An investigation of the recent financial crisis : causes, implications and directions

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Improvement in physical properties of eroded agricultural soils through agronomic management practices

Arable land in Pakistan is shrinking due to construction of houses and development of infrastructure, there has been a trend of shifting agriculture towards steep lands in order to feed the increasing population. Soil erosion on these lands is one of the most significant ecological restrictions to sustainable agriculture. A study was conducted during 2006-2008 to test the agronomic management practices for mitigating the adverse effects of soil erosion on arable soil. The experiment was designed in RCB with split plot arrangements. Cropping patterns, i e maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (C1), maize-lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.)-maize (C2) and maizewheat+ lentil intercrop-maize (C3) were kept in main plots while fertilizer treatments; the control (T1), 50% NP also called farmers' practice (T2), 100% NPK or the recommended dose (T3) and 20 tonnes/ha farmyard manure integrated with 50% mineral N and 100% P and K (T4) were kept in sub-plots. Fertilizer treatments significantly improved soil physical properties in both depths. T4 showed the maximum improvement (13, 12, 22 and 31%) in bulk density, porosity, saturation and available water over the control and 3, 3, 8 and 7% over the T3 in surface soil. Cereal-legume rotation showed the maximum improvement while significant improvement in soil physical properties was noted with time, i e from kharif 2006 to rabi 2007. Highly significant negative correlation was observed between bulk density and saturation percentage (r2=0.97) and bulk density and AWHC (r2=0.93). It was concluded that NPK fertilizer alone cannot restore the physical environment of eroded soil to its maximum limit, but this objective could, rather, be achieved through mixed application of farmyard manure and mineral fertilizers. For this purpose, being an unstable nutrient element, recommended dose of mineral N must be reduced by 50% to avoid its over-application. In addition to other benefits of legumes in rotation, its improvement of physical properties further assert their importance in farming on such eroded lands

Hospital-based ultra-sonographic prevalence and spectrum of thyroid incidentalomas in Pakistani population

Introduction: Thyroid incidentalomas (TIs) are clinically asymptomatic nodules found accidentally during imaging studies ordered for some other reasons. Being easily accessible, non-invasive, and inexpensive, thyroid ultrasound (US) is a key investigation in the management of thyroid nodules.Methods: This ultrasound-based cross-sectional study was performed in the radiology department of a major tertiary care hospital. Every second patient visiting the emergency department was a potential candidate for a thyroid ultrasound. Patients having ages greater than 20 years were included in the study.Results: A total of 250 patients were included in the study. Out of these, 175 were female and 75 were male. The majority (54.80%) were in the age group 21-30 years. Nodules were found in 65 (26%) patients and in the majority of cases (67.7%) they were multiple in number. Associated lymphadenopathy was seen in only one patient. Thyroid nodules were more common in females as compared to males (75.38% versus 24.62%). According to Thyroid Imaging and Reporting Data System (TI-RADS) classification, the majority of the nodules were falling in TI-RADS 1 (74%) followed by TI-RADS 3 (9.60%) and 4A (8.80%).Conclusion: The thyroid nodules are more commonly seen in females as compared to males. A significant association is seen between the frequency of thyroid nodules and increasing age. The majority of thyroid nodules fall in TI-RADS 1 category followed by TI-RADS 3 and 4A

MATCHING RESOURCES WITH DEMAND: A FLAWED STRATEGY?

An organization’s survival depends largely on its capacity to withstand external “reorganizing ” attempts. Little research, if any, has so far been undertaken examining the survival of an entire business sector where its constituents undergo an externally dictated change and as a result it runs a risk of a thorough “jolt ” or even “demise”. The authors present empirical evidence that a business sector may be subjected to “unwanted” re-organizing by its “parent/controlling ” entity, and may cease to exist, in its real essence, if its constituents are forced to undergo a change that will alter the very objectives upon which their existence rests

Business Schools and Sustainability: A Promise Unfulfilled

"Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man" (anonymous). With the recent financial crises and associated corporate collapses combined with the seemingly unstoppable environmental degradation at the hands of organisations, the external environment for Management Accounting education around the world has not been very conducive. Society is expecting a change that will shift the current management accounting education paradigm to a more robust one, which could not only solve the current problems facing the environment and the financial world but also ensure such problems are not repeated in the future. Business schools around the world are being blamed for producing graduates whose unethical and immoral decisions have contributed if not resulted in these problems. This conceptual paper appeals to policy-makers and argues a case to identify and address the root cause of the problem. Business schools claim they have imbedded ethics and its significance in business decision-making into their curricula, but apparently this has not been reflected by these Schools' graduates in their routine decision-making in organizations. Thus, we argue that ethical behaviour in most cases cannot be taught in adulthood; and ethics taught at the business schools will not be implemented by their graduates in their practical life if ethics has not been inculcated into their very personalities at an early age. In this conceptual paper we suggest two remedies for ensuring smooth and efficient functioning of markets on a long-term basis: first, transformative teaching and learning activities that inculcate ethical behaviours into students should be implemented at secondary schools that feed universities with potential business graduates and develop personalities and mindsets that dominate students' behaviour throughout their life, and then reinforced at universities; second, conducive corporate governance environment within business organizations that encourages and fully supports ethical decisions - the first being the pre-requisite for the second

Leadership, Business Schools and Financial Crises: The search for a missing link

Business schools produce leaders who command 'power' and 'governmentality', as per Foucault's theoretical conceptualisations, to institutionalise routines and social practices in contemporary organisations. These leaders must uphold ethics in their business decisions; however, this has not been reflected in many instances, as recurring financial crises have depicted over time. Efforts to address the issue and reach its root cause have failed to deliver concrete results so far, which necessitates an objective probe into today's business education. This conceptual-cum-analytical paper proposes an alternate, indirect approach to effectively tackle the issue. We suggest two remedies: first, transformative teaching and learning activities that inculcate ethical values into students should be implemented at the grass root level - primary and secondary schools, that feed into business schools with future business leaders; second, a conducive corporate governance environment within business organisations that supports ethical decisions and nurtures ethical behaviour needs to be developed - arguably the first being the prerequisite for the second

Economic Instability and Financial Crises in a Capitalist Financial System: Empirical Evidence from the UK

Financial crisis have been happening for a long time now with little empirical studies investigating the real causes of these crisis and providing viable remedies. We provide empirical evidence of a three-stage cyclical pattern in an economy, following our investigation of the financial crisis of the past, where a gradual deterioration of financial structures occur that leads the economy into recession: The 'sustained economic activity' stage, characterised by the 'booming economic activity' stage. Unsolicited actions of many of the financial markets' players operate during both of these stages to push the economy into a 'booming economic activity'; the next stage is the formation of a 'bubble' and gradual enlargement of this credit 'bubble' in the sector; in the next stage this bubble ruptures and results in the financial crises in that sector. The economy thus experiences a big confidence shock and failure of financial institutions. The study makes policy recommendations to financial markets players and regulators

LEADERSHIP, BUSINESS SCHOOLS AND FINANCIAL CRISES: THE SEARCH FOR A MISSING LINK

Business schools produce leaders who command ‘power’ and ‘governmentality’, as per Foucault’s theoretical conceptualisations, to institutionalise routines and social practices in contemporary organisations. These leaders must uphold ethics in their business decisions; however, this has not been reflected in many instances, as recurring financial crises have depicted over time. Ettorts to address the issue and reach its root cause have failed to deliver concrete results so far, which necessitates an objective probe into today’s business education. This conceptual-cum- analytical paper proposes an alternate, indirect approach to ettectively tackle the issue. We suggest two remedies: first, transformative teaching and learning activities that inculcate ethical values into students should be implemented at the grass root level – primary and secondary schools, that feed into business schools with future business leaders; second, a conducive corporate governance environment within business organisations that supports ethical decisions and nurtures ethical behaviour needs to be developed – arguably the first being the prerequisite for the second

Assessment of ZN interaction with nutrient cations in alkaline soil and its effect on plant growth

An experiment was conducted to assess the zinc (Zn) availability to wheat in alkaline soils during Rabi 2009–2010. Wheat seedlings in pots having 2 kg alkaline sandy soil per pot were treated with 5, 10 and 15 kg Zn ha−1 as soil and with 0.5 and 1.0% zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) as foliar application. Results showed that Zn increasing levels in soil helped in phosphorus uptake up to boot stage but its conversion to grain portion lacked in Zn treated plants. Potassium (K) uptake also increased up to 6.24% in boot stage with treatment of 10 kg Zn ha−1 + 1.0% ZnSO4 foliar spray. Zinc (Zn) concentration increased in plant tissues with the increasing level of Zn application but this disturbed the phosphorus (P)-Zn interaction and, thus, both of the nutrients were found in lesser quantities in grains compared to the control. Despite of the apparent sufficient Zn level in soil (1.95 mg kg−1), improvement in growth and yield parameters with Zn application indicate that the soil was Zn deplete in terms of plant available Zn. The above findings suggest that the figure Zn sufficiency in alkaline soil (1.0 mg kg−1) should be revised in accordance to the nature and type of soils. Furthermore, foliar application of Zn up to 1.0% progressively increased yield but not significantly; and it was recommended that higher concentrations might be used to confirm foliar application of Zn as a successful strategy for increasing plant zinc levels