A Minimax Bias Estimator for OLS Variances under Heteroskedasticity

Analytic evaluation of heteroskedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimates (HCCME) is difficult because of the complexity of the formulae currently available. We obtain new analytic formulae for the bias of a class of estimators of the covariance matrix of OLS in a standard linear regression model. These formulae provide substantial insight into the properties and performance characteristics of these estimators. In particular, we find a new estimator which minimizes the maximum possible bias and improves substantially on the standard Eicker-White estimate

Issues of English Language Learners in Communication at Intermediate Level in Pakistan

The students have to face lot of problems in speaking English as a second language (ESL). This study investigates the problems, fears and hindrances in using English language as a speaking tool in and outside class room. The population consists of the students of Intermediate/HSSC level from age group of 16 to 19 years. The study determines the causes of poor communication in English language among higher secondary school students. The descriptive survey design was used and questionnaire was used as a tool in collection of data. Responses were obtained from students and teachers in two higher secondary schools. The study sample was 60, in which 30 were students and 30 were teachers. Frequency and simple percentage were used in the analysis of data. The findings of the study led to the conclusion that the dominance of mother tongue, less qualified teachers of English language, negative attitudes of students toward speaking English language, improper use of method in enhancing English language speaking and no access to  instructional media, A.V aids and other  facilities, are the reasons behind the poor English language communication of the students. The study also found out that provision of qualified teachers of English language, using the right approach to the spoken ability of English language, engaging of students in debating and listening to English programs are some of the ways that can improve secondary school students’ performance in spoken English communication. KEYWORDS: Issues, ELT, ESL, communication, English language learners, Higher Secondary School (HSSC)

Genetic affinities within a large global collection of pathogenic <i>Leptospira</i>: implications for strain identification and molecular epidemiology

Leptospirosis is an important zoonosis with widespread human health implications. The non-availability of accurate identification methods for the individualization of different Leptospira for outbreak investigations poses bountiful problems in the disease control arena. We harnessed fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis (FAFLP) for Leptospira and investigated its utility in establishing genetic relationships among 271 isolates in the context of species level assignments of our global collection of isolates and strains obtained from a diverse array of hosts. In addition, this method was compared to an in-house multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method based on polymorphisms in three housekeeping genes, the rrs locus and two envelope proteins. Phylogenetic relationships were deduced based on bifurcating Neighbor-joining trees as well as median joining network analyses integrating both the FAFLP data and MLST based haplotypes. The phylogenetic relationships were also reproduced through Bayesian analysis of the multilocus sequence polymorphisms. We found FAFLP to be an important method for outbreak investigation and for clustering of isolates based on their geographical descent rather than by genome species types. The FAFLP method was, however, not able to convey much taxonomical utility sufficient to replace the highly tedious serotyping procedures in vogue. MLST, on the other hand, was found to be highly robust and efficient in identifying ancestral relationships and segregating the outbreak associated strains or otherwise according to their genome species status and, therefore, could unambiguously be applied for investigating phylogenetics of Leptospira in the context of taxonomy as well as gene flow. For instance, MLST was more efficient, as compared to FAFLP method, in clustering strains from the Andaman island of India, with their counterparts from mainland India and Sri Lanka, implying that such strains share genetic relationships and that leptospiral strains might be frequently circulating between the islands and the mainland

The Relationship between Culture and ELT: The Representation of Aesthetic Sense Culture in “Oxford Progressive English”

The present research is basically a qualitative study using also quantitative methods which involve the role of culture in English language teaching (ELT) mainly focusing on Pakistani context. The research makes hypothesis that the Pakistani learners of English (especially from religious and rural cultural background) are de-motivated to learn English because the textbooks developed for them by foreign textbook writers are culturally irrelevant. The study involved evaluation of “Oxford Progressive English” (OPE) textbook series for cultural relevance. For evaluation the data was collected from “Oxford Progressive English” series designed especially for Pakistani learners of English. An evaluation model was developed for the content analysis of the OPE textbooks for cultural relevance from Adaskou, Britten and Fashi (1990) and the data has been analyzed to explore in the textbook series the cultural gaps between the target culture and the learner’s culture in the aspect of aesthetic sense culture. Various instances regarding cultural contrast in these textbooks have been highlighted and their irrelevance to Pakistani culture has been explored. The findings of the research show that the OPE textbooks by the foreign authors mainly focus on the target culture with little knowledge and information of the indigenous or learner culture. Moreover, the learner culture is presented as negative stereotypes. The OPE textbooks are culturally biased and based on hidden curriculum to impart Western values among the young learners to westernize them. Key words: ELT, Aesthetic sense culture or high culture, colonialism, hidden curriculum, motivation, textbook evaluation

Brain Alzheimer’s disease Detection in Magnetic Resonance Images Using Image Processing

Alzheimer Disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease and genetic disease that harm the brain nerve cells and tissue loss throughout the brain which causes loss of memory and thinking ability and change in its behavior. In this paper we determine early detection of Alzheimer disease through image processing on Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) and classification of MRI of brain based on extraction of different features. The paper manifest the application of several image processing technique such as Otsu’s Thresholding and Hidden Markov Random field model (HMRF-EM) and expectation maximization. The feature use for this project acquire from grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) such us Entropy, Homogeneity and Correlation and also the volume ratio of grey matter and white matter to cerebrospinal fluid. This project design in software MATLAB for early detection of Alzheimer disease

The Relationship between Culture and ELT: The Representation of Aesthetic Sense Culture in “Oxford Progressive English”

The present research is basically a qualitative study using also quantitative methods which involve the role of culture in English language teaching (ELT) mainly focusing on Pakistani context. The research makes hypothesis that the Pakistani learners of English (especially from religious and rural cultural background) are de-motivated to learn English because the textbooks developed for them by foreign textbook writers are culturally irrelevant. The study involved evaluation of “Oxford Progressive English” (OPE) textbook series for cultural relevance. For evaluation the data was collected from “Oxford Progressive English” series designed especially for Pakistani learners of English. An evaluation model was developed for the content analysis of the OPE textbooks for cultural relevance from Adaskou, Britten and Fashi (1990) and the data has been analyzed to explore in the textbook series the cultural gaps between the target culture and the learner’s culture in the aspect of aesthetic sense culture. Various instances regarding cultural contrast in these textbooks have been highlighted and their irrelevance to Pakistani culture has been explored. The findings of the research show that the OPE textbooks by the foreign authors mainly focus on the target culture with little knowledge and information of the indigenous or learner culture. Moreover, the learner culture is presented as negative stereotypes. The OPE textbooks are culturally biased and based on hidden curriculum to impart Western values among the young learners to westernize them. Key words: ELT, Aesthetic sense culture or high culture, colonialism, hidden curriculum, motivation, textbook evaluation

Frequency of cryptosporidium infection in children under five years of age having diarrhea in the North West of Pakistan

Cryptosporidium species are minute, coccidian protozoan parasites that have been associated withenterocolitis. It has worldwide distribution and has emerged as an important cause of diarrhea,particularly in children less than 5 years of age and in immunocompromised individuals. Waterbornetransmission is particularly troublesome because Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts are not eliminatedby chlorination or domestic disinfectants. In the present study, single stool specimens from youngchildren (&lt; 5 years) presented with diarrhea were collected in Khyber teaching hospital, Peshawar,Pakistan. Wet mount preparation and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining were used for identification ofoocysts in stool specimens. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 18 (9.0%) out of 200 childrensuffering from diarrhea. Infection was common in children between 1 - 24 months of age and associatedwith abdominal cramps (50%), vomiting (61.1%) and prolonged duration of diarrhea (88.9%). Direct andindirect contact with animals was present in most of C. parvum infected children (83.3%). Most of C.parvum infected children were consumers of well water (77.8%). Cryptosporidium spp. are highlyinfectious causes of diarrheal illness around the world. It is an important cause of diarrhea in children.Clinician and laboratories should be encouraged to include C. parvum diagnostic techniques whiledealing with diarrheal stool samples of young children

Motivation and ESL Learning Self-system in Pakistani Students

The aim of this study is to investigate the role  of the motivational force ‘Ideal L2 self’ in university students of Pakistan and the students’ wish to become competent speakers of English and how they see themselves as future language users. In this regard two main components of Dornyei’s (2005, 2009) self system theory; Ideal L2 self and ought to L2 self, have been tested in Pakistani learners context. In this mixed method approach the researchers have examined that what are the ‘Ideal selves’ which motivate the students of Pakistan toward English and what are the negative consequences resulting from lack of L2 knowledge in future. The data for this research have been taken through survey interviews from 15 teachers, 5 each from school, college and university level from District Faisalabad, Pakistan. On the basis of the interviews from the teachers two questionnaires, on promotional factors and the preventive factors, were prepared to establish attitudes of the students regarding this motivational force. The findings of the research confirmed the strong motivational influences of the components of the ESL Motivational Self System on the participants. Analysis of data confirmed that there are various promotional and preventive factors which incline Pakistani learners toward learning English. It has been concluded that L2 motivational self system is a valuable tool to measure ESL motivation in Pakistani context. The researchers suggest that teachers should tackle these promotional and preventive factors as a tool to incline their students toward learning English so that the students may be able to explore how they can restore their national, religious and cultural identity after English learning and what type of role English can play in this regard. Key words: ESL, motivation, L2 self system, Ideal L2 self, Ought to L2 self, promotional factors, preventive factors

Evaluation of Listening Skill of ELT Textbook at Secondary School Level

Textbook evaluation means development of textbook that is based on rigorous research. In Pakistan text books are designed on communicative language teaching which focuses on communication. Morley (1991) has asserted that listening has a critical role in communication and in language acquisition because the better the students understand, the better they will be able to speak. In our text books, listening practices (text and activities) are missing, and listening plays a secondary role as compared to speaking, as it is part of oral work that are dialogues and role play, neglecting that during conversation in English our students face hurdles in quick thinking and accurate predicting because of ignoring listening skill which help in learning sound, rhythm, intonation, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammatical details. The researchers’ intention here is to put different views on importance of listening skill and to evaluate English Text Books prescribed in Punjab government school whether they contain listening material, corresponding activities and related audio video material in text books.Keywords: Evaluation, listening skill, ELT, textbook, Punjab Textbook Board (PTB

Impact of Top Management Ethical Behavior on Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of top management ethical behavior on job satisfaction of banks employees in Pakistan. Data was collected through questionnaire survey from 120 employees Random sampling method was used so that to mitigates the biasness and obtain fair results and response rate was 71%. Results of the study show significant impact on job satisfaction. Practical implications of study in banking industry is that top management act as a role model to promote ethical behavior in the organization that is definitely have the impact on employee ethical behavior and it will cause to increase the satisfaction