Exploring New Dimensions in Public-Private Partnership in Education

The study conceptualized Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in education and reviewed current research in this area to identify and analyse PPP programmes in global perspective. The review of literature provided experiences and lessons learnt from different programmes. Objectives of the study were to clarify the concept and current status of PPP in education and analyse the existing initiatives of Public-Private Partnerships in education, before exploring new dimensions and models of PPP that could be integrated into the mainstream education system of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The study was carried out in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Population of the study consisted of 240 teachers associated with PPC programme, 240 experts on PPP subject, 120 government boys’ secondary school principals/heads and 120 principals/heads of PPC institutions. The study chose stratified random sampling technique. The sample was divided into four groups: principals/heads boys’ secondary schools, principals/heads of PPC institutions, PPC teachers and experts on PPP subject. The primary source of data collection was a uniform opinionnaire for all the respondents. The secondary sources of data included study of office documents, dissertations, internet and library sources and literature review. The analysis of data was given both quantitative and qualitative treatment. The results were validated with the help of statistical measures. The current PPP initiatives in Pakistan were reviewed. The study found a wide range of PPP in education provision the world over, each with different characteristics, design features and country context. It was discovered that there is a dire need for introducing PPP in education. The study made three dimensional recommendations: firstly, recommendations for improving and reforming the PPP initiatives; secondly, recommendations regarding new dimensions in PPP; and thirdly, suggestions for integrating them in the mainstream education system of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Keywords: Dimensions, Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Education Provision, Public-Private Collaboration Programm

The Impact of Micro-finance on Self-employment and Poverty Reduction: A case of Sindh Rural Support Organization and Tameer Micro Finance Bank, Sindh

Micro finance is well-organized and successful instrument to decrease poverty. Although microfinance Sector in Pakistan has recognize important development and attain little cost formations. The major reason of study is to forecast that how Micro finance decreases poverty or not and method of self-employment in rural and urban of Sindh successful or not. A most important mean of this research article was to calculate that what type of Impact of microfinance on reduction of poverty and Self-employment with Supply lending and Demand following hypotheses theory. Researcher used Stratified random sampling technique 500 clients of each organization (TMB and SRSO) was selected for testing PLS with Smartpls 3. After assessment of responses with the help PLS of measurement and structural model result shows positive impact of independent variable (IV) on Dependent variables (DVs)

Prevalence of Pathogenic Bacterial Isolates from Ear, Nose and Throat: in a Clinical Setup

Objective: To determine the Prevalence of pathogenic bacterial isolates in swabs obtained from patients with Ear, Nose and Throat Infections. Methodology: This Cross sectional hospital based study was conducted at Otolaryngology outpatients department of Capital Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan from August, 2014 to July, 2016. Swabs for microbial culture from representative infected area were obtained i.e. ear, nose or throat. These included patients of either gender or age, who presented in the Otolaryngology outpatients with suspected bacterial ear, nose or throat infections on the basis of history and clinical examination. Patients on steroids, those with co-morbidities, immune deficient cases and those who took antibiotics in last one week were excluded. Samples (swabs) were taken throat swabs, processed by routine microbiological culture techniques for microbiological isolation. Data collected included gender, age, area of infection (ear, nose or throat) and pathogenic bacteria isolated. Data was recorded, cross tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel Worksheet. Results: Of the study sample of 1439, 737(51.22%) were males and 702(48.78%) females with mean age of 29.12+19.24 years. These included 811(56.36%) cases of aural, 221(15.35%) cases of nasal and 407 (28.29%) cases of throat infections. 800(55.59%) were culture negative for pathogenic bacteria, while pathogens were isolated in 639(44.41%) cases. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in majority i e., 434(30.16%), followed by pseudomonas in 167(11.61%) swabs. Conclusion: Staph aureus was the commonest isolate from aural and nasal swabs while majority of throat swabs were negative and in a few streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated, indirectly indicating prevalence of viral infections in the cases with throat infections. This indicates importance of culture and sensitivity in these cases before starting antibiotics

Selection Criteria of Public for Account Opening: A Case Study of Islamic Banks in Pakistan

Banks have an immense role in deciding the economic fate of any state. The purpose of the study is to investigate the selection criteria of Islamic banking system for account opening. Data was collected and analysed through descriptive statistics, One Sample t test and Independent Sample t test. The results show that people prefer banks have the number of branches, wide range of products, low cost products, easily approachability. Results also shown, no significance difference in the selection criteria for Islamic banks among the customers based on Gender.DOI: 10.15408/aiq.v10i1.601

Mathematical and Computational modelling of soft and active matter

The collective motion of organisms such as flights of birds, swimming of school of fish, migration of bacteria and movement of herds across long distances is a fascinating phenomenon that has intrigued man for centuries. Long and details observations have resulted in numerous abstract hypothesis and theories regarding the collective motion animals and organisms. In recent years the developments in supercomputers and general computational power along with highly refined mathematical theories and equations have enabled the collective motion of particles to be investigated in a logical and systematic manner. Hence, this study is focused mathematical principles are harnessed along with computational programmes in order to obtain a better understanding of collective behaviour of particles. Two types of systems have been considered namely homogeneous and heterogeneous systems, which represent collective motion with and without obstacles respectively. The Vicsek model has been used to investigate the collective behaviour of the particles in 2D and 3D systems. Based on this, a new model was developed: the obstacle avoidance model. This showed the interaction of particles with fixed and moving obstacles. It was established using this model that the collective motion of the particles was very low when higher noise was involved in the system and the collective motion of the particles was higher when lower noise and interaction radius existed. Very little is known about the collective motion of self-propelled particles in heterogeneous mediums, especially when noise is added to the system, and when the interaction radius between particles and obstacles is changed. In the presence of moving obstacles, particles exhibited a greater collective motion than with the fixed obstacles. Collective motion showed non-monotonic behaviour and the existence of optimal noise maximised the collective motion. In the presence of moving obstacles there were fluctuations in the value of the order parameter. Collective systems studies are highly useful in order to produce artificial swarms of autonomous vehicles, to develop effective fishing strategies and to understand human interactions in crowds for devising and implementing efficient and safe crowd control policies. These will help to avoid fatalities in highly crowded situations such as music concerts and sports and entertainment events with large audiences, as well as crowded shopping centres. In this study, a new model termed the obstacle avoidance model is presented which investigates the collective motion of self-propelled particles in the heterogeneous medium. In future work this model can be extended to include a combination of a number of motionless and moving obstacles hence bringing the modelling closer to reality

High heterotrophic counts in potable water and antimicrobial resistance among indicator organisms in two peri-urban communities of Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: Fecal contamination of potable water leads to unsafe water supply. Although many urban areas of large metropolitan cities receive safe water, peri-urban areas are often not monitored by public health authorities and water supply and quality remain unknown. We assessed microbiological quality and rates of antimicrobial resistance in viable indicator bacteria in two peri-urban communities of Karachi, Pakistan. Water samples were collected over 5 months (October 2015 to February 2016) from these peri-urban communities and samples were processed for microbiological quality as per Standing Committee of Analysts, United Kingdom and World Health Organization guidelines and criteria for drinking water.Result: Both communities received unimproved water. Potable water samples collected from 100 households showed that 96% of samples were unsafe for consumption. Extended spectrum beta lactamases production was found in 29.2% of fecal indicator organisms (coliforms). Use of unimproved water sources and unsafe potable water quality in peri-urban Karachi deserve immediate attention and upgrade. The study is instrumental in attracting the attention of authorities to the state of water resources in peri-urban communities in Karachi with a view to influence improvement of services and effects on human health

Catalytic Decomposition of 2% Methanol in Methane over Metallic Catalyst by Fixed-Bed Catalytic Reactor

The structure and performance of promoted Ni/Al2O3 with Cu via thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of CH4 mixture (2% CH3OH) were studied. Mesoporous Cat-1 and Cat-2 were synthesized by the impregnation method. The corresponding peaks of nickel oxide and copper oxide in the XRD showed the presence of nickel and copper oxides as a mixed alloy in the calcined catalyst. Temperature program reduction (TPR) showed that Cu enhanced the reducibility of the catalyst as the peak of nickel oxide shifted toward a lower temperature due to the interaction strength of the metal particles and support. The impregnation of 10% Cu on Cat-1 drastically improved the catalytic performance and exhibited 68% CH4 conversion, and endured its activity for 6 h compared with Cat-1, which deactivated after 4 h. The investigation of the spent carbon showed that various forms of carbon were obtained as a by-product of TCD, including graphene fiber (GF), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and multi-wall carbon nanofibers (MWCNFs) on the active sites of Cat-2 and Cat-1, following various kinds of growth mechanisms. The presence of the D and G bands in the Raman spectroscopy confirmed the mixture of amorphous and crystalline morphology of the deposited carbon

Outcomes of intubation techniques in nasolacrimal duct blockage in adult age group: a comparative study based on Sindh, Pakistan population

Background: Nasolacrimal duct obstruction is listed under the heading of congenital diseases; on other hand it is also commonly present in adult age group. In population of Sindh we found these patients frequently. Through this study we revealed the surgical options for the treatment of Nasolacrimal duct obstruction in population of Sindh provenience of Pakistan. The objective of the study was to compare the outcomes of two different intubation techniques in treatment of Nasolacrimal duct obstruction between two age groups. Comparative study was conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology Al-Ibrahim Eye Hospital Karachi from May 2018 to June 2019.Methods: Total 136 numbers of patients were included on the bases of history, clinical examination and pre-operative syringing test. Non- probability convenient sampling was applied for data collection. Total 136 numbers of patients were divided into two groups on the bases of treatment and further subgroup on the bases of age ranges. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20.0.Results: Frequency and percentage of recovery in six months in each subgroup with application of chi-square test. Frequency and percentage of post-operative complications prolong treatment and regurgitation and patency of tube in each group and subgroups.Conclusions: The results showed significant difference between the groups. Group A showed higher success rate with minimal percentage of complications and post-operative measurements in both age ranges as compare to Group B