray. Due to growing NPAs and the intervention of the Government these norms were modified in 2011. The budget allocation for the primary and higher secondary education is on the increase in India. However, higher education has been of late relegated or left to the mercy of the private players. There has been a steady growth of educational loans disbursed, private colleges and deemed universities started and enrolments of students in higher education during the years 2001 to 2011. This paper is a humble attempt to 1) analyse the growth of the educational loans vis-à-vis other forms of personal loans at the national level, 2) showcase the disbursements of educational loans in Kerala State, 3) to assess the growth of educational institutions and enrolment of students in higher education in India from secondary data and 4) to make suggestions based on the findings

Fractionation and bioavailability of phosphorus in a tropical estuary, Southwest India

Phosphorus fractionation was employed to find the bioavailability of phosphorus and its seasonal variations in the Panangad region of Cochin estuary, the largest estuarine system in the southwest coast of India. Sequential extraction of the surficial sediments using chelating agents was taken as a tool for this. Phosphate in the water column showed seasonal variations, with high values during the monsoon months, suggesting external runoff. Sediment texture was found to be the main factor influencing the spatial distribution of the geochemical parameters in the study region. Similarly, total phosphorus also showed granulometric dependence and it ranged between 319.54 and 2,938.83 μg/g. Calcium-bound fraction was the main phosphorus pool in the estuary. Significant spatial variations were observed for all bioavailable fractions; iron-bound inorganic phosphorus (5.04–474.24 μg/g), calcium-bound inorganic phosphorus (11.16–826.09 μg/g), and acidsoluble organic phosphorus (22.22–365.86 μg/g). Among the non-bioavailable phosphorus, alkalisoluble organic fraction was the major one (51.92– 1,002.45 μg/g). Residual organic phosphorus was K. R. Renjith (B) · N. Chandramohanakumar · M. M. Joseph Department of Chemical Oceanography, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi 682016, Kerala, India e-mail: renjithaqua@gmail.com comparatively smaller fraction (3.25–14.64% of total). The sandy and muddy stations showed distinct fractional composition and the speciation study could endorse the overall geochemical character. There could be buffering of phosphorus, suggested by the increase in the percentage of bioavailable fractions during the lean premonsoon period, counteracting the decreases in the external loads. Principal component analysis was employed to find the possible processes influencing the speciation of phosphorus in the study region

The protective and attractive covering of a vegetated embankment using coir geotextiles

This paper presents the results of a field experiment conducted in Kerala, South India, to test the effectiveness of coir geotextiles for embankment protection. The results reveal that treatment with geotextile in combination with grass is an effective eco-hydrological measure to protect steep slopes from erosion. In the context of sustainable watershed management, coir is a cheap and locally available material that can be used to strengthen traditional earthen bunds or protect the banks of village ponds from erosion. Particularly in developing countries, where coir is abundantly available and textiles can be produced by small-scale industry, this is an attractive alternative for conventional methods. This paper analyses the performance of coir geotextile in different treatments with respect to soil moisture content, protection against erosion and biomass production

Experimental study using coir geotextiles in watershed management

This paper presents the results of a field experiment conducted in Kerala, South India, to test the effectiveness of coir geotextiles for embankment protection. In the context of sustainable watershed management, coir is a cheap and locally available material 5 that can be used to strengthen traditional earthen bunds or protect the banks of village ponds from erosion. Particularly in developing countries, where coir is abundantly available and textiles can be produced by small-scale industry, this is an attractive alternative for conventional methods

Sustainable Solid Waste Management Through Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Solution To Kochi City, India

Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development especially in the case of solid waste management. To have a better living condition for us and our future generations, we must know where we are now and how far we need to go. We, each individual must calculate how much nature we use and compare it to how much nature we have available. This can be achieved by applying the concept of ecological footprint. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on earth by humans in spatial terms. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. The paper discusses the various footprint components of Kochi city and in detail analyses the waste footprint of the residential areas using waste footprint analyzer. An attempt is also made to suggest some waste foot print reduction strategies thereby making the city sustainable as far as solid waste management is concerned.

Ecological Foot Print Analysis-A Sustainable Environmental Management Tool for Kochi City

Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast of India, is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. The present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. This trend can be ascribed to rapid population growth, our changing lifestyles, food habits, and change in living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on the earth by humans in spatial terms. This paper analyses the scope of EFA as a sustainable environmental management tool for Kochi City

Sustainable Development through the Environment Management Tool Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Study in Kochi City, India

In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. Our challenge is to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally, regionally and globally. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel, focusing on land appropriation using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis and calculate and analyse the ecological footprint of the residential areas of Kochi city. The paper also discusses and analyses the waste footprint of the city. An attempt is also made to suggest strategies to reduce the footprint thereby making the city sustainable

Interactive comment on “Experimental study using coir geotextiles in watershed management

This paper presents the results of a field experiment conducted in Kerala, South India, to test the effectiveness of coir geotextiles for embankment protection. The results reveal that treatment with geotextile in combination with grass is an effective eco-hydrological measure to protect steep slopes from erosion. In the context of sustainable watershed management, coir is a cheap and locally available material that can be used to strengthen traditional earthen bunds or protect the banks of village ponds from erosion. Particularly in developing countries, where coir is abundantly available and textiles can be produced by small-scale industry, this is an attractive alternative for conventional methods. The paper analyses the performance of different treatments with regard to soil moisture content, protection against erosion and biomass production

Reactive pozzolanas from rice husk ash: An alternative to cement for rural housing

This paper discusses the properties of rice husk ash samples produced from different types of field ovens to compare the performance of the ovens and to identify the most feasible method to produce a reactive pozzolana as an alternative to cement for building applications requiring lower strengths. Different types of ashes are produced and long-term strength of rice husk ash pozzolanas with lime or cement is investigated to suggest a sustainable affordable option in rural building applications, especially for rural housing in Kerala, a southern state of India