EMPIRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOFTWARE QUALITY

The research topic focuses on the characterization of software quality considering the main software elements such as people, process and product. Many attributes (size, language, testing techniques etc.) probably could have an effect on the quality of software. In this thesis we aim to understand the impact of attributes of three P’s (people, product, process) on the quality of software by empirical means. Software quality can be interpreted in many ways, such as customer satisfaction, stability and defects etc. In this thesis we adopt ‘defect density’ as a quality measure. Therefore the research focus on the empirical evidences of the impact of attributes of the three P’s on the software defect density. For this reason empirical research methods (systematic literature reviews, case studies, and interviews) are utilized to collect empirical evidence. Each of this research method helps to extract the empirical evidences of the object under study and for data analysis statistical methods are used. Considering the product attributes, we have studied the size, language, development mode, age, complexity, module structure, module dependency, and module quality and their impact on project quality. Considering the process attributes, we have studied the process maturity and structure, and their impact on the project quality. Considering the people attributes, we have studied the experience and capability, and their impact on the project quality. Moreover, in the process category, we have studied the impact of one testing approach called ‘exploratory testing’ and its impact on the quality of software. Exploratory testing is a widely used software-testing practice and means simultaneous learning, test design, and test execution. We have analyzed the exploratory testing weaknesses, and proposed a hybrid testing approach in an attempt to improve the quality. Concerning the product attributes, we found that there exist a significant difference of quality between open and close source projects, java and C projects, and large and small projects. Very small and defect free modules have impact on the software quality. Different complexity metrics have different impact on the software quality considering the size. Product complexity as defined in Table 53 has partial impact on the software quality. However software age and module dependencies are not factor to characterize the software quality. Concerning the people attributes, we found that platform experience, application experience and language and tool experience have significant impact on the software quality. Regarding the capability we found that programmer capability has partial impact on the software quality where as analyst capability has no impact on the software quality. Concerning process attributes we found that there is no difference of quality between the project developed under CMMI and those that are not developed under CMMI. Regarding the CMMI levels there is difference of software quality particularly between CMMI level 1 and CMMI level 3. Comparing different process types we found that hybrid projects are of better quality than waterfall projects. Process maturity defined by (SEI-CMM) has partial impact on the software quality. Concerning exploratory testing, we found that exploratory testing weaknesses induce the testing technical debt therefore a process is defined in conjunction with the scripted testing in an attempt to reduce the associated technical debt of exploratory testing. The findings are useful for both researchers and practitioners to evaluate their project

Do Exchange Rates Fluctuations Influence Gold Price in G7 Countries? New Insights from a Nonparametric Causality-in-Quantiles Test

In the recent era, gold is considered an essential investment source, a source of hedging inflation, and a medium of monetary exchange. The gold and exchange rate nexus become prominent after events like sovereign debt crisis, subprime mortgage crisis, low-interest rate problem, and global financial market solvency. These events attract the attention of researchers and academician for investigating the dynamics of the relationship between gold and exchange rates, and the majority of the studies discusses the linear dynamics, but the non-linear dynamics are ignored. Therefore, the current research investigates the non-linear dynamics of gold price and exchange rate relationship in G7 countries using the new technique named the nonparametric causality approach. This study uses monthly data from the years 1995(January)-2017 (March). The empirical results show that exchange rate return causes gold prices in four out of G7, especially at the low tails. This study also gives valuable insights for monetary policymakers, gold exporter’s international portfolio managers, and hedge fund managers

Development of Fundal Varices in Cirrhotic Patients after Eradication of Esophageal Varices

Background: To analyze the development of fundal varices in cirrhotic patients after eradication of esophageal varicesMethods: In this observational study 150 patients of liver cirrhosis, with the history of upper gastrointestinal tract bleed and esophageal varices of grade F2 and F3 but absence of fundal varices, were included. Patients who had previous history of banding were excluded.Results: Eighty one (54%) patients were male. Mean age of the patients was 49.34±11.45 years. Twenty two (14.66%) developed fundal varices of which 2(1.33%) patients developed fundal varices at 2 months, 8(5.33%) patients developed fundal varices at 4 months following banding, and 12(8%) patients developed fundal varices at 6 months following banding of esophageal varices. Fourteen (63.63%) patients had GOV2 while 8(36.36%) had IGV1. Conclusion: New fundal varices develop with increasing frequency in patients treated with esophageal variceal band ligation, and the incidence has a time-dependent relationship

Enterprenuerial Motivation Amongst University Students in Pakistan: Proposing and Testing a Mediation Model

Objective of this research is to explore factors that contribute towards entrepreneurial motivation amongst university students in Pakistan. Data of 500 respondents from HEC recognized universities in Pakistan has been collected and analyzed for the purpose of our research. Data has been gathered from students of different degree programs commerce, business administration, banking and finance, and marketing department of public and private universities of Pakistan. A mediation model has been proposed and tested in order to achieve our objectives. Data has been analyzed using different econometric and statistical techniques. The results suggest that there exists some “psychological†and “economic†factors that influence the entrepreneurial motivation of university students in Pakistan. Over and above, there also that exits a group of psychological factors that partially mediate in our model. &nbsp

Arbab Saif-Ur-Rahman Khan Khalil Life And Legacy

Arbab Saif-ur-Rahman Khan Khalil, an eminent political and legal luminary in Pakistan, was born into a venerable family in Peshawar in 1930. Despite encountering economic adversities, his scholarly acumen propelled him towards the pursuit of law, ultimately culminating in his distinguished career as a lawyer and statesman. Khalil's political odyssey commenced with his profound engagement in the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement, emblematic of his unwavering dedication to democratic ideals and societal transformation. His multifaceted involvement in politics encompassed various roles, marked by electoral triumphs and commendation for his unwavering integrity and steadfast service to his constituents. Throughout his tenure as Deputy Speaker of the Provincial Assembly NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khalil epitomized his allegiance to parliamentary norms and impartiality. His substantive contributions to the realms of education, healthcare, and infrastructure development reverberated profoundly within his constituency, leaving an indelible imprint on its socio-economic landscape. Khalil's enduring legacy as an exemplar of principled politics and a staunch advocate for democratic values resonates through the outpouring of tributes and condolences that followed his demise in 2003. Key Words: Arbab Saif-ur-Rahman Khan Khalil, Peshawar, Khudai Khidmatgar Movement, Deputy Speaker, Legac

Effect of Environment on Entrepreneurial Culture with mediating role of Opportunity Creation

The role of entrepreneurial culture in reducing socio-economic issues of a country is emphasized by policymakers and academics alike, but the effect of the environment to promote entrepreneurial culture is scarcely studied in literature. Furthermore, a focus on the mediating role of opportunities in developing such a culture is missing in entrepreneurship literature. The current study addresses this gap by examining the potential influence of environment on entrepreneurial culture with mediating role of opportunity creation. For this research, data was gathered through questionnaire from 200 micro level enterprises in Peshawar using random sampling. Then the Structural equation modeling (SEM), a statistical technique, was used for analyzing this data. The findings of this analysis reveal a positive effect of the environment on facilitating an entrepreneurial culture. Our findings additionally reveal that opportunity creation also serves as a significant driver in enhancing an entrepreneurial culture. In this vein, environment was found to also have a significant effect on opportunity creation. Finally, as per our findings opportunity creation fully mediates the relationship between environment and entrepreneurial culture. Therefore, this research holds that friendly business environment creates opportunities, which leads to the development of entrepreneurial culture in a society. The researchers also provided future directions and various limitations in this stud

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP IN THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT: REALITY OR MYTH? EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN

The purpose of thi s paper is t o ex amine the phenomena ofentrepreneurial leadership in the context of Pakistani universities inan attempt to justify its role, value and applicability. In general,entrepreneurial leaders are vital to successful transformation oftraditional universities into entrepreneurial ones. A comparative casestudy approach was adopted whereby 30 semi-structured interviewswere conducted in six public and private universities. This studyreveals that entrepreneurial leadership (EL) works at the operationallevel of university hierarchy instead of a top down approach. A‘university push model’ is found more effective than a ‘governmentpull model’ whereby we propose a conceptual model indicatinge nt re pre ne uri al ori e nt at i on as pre re qui si te f or c re at i ngentrepreneurial culture for the development of EL. Challenges areaddressed to the implementation of EL in different sectors. Theresearch contributes to our knowledge of entrepreneurial leadership,especially in the Pakistani context, where little real effort has beenmade so fa

GLOBAL WARMING CHALLENGES AND TACTICAL RAMIFICATIONS: ADDRESSING ECOLOGICAL SECURITY CONCERNS

Humanity has been facing frequent trials in the contemporary era. One seriously emerging challenge is global warming. It has a record of disastrous impacts on earth that are severe and cataclysmic. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change attributes mega-disasters to global warming. These environmental calamities have raised serious concerns for leaders, scientists, environmentalists as well as public. The defence experts warn about gradually changing weather tendencies and emerging of new security challenges. Global warming is causing continuous fluctuations in our fragile ecosystem, and any persistent malfunctioning in the ecosystem would affect the politico-economic, strategic, and even very existence of humanity. It would require rational choices and new strategic approaches for saving humanity and numerous organism species under global warming impacts. Strategists, in the future, will inevitably explore looming tactical security concerns to safeguard defence capabilities. Against this backdrop, this paper argues that global warming will create severe strategic complications. In the coming decades, traditional national defence systems will have to undergo a new transformation supportive to cope with emerging cataclysmic security issues due to global warming. Therefore, innovative lines of tactical ecological rationale will become an essential part of national defence.   Bibliography Entry Shah, Syed Muhammad Ali, Shaheen Akhtar, and Fozia Bibi. 2021. "Global Warming Challenges and Tactical Ramifications: Addressing Ecological Security Concerns." Margalla Papers 25 (1): 12-22

Human Capital and Economic Growth: Evidence from Selected Asian Countries

Impact of human capital on economic growth of selected Asian countries was examined, in the context of a visual search task. The main aim of this study is to find the empirical relationships among human capital and economic growth by using panel data technique for the period 1990-2012. In this study Government Expenditure on Health and gross school enrolment at secondary level used as a proxy variables for measuring human capital. The results of econometric estimation and panel least squares estimates indicated, a strong positive association of government expenditure on health and gross fixed capital formation with GDP. Another result of this study is that the gross school enrollment has positive but insignificant impact on gross domestic product. The study recommends that Government should escalate the enrollment of students in primary and secondary level, incentives to the people working abroad and should also facilitate the private sector to develop the labor force. Moreover, government should increase their expenditure on different areas of health sector such as for the development of infrastructure of health sector and provision of better health care facilities to the patients. Keywords: Human capital, Economic growth, Capital, Asian countries.