This comprehensive analysis dives deep into the intricate interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and human agency, examining the remarkable capabilities and inherent limitations of large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-3 and ChatGPT. The paper traces the complex trajectory of AI's evolution, highlighting its operation based on statistical pattern recognition, devoid of self-consciousness or innate comprehension. As AI permeates multiple spheres of human life, it raises substantial ethical, legal, and societal concerns that demand immediate attention and deliberation. The metaphorical illustration (...) of humans as “shepherds” of AI, coupled with a thought-provoking examination of “agency without intelligence,” engenders deep reflections on the future of human-AI interplay and the associated philosophical, ethical, and practical ramifications. The paper further elucidates critical challenges associated with AI, such as ethical dilemmas, “agency without intelligence,” the role of human oversight, and the environmental impact of AI technologies. In the pursuit of solutions, the paper maps prospective directions, emphasizing the need for robust AI policies, improved AI literacy, sustainable AI practices, and a continued dialogue on the multifaceted issues surrounding AI. Through a holistic exploration of AI, this paper underlines the necessity for a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to chart an ethical, beneficial, and sustainable AI future, enabling society to harness the potential of AI responsibly while mitigating the associated risks. (shrink)

We propose a novel edge detector in the presence of Gaussian noise with the use of proximal support vector machine (PSVM). The edges of a noisy image are detected using a two-stage architecture: smoothing of image is first performed using regularized anisotropic diffusion, followed by the classification using PSVM, termed as regularized anisotropic diffusion-based PSVM (RAD-PSVM) method. In this process, a feature vector is formed for a pixel using the denoised coefficient’s class and the local orientations to detect edges in (...) all possible directions in images. From the experiments, conducted on both synthetic and benchmark images, it is observed that our RAD-PSVM approach outperforms the other state-of-the-art edge detection approaches, both qualitatively and quantitatively. (shrink)

What did science make possible for colonial rule? How was science in turn marked by the knowledge and practices of those under colonial rule? Here I approach these questions via the social history of Madras Observatory. Constructed in 1791 by the East India Company, the observatory was to provide local time to mariners and served as a clearinghouse for the company’s survey and revenue administration. The astronomical work of Madras’ Brahmin assistants relied upon their knowledge of jyotiśāstra [Sanskrit astronomy/astrology], and (...) can be seen as a specialized form of the kind of South Indian scribal labor and knowledge that also staffed the company’s tax offices. If at Greenwich the division of labor meant observatory work bore resemblances to the factory and the accounts office, in Madras, astronomy and accounting drew on similar labor forms because they were part of the same enterprise. But the company did not just adapt preexisting forms of labor, it also attempted to produce its own at a school built near the observatory to train “half-caste” orphans as apprentice surveyors and assistant computers. The school, staffed by the Brahmins, drew upon knowledge and pedagogical practice associated with the tinnai, the schools in which upper-caste children learned to read, write, and calculate. For a time, the observatory’s social order was literally “half-caste.” The paper also considers how the relationship between caste, status, and instrument was reflected in the visual and material culture of the observatory, such as in Indian-language inscriptions on its central pillar. For company astronomers, the measurement of time meant reworking the relationships among the Indian past, the colonial present, and an imperial posterity. Science under colonial rule spanned multiple temporal and social registers because it was the result of negotiations between the demands of political economy and the knowledge and practices of colonized others. (shrink)

Outbreak investigations generate actionable evidence to identify sources of infection and guide effective control measures. In outbreak settings, ethical considerations become even more significant because such investigations often involve vulnerable populations, the collection of identifiable data, and interventions under conditions of uncertainty. The Indian Council of Medical Research states that while there may be a need to undertake research quickly, this should not compromise scientific validity or the need to uphold ethical requirements. However, the extent to which outbreak investigations in (...) India comply with ethics oversight reporting has not been systematically examined. The objective was to evaluate ethical considerations in outbreak investigations conducted in India, published between 2015 and 2025 that reported ethical statements, obtained ethical approval, and participant informed consent. The review was registered in PROSPERO 2025 CRD420251140176. Human outbreak investigations conducted in India, published from 1 January 2015 to 25 August 2025, were searched in databases viz., Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Analysis was conducted using R software. A total of 76 outbreak investigations were included. Overall, 14 (18%) did not report an ethics statement, while 31 (41%) reported an ethics statement without Institutional Ethics Committee approval, and 31 (41%) reported both an ethics statement and approval. Participant consent was not obtained in 41 (54%) publications, written consent was obtained in 26 (34%), and 9 (12%) reported verbal consent. Investigations published in later years demonstrated significantly higher levels of ethics oversight (p < 0.001), and ethics oversight varied significantly across disease groups (p = 0.04); no association was observed with study setting or methodological completeness. Ethics reporting in outbreak investigations in India remains inconsistent. Routine ethics preparedness requires IEC readiness for rapid review and integration with outbreak investigation initiation. Less than half documented formal Institutional Ethics Committee approval. The findings highlight the need to strengthen ethical preparedness within outbreak response systems. Strengthening ethical preparedness through rapid review mechanisms, integration of ethics oversight within IDSP-linked investigations, standardised reporting practices, and capacity building of field investigators may help ensure a more ethically robust and transparent outbreak response system. (shrink)

This chapter makes a case for the letter to be considered as a literary-cultural form that offers crucial insights into the creation and sustenance of narrative universes of blindness. While all forms of writing presuppose readership, the letter remains distinct in its orientation towards a particular addressee; therefore, self-other dynamic wields greater influence on epistolary narrativisation. The chapter develops two argumentative threads. First, in reading letters written by John Milton, Priscilla Pointon, Helen De Kroyft, and Helen Keller, I argue that (...) rather than acting as a constraint, the intersubjective dynamic enables the blind writer to narrativise the self in ways subtly and overtly challenge dominant conceptions of blindness prevalent at a given time and place. While Milton builds a counter-narrative in response to offers to cure his impairment using poetic and mythological language, Pointon writes verse epistles to defend herself from attempts at belittling her literary endeavour; De Kroyft employs sentimental vocabulary to posit blindness as a regenerative condition; and Keller finds the letter a useful tool to articulate her subjectivity. Second, in referring to Georgina Kleege and Stephen Kuusisto’s collections of letters, I contend that the self-other dynamic animates the ostensibly public epistolary subgenre of the open letter. Kleege’s use of the open letter to renarrativise Keller’s life story simultaneously generates self-narrativisation that lends credibility to her endeavour. Kuusisto, rather than making renarrativisation the central aspect of his verse letters, treats Borges as an empathic copresence in his attempt at challenging the definitional bind that sighted culture has over blindness. (shrink)

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting more than 30,000 adults and children in the United States (Zaher et al. 2021). CF is caused by a malfunctioning cystic fibrosis tra...

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD) in the Fall of 2023. SCD is an inherited disorder of abnormal hemoglobin production af...

In this paper, we present a bibliometric analysis of the Periodic Table. We have conducted a comprehensive analysis of Scopus based database using the keyword “Mendeleev Periodic Table". Our findings suggest that the Periodic Table is an influential topic in the field of Inorganic as well as Organic Chemistry. Areas for future research could include on expanding our analysis to include other bibliometric indicators to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the Periodic Table in the chemistry-based scientific (...) investigations and even in the field of astrochemistry, which explores chemical processes in space, is intricately linked to fundamental chemistry. In this context, the quote of Carl Sagan is relevant where he eloquently expressed an inherent connection between chemistry and astrophysics: “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars.” In the ongoing study we have presented a ground level investigation of the conjecture of Sagan via Periodic Table based on bibliometric analysis whereas in the next level our aim is to present the stellar connection of it through Hertzsprung-Russel diagram as well as cluster of stars. The Periodic Table holistically serves as a foundational platform for understanding chemical elements both on the Earth and in celestial bodies. The present investigation fundamentally identifies the main working field of research and lays the groundwork for potential connections to astrochemical studies. (shrink)

Student support services are the cardinal features of the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System. In India, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), 13 state open universities and over 200 Distance Education Institutes (DEIs) attached to conventional universities and private/autonomous institutes offering programmes through the distance mode ( MHRD, 2013 ) have all created adequate provisions for learner support services and the systems, rules, regulations and norms have been put in place. However, it is significant that a learner in (...) the ODL system remains away from the teacher and the peer group. Thus, the learner feels isolated ( Das & Ghosh, 2011a ) and needs the empathy of all the functionaries concerned. It has been our experience at IGNOU that more often than not the functionaries fail to realize the value of a learner and the learner fails to understand the value attributed to him by the ODL system. Without such realization the rules and regulations lose their significance. Hence, inculcation of values is of paramount importance in the functioning of the ODL system. In this article we have discussed about ‘inculcation of values’ among the ‘learners’ as well as the ‘functionaries’ for developing ‘best practices’ in learner support services in the ODL system. The inputs are based primarily on direct experiences of the authors. (shrink)

BACKGROUND: Health-based journal clubs have been in place for over 100 years. Participants meet regularly to critique research articles, to improve their understanding of research design, statistics and critical appraisal. However, there is no standard process of conducting an effective journal club. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify core processes of a successful health journal club. METHOD: We searched a range of library databases using established keywords. All research designs were initially considered to establish the body of evidence. (...) Experimental or comparative papers were then critically appraised for methodological quality and information was extracted on effective journal club processes. RESULTS: We identified 101 articles, of which 21 comprised the body of evidence. Of these, 12 described journal club effectiveness. Methodological quality was moderate. The papers described many processes of effective journal clubs. Over 80% papers reported that journal club intervention was effective in improving knowledge and critical appraisal skills. Few papers reported on the psychometric properties of their outcome instruments. No paper reported on the translation of evidence from journal club into clinical practice. CONCLUSION: Characteristics of successful journal clubs included regular and anticipated meetings, mandatory attendance, clear long- and short-term purpose, appropriate meeting timing and incentives, a trained journal club leader to choose papers and lead discussion, circulating papers prior to the meeting, using the internet for wider dissemination and data storage, using established critical appraisal processes and summarizing journal club findings. (shrink)

© 2014 American Chemical Society.. Targeted delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents in the vascular compartment represents a significant hurdle in using nanomedicine for treating hemorrhage, thrombosis, and atherosclerosis. While several types of nanoparticles have been developed to meet this goal, their utility is limited by poor circulation, limited margination, and minimal targeting. Platelets have an innate ability to marginate to the vascular wall and specifically interact with vascular injury sites. These platelet functions are mediated by their shape, flexibility, and (...) complex surface interactions. Inspired by this, we report the design and evaluation of nanoparticles that exhibit platelet-like functions including vascular injury site-directed margination, site-specific adhesion, and amplification of injury sitespecific aggregation. Our nanoparticles mimic four key attributes of platelets, discoidal morphology, mechanical flexibility, biophysically and biochemically mediated aggregation, and heteromultivalent presentation of ligands that mediate adhesion to both von Willebrand Factor and collagen, as well as specific clustering to activated platelets. Platelet-like nanoparticles exhibit enhanced surface-binding compared to spherical and rigid discoidal counterparts and site-selective adhesive and platelet-aggregatory properties under physiological flow conditions in vitro. In vivo studies in a mouse model demonstrated that PLNs accumulate at the wound site and induce ∼65% reduction in bleeding time, effectively mimicking and improving the hemostatic functions of natural platelets. We show that both the biochemical and biophysical design parameters of PLNs are essential in mimicking platelets and their hemostatic functions. PLNs offer a nanoscale technology that integrates platelet-mimetic biophysical and biochemical properties for potential applications in injectable synthetic hemostats and vascularly targeted payload delivery. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to look at publication and citation patterns in library satisfaction through user experience during the last two decades (2000–2024). Furthermore, this bibliometric study looks at the top authors, countries, organizations, journals, nature of collaboration, highly cited papers, and library satisfaction via user experience sub-areas. The Scopus database’s data was extracted via bibliometric analysis. A sophisticated search technique was developed to retrieve relevant data from the data source. Finally, 2232 Scopus records were picked. The data (...) was analyzed using VOSviewer software, Biblioshiny, and the Bibliometrix R-package. The TCCM framework was employed to formulate ideas and pinpoint deficiencies in existing research, as well as to outline future research trajectories. The results provide a complete overview of the available literature on library user experience (LUX) from a variety of viewpoints, including user happiness. The keyword analysis revealed that the published literature on library and user experience was primarily focused on academic libraries. As a result, there is a need to investigate other types of libraries, such as public, national, and special libraries, in order to present a more comprehensive picture of library satisfaction through user experience literature. (shrink)

The Financial markets have been completely transformed by the rise of digital currencies, which has captivated both industry and academia as they investigate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to glean beneficial knowledge from massive online data archives. Social media has developed into a crucial platform for sharing viewpoints and opinions since public perception largely determines market dynamics. Organizations and governments can systematically analyze public sentiment to guide strategic decision-making by utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP). Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), an (...) unusual but quickly growing financial asset, have attracted a lot of interest lately. Unlike traditional stock markets, NFTs are generally valued by what people think, hope for, feel and the author’s credibility, not by clear numbers or benchmarks. (shrink)

For the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to expand and make a positive impact on the environment and society, sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are essential. By generating jobs in industries that prioritize eco-friendly products, green technologies, and sustainable practices especially in rural and underdeveloped areas, environment-oriented MSMEs contribute significantly in job creation. At the same time, they protect the environment and mitigate climate change by encouraging resource efficiency and lowering pollution; in other words, they create jobs while (...) addressing environmental concerns. Building investor trust is one of the main reasons for businesses to reveal their CSR efforts. A sense of investment security is fostered by this transparency, which guarantees investors reduced risks related to environmental litigation. Additionally, strong CSR frequently reflects a company’s financial stability and resilience since they imply the ability to finance CSR initiatives, which in turn favorably affects investor welfare.This chapter makes an in-depth study on the feasibility of streamlining the CSR of the MSMEs for its own growth and sustainable development. For this objective, the various CSR aspects of the MSMEs should be directed toward achieving the various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This chapter focusses on the contributions of MSMEs through its CSR on health, education, clean water & sanitation, and sustainable cities & communities. (shrink)

This book emphasizes the role of semantics as a bridge between the theory of language and the theories of other cognitive capacities such as visual perception...

Semantic Structures is a large-scale study of conceptual structure and its lexical and syntactic expression in English that builds on the theory of Conceptual...

A collection of scholarly essays on Indian culture, history, and philosophy. Explores ancient texts, traditions, and their relevance today. Ideal for researchers and students of Indology.

Spanning forty years of Ray's career, these essays, for the first time collected in one volume, present the filmmaker's reflections on the art and craft of the cinematic medium and include his thoughts on sentimentalism, mass culture, ...

When health professions learners’ primary pedagogical experience of Black people and how they become patients is through statistics, it becomes very easy for learners to think of Black people as data points rather than as individuals whose health is often at the mercy of racist institutions. When the human dimension of Black people’s health is ignored, specifically the ways that poor health affects individual wellbeing, one of the barriers to proper health for Black patients is how to be seen and (...) considered as a part of a larger problem of systemic racism and institutional injustices as well as individuals whose personal lives are affected by such larger problems. I propose an approach to health professions pedagogy—the experiential race testimonies approach—that can change the way health professions learners understand and treat Black patients, thus changing the future of Black health. The ERT approach pairs population data analysis with analysis of personal testimonies and the experiences they convey. (shrink)

The paper develops value based management guidelines from the famous Indian treatise on management, Kautilya's Arthashastra. Guidelines are given for individual components of a total framework in detail, which include guidelines for organizational philosophy, value based leadership, internal corporate culture, accomplishment of corporate purpose and feedback from stakeholders.

Ludwig Wittgenstein is perhaps the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century, and certainly one of the most original in the entire Western tradition. Given the inaccessibility of his work, it is remarkable that he has inspired poems, paintings, films, musical compositions, titles of books -- and even novels. In his splendid biography, Ray Monk has made this very compelling human being come alive in a way that perfectly explains the fascination he has evoked. Wittgenstein's life was one of great moral (...) and spiritual depth. Although his work addresses problems of logic, language, mind, and knowledge, he often described it as having an ethical point, and once said that he "could not help seeing every problem from a religious point of view." In successfully bridging the gap assumed by many to exist between Wittgenstein's life and his work, Monk's biography helps to explain the interest in Wittgenstein's later philosophy on the part of Buddhist scholars. (shrink)

In today’s age, we see the increasing influence of technology on people, which begs to raise the question: “Is society determined by technology?” Rising up within the constraints of each society, technology had its limitations, as it catered to the needs and interests of the masses. As society evolved, so did its requirements. We are at a stage where dependence on technology has gone through the roof with new innovations coming up in the sector, the rise of artificial intelligence, for (...) instance. Technology has replaced the concept of being a mere tool and is creating/demanding space of its own. With advancements in various fields like robotics which churn out machines that can mimic human behaviour and are equipped with anthropomorphic features, it has become rather difficult to view them as mere commodities waiting for one’s (human master’s) command. Keeping this in view, the paper primarily focuses on the relationship between society and technology, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence, through an analysis of the films Ra One (Bollywood), Android Kunjappan (Mollywood), and Ironman 3 (Hollywood). Secondarily, an experimental study was carried out to know the perception of the Engineering students, the future technologists, who are the stakeholders of the 21st-century technological world, with an aim to know their perception of technology and bring an awareness of the limitations of technology and its role in the creation of utopian and dystopian world. Finally, the paper examines the consequence of technological determinism and autonomy from a colonial perspective and intends to bring preparedness among the students to perceive technology conscious of its limitation and bring harmony between society and technology that leads towards building a utopian world. (shrink)

A recurrent problem in lexical semantics is how “deep” the analysis of words and phrases should be. We argue for a deeper analysis of lexical meanings and for relatively rich representations. In particular, we argue that meanings do not form a homogeneous class of mental representations. Rather, they draw on intricate combinations of material from a number of independent domains, each with its own computational affordances. Also, many words can only be characterized in terms of larger frames of knowledge. Frames (...) often encode cultural conventions, as in the case of shortstop, which can only be understood in the context of the frame of the description of a baseball game. In other words, the system of word meanings is heterogeneous in two ways: in terms of domains and in terms of the forms of representation. (shrink)

Presenting a landmark in linguistics and cognitive science, Ray Jackendoff proposes a new holistic theory of the relation between the sounds, structure, and meaning of language and their relation to mind and brain. Foundations of Language exhibits the most fundamental new thinking in linguistics since Noam Chomsky's Aspects of the Theory of Syntax in 1965—yet is readable, stylish, and accessible to a wide readership. Along the way it provides new insights on the evolution of language, thought, and communication.

China's NEV industry, a global leader, is fuelled by policies aligning development with ecological consciousness. This chapter examines the interplay between China's NEV policies and the ecological civilisation philosophy (生态文明 Shengtai wenming), focussing on greening policies, sustainability, and implementation priorities. Ecological civilisation, as emphasised in President Hu Jintao's 2007 report, integrates green development principles, including financial sector guidelines and public participation. The NEV industry, a key component of this green trajectory, aims for a 12kWh/100km fuel economy by 2025 and 20% (...) of new vehicle sales as NEVs. This study explores how state-led NEV initiatives transform green mobility, blending economic growth and environmental stewardship, and shaping China's narrative of sustainability versus development. This paper further hypothesises that China's NEV industry development policy exemplifies blend of economic growth and environmental stewardship, embodying the principles of ecological civilisation. China is positioned to lead the shift to a more environmentally friendly automotive future while furthering its vision of ecological consciousness and green development by adopting sustainable practices, encouraging innovation, and placing a high priority on public engagement.. (shrink)

This paper brings together the work of Nicholas Wolterstorff and William Alston in speech‐act theory with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of the nature of divine speaking through the medium of Scripture. Despite the fecundity of Wolterstorff's seminal work on the philosophical theology of Scripture, aspects of his speech‐act centric account are underdeveloped and would benefit from the contributions of William Alston. In particular, his account of divine speech‐acts could be fruitfully expanded by incorporating the concept of ‘taking (...) responsibility’ that is central to Alston's analysis of the nature of illocutionary acts. This would elucidate both the way in which readers of Scripture encounter divine practical authority in the reading process and the nature of the response of faith that is demanded of them. (shrink)

Hastings Center Report, Volume 52, Issue S1, Page S46-S49, March‐April 2022.

Volume 24, Issue 10, October 2024, Page 113-114.

This paper brings together the work of Nicholas Wolterstorff and William Alston in speech-act theory with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of the nature of divine speaking through the medium of Scripture. Despite the fecundity of Wolterstorff's seminal work on the philosophical theology of Scripture, aspects of his speech-act centric account are underdeveloped and would benefit from the contributions of William Alston. In particular, his account of divine speech-acts could be fruitfully expanded by incorporating the concept of ‘taking (...) responsibility’ that is central to Alston's analysis of the nature of illocutionary acts. This would elucidate both the way in which readers of Scripture encounter divine practical authority in the reading process and the nature of the response of faith that is demanded of them. (shrink)

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has sparked innovation but exposed vulnerabilities in regulatory oversight. Unregulated “shadow” AI systems, operating outside formal frameworks, pose risks such as algorithmic drift, bias, and disparities. The Comprehensive Algorithmic Oversight and Stewardship (CAOS) Framework addresses these challenges, combining risk assessments, data protection, and equity-focused methodologies to ensure responsible AI implementation. This framework offers a solution to bridge oversight gaps while supporting responsible healthcare innovation. CAOS functions as both a normative governance model and a practical (...) system design, offering a scalable framework for ethical oversight, policy development, and operational implementation of AI systems in healthcare. (shrink)

We examine the question of which aspects of language are uniquely human and uniquely linguistic in light of recent suggestions by Hauser, Chomsky, and Fitch that the only such aspect is syntactic recursion, the rest of language being either specific to humans but not to language (e.g. words and concepts) or not specific to humans (e.g. speech perception). We find the hypothesis problematic. It ignores the many aspects of grammar that are not recursive, such as phonology, morphology, case, agreement, and (...) many properties of words. It is inconsistent with the anatomy and neural control of the human vocal tract. And it is weakened by experiments suggesting that speech perception cannot be reduced to primate audition, that word learning cannot be reduced to fact learning, and that at least one gene involved in speech and language was evolutionarily selected in the human lineage but is not specific to recursion. The recursion-only claim, we suggest, is motivated by Chomsky’s recent approach to syntax, the Minimalist Program, which de-emphasizes the same aspects of language. The approach, however, is sufficiently problematic that it cannot be used to support claims about evolution. We contest related arguments that language is not an adaptation, namely that it is “perfect,” non-redundant, unusable in any partial form, and badly designed for.. (shrink)

This article featuring India constitutes one of five articles in a collection of essays on local capacity-building in research ethics by graduates from the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics MHSc in Bioethics, International Stream program funded by the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences. Research ethics is a growing area of work and interest in India. Ethics review remains the weakest component in the mechanism of good clinical practice, and there is a severe dearth (...) of professionals trained in ethics who can provide leadership. Although the Indian Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, the Indian Medical Council Act, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act require that the Indian Council of Medical Research’s ethical guidelines be followed as a mandatory requirement for physicians who conduct research, there is a pervasive lack of awareness of basic requirements guiding the ethical conduct of research. There is a great need to strengthen India’s research ethics capacity and regulatory framework for research. (shrink)

From the financial year 2014-15, the Indian corporate sector was made to comply with a newly introduced Sect. 135 (5) by the Companies Act of 2013. The rule required select companies to spend 2% of their average net profits on CSR initiatives. This paper tries to find if the companies have complied with the provision based on data for six financial years starting 2014-15. CSR performance of the top thirty companies forming part of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex was (...) evaluated and a CSR Spend-to-Obligation (CSR SO) Index was calculated comparing the actual spend vis-à-vis the obligatory requirement. A quantitative and a qualitative methodology were used for the analysis. The quantitative method involved computation of the CSR SO index at various levels. The “quality” of the CSR expenditure was also assessed by speaking to twelve experts from the Corporate to find out if the expenditure was in the right direction. The results show that the aggregate average six-year CSR SO index for the 30 Sensex companies is 0.98, suggesting that companies comply with the requirements of mandatory CSR. Moreover, the experts confirm that CSR spending is in the right spirit and direction. It certainly has a long-term orientation and qualifies as quality spending. A novel CSR-SO index is presented that compares CSR performance by comparing actual CSR spending with obligatory requirements. This index can act as a barometer for CSR performance and facilitate objective evaluation. Additionally, the qualitative assessment of CSR spending shows a holistic approach to evaluating CSR. (shrink)