BRAND EQUITY AND PURCHASE INTENTION: THE INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

This study utilized the Aaker’s model of brand equity todevelop a model of consumer purchase intention in Indian automobile industry. The model sought to analyze the effect of various dimensions of brand equity on consumer purchase intention. A structural equation model was developed using the data collected from a sample of Indian consumers. Findings of the study reveal that perceived quality have a direct and significant impact on consumers’ purchase intention. These findings have significant implications for marketing managers who would need to carefully adapt their branding approaches to enhance equity of their brands and reduce consumer brand switching

Species distribution model transferability and model grain size – finer may not always be better

Species distribution models have been used to predict the distribution of invasive species for conservation planning. Understanding spatial transferability of niche predictions is critical to promote species-habitat conservation and forecasting areas vulnerable to invasion. Grain size of predictor variables is an important factor affecting the accuracy and transferability of species distribution models. Choice of grain size is often dependent on the type of predictor variables used and the selection of predictors sometimes rely on data availability. This study employed the MAXENT species distribution model to investigate the effect of the grain size on model transferability for an invasive plant species. We modelled the distribution of Rhododendron ponticum in Wales, U.K. and tested model performance and transferability by varying grain size (50 m, 300 m, and 1 km). MAXENT-based models are sensitive to grain size and selection of variables. We found that over-reliance on the commonly used bioclimatic variables may lead to less accurate models as it often compromises the finer grain size of biophysical variables which may be more important determinants of species distribution at small spatial scales. Model accuracy is likely to increase with decreasing grain size. However, successful model transferability may require optimization of model grain size

Does Organizational Politics in Public Sector Mediates the Impact of Recruitment and Selection on Employee Performance

The presence of nepotism and favoritism during the execution of recruitment selection has now become a major concern for both developed and developing countries. Based on social exchange theory a framework was established to evaluate contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance as a result of recruitment and selection practice in an organization. Besides, the study also investigated the effect of nepotism and favoritism as a mediating variable between recruitment and selection, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance. Moreover, data from 384 respondents working in the tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan were congregated and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results of the study reveal that recruitment and selection have a substantial impact on contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance. Consistently, the mediation effect was established. Furthermore, the current study is of significance for the HR managers of the hospital to formulate strategies to overcome this phenomenon particularly in the recruitment & selection process which in the end affects the healthcare employee’s performance

Deducing Space From Time Modelling the Distribution of Invasive Species Under Climate and Land Use Change Scenarios

Invasive plant species represent a serious threat to biodiversity, precipitating a sustained global effort to eradicate or at least control the spread of this phenomenon. Current distribution ranges of many invasive species are likely to be modified by climate and land use change. This thesis presents a series of papers that aims at mapping the current distribution and predicting the potential future distribution of Rhododendron ponticum L. (family: Ericaceae). The series of papers aims to determine, a) the most important abiotic (environmental) factors affecting the distribution of R. ponticum in the UK, focussing on Wales as a case study, b) whether the niche of this species has shifted or remained conserved in the UK (compared to its native range), c) the selection of optimum modelling parameters for correlative species distribution model, d) future land use and land cover change maps for the study area and finally, e) assessing the combined effects of land use and climate change on potential future distribution of R. ponticum in the UK. The main results suggest that land cover and topography are critical in limiting the distribution of this invasive plant. Furthermore, ecological niche of R. ponticum has shifted in the UK compared to the Iberian Peninsula (native range), arguably due to hybridization. Model performance in the training areas improve with decreasing grain size of predictors (50 m > 300m > 1 km). However, model transferability requires optimum grain size which should be determined by testing a range of grain sizes. In most of the future land use and climate change scenarios, invasiveness of R. ponticum is likely to decrease by as much as 40 % of the currently invaded area. The results highlight the importance of considering a range of land use and climate change scenarios and including regional policy-based land use change projections to test the potential of invasive species to expand or retreat in future. Eastern belt and south western parts of Wales are vulnerable to future invasion of R. ponticum because of possible increase in temperature and forest cover under future scenarios. Invasion risk maps produced in this study could guide pre-emptive management strategies

Professional Stressors and Coping Strategies Among Nurses

Stress affects the work life balance and quality, which is also inclusive of happiness, interpersonal relations and family related life. Additionally, it argued that stress may also result in unnecessary work absenteeism, high level of turnover, early retirement from the job, low efficiency and effectiveness, and also the low quality of products and services (European Foundation for the Improve­ment of Living and Working Conditions, 2014; (Jacobs et al., 2018). In health sector nurses are facing the high level of stress, highly disturbed work life balance etc. Previous studies suggest that nurses which do experience high level of work-related stress, such kind of higher degree stress can endanger their health and lives of the patients, (Phillips, Hall, Elmitt, Bookallil, & Douglas, 2017). A Quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was used in this study. Findings of this study showed that respondent’s experienced high level stress from the stressors at work, with the highest level of stress obtained from work organizational issues was the greatest stressor for the respondents. Work related stress is linked to the unease, nervousness, depression, and restlessness. The present study also showed that ‘‘relational issues’’ caused low level stress for the nurses. The study concludes that organizational issues are more important cause of work related stress. The convenient sampling method was use to select the respondents. Sample size of this study was 175 Nurses. Keywords: Stressors; stress; coping strategies

Linking social perception and provision of ecosystem services in a sprawling urban landscape: a case study of Multan, Pakistan

Urban sprawl causes changes in land use and a decline in many ecosystem services. Understanding the spatial patterns of sprawl and exploration of citizens’ perception towards the sporadic urban expansion and its impacts on an ecosystem to deliver services can help to guide land use planning and the conservation of the urban ecosystem. Here, we spatially examined land use changes in Multan, Pakistan, and investigated public perception about urban sprawl and its impacts on the quality and provision of ecosystem services, using a survey instrument. The spatial analysis of the historical land cover of Multan indicated an exponential expansion of the city in the last decade. Large areas of natural vegetation and agricultural land were converted to urban settlements in the past two decades. The citizens of Multan believe that the quality and provision of ecosystem services have declined in the recent past and strongly correlate the deteriorating ecosystem services with urban sprawl. Education and income levels of the respondents are the strongest predictors of urban ecosystem health literacy. Citizens associated with laborious outdoor jobs are more sensitive to the changes in ecosystem services. We concluded that the rapidly expanding cities, especially in the tropical arid zones, need to be prioritized for an increase in vegetation cover, and economically vulnerable settlements in these cities should be emphasized in climate change mitigation campaigns

ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF NURSES REGARDING THE PREVENTION OF INFECTION IN BURN PATIENT IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL LAHORE

Introduction: Burn wound infection are one of the most significant and possibly genuine complications that happen in the intense period following injury. Roughly 180,000 expiries happen due to burn each year evaluated by world health organization in 2018. Reducing the spread of disease and human care services related burn infection in the burn unit of public hospital. WHO has revealed a lot higher occurrence in Pakistan roughly 1388/100000 yearly when contrasted with worldwide frequency of 110/100000 for every annum Implementation of rules will lessen the rate pace of burn wound contamination in the burn unit. Methodology: quantitative observational descriptive study design was used to assess the nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding prevention of infection in burn patient. In order to assess nurses practiced, data was collected through the standardized checklist and questionnaire regarding prevention of infection in burn patient. The checklist and questionnaire consist of 55 items. Results: The findings of this study revealed that there are poor knowledge and practices of nurses regarding prevention of infection in burn patient. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded that nurses working in burn units of hospital of Lahore, Punjab region have low knowledge and practices regarding prevention of Infections among burn patients. Therefore, hospitals are required to organize adequate trainings and to develop unit specific clinical infection control guidelines and protocols Key words: Infection, Practice, Knowledge, Burn, Patient. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/74-11 Publication date:May 31st 202

Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Concrete and Self-Healing Phenomena by adding Bacteria, Silica fume and Fibres

Concrete which is the most useable material in the world after the water has flaws, it is susceptible to cracking over time. These cracks occur in the form of shear cracks, flexural cracks, tension cracks, shrinkage cracks etc. With these cracks, some hair-like cracks also occur in concrete which are not visible during the visual inspection. The propagation of these cracks in concrete allows the water and many other chemicals to seep inside the concrete and leads to a decrease in its properties. Such properties include decreasing durability, erosion of rebars, and progressive failure in the concrete strength. Therefore, the repair of hair-like cracks is also essential for the long-term safety of structures. In the present study the Silica fume, and Polypropylene fibres are added to a rich concrete along with the bacteria named Bacillus Subtilis and Calcium Lactate for enhancement of its mechanical properties and self-healing phenomena. The effect of bacteria in the healing phenomenon and other properties is compared to normal concrete by casting the cylinders and beams. The slump, compressive strength, tensile strength, and self-healing phenomena are tested and found the increase in mechanical properties of concrete. The self-healing phenomena of cracks is observed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

Valuing the invaluable: park visitors' perceived importance and willingness to pay for urban park trees in Pakistan

In complex urban systems, urban parks are rare hot spots of nature, responsible for delivering a range of ecosystem services. Trees are critically important components of urban parks that provide many benefits, and, at the same time, face challenges such as lack of funds, mismanagement, climate change, pests, and diseases. There is a growing need to increase the urban tree cover to sustain urban ecosystems. Successful policymaking requires engagement with all stakeholders, especially park users. An understanding of how people's perceptions of the benefits and challenges faced by urban park trees is pivotal to making decisions that have long-standing support. We surveyed 521 park visitors in Multan, Pakistan, to assess their valuation of urban park trees, their understanding of the challenges faced by trees, and their willingness to pay (WTP) for increasing tree cover in urban parks. We found that people widely appreciated the ecosystem services provided by park trees. Provision of oxygen, shade, and clean air was considered the greatest benefits while cutting down, lack of space, and urbanization were perceived as the biggest challenges to trees. Respondents showed a WTP and believed in government–public cooperation for increasing tree cover. Income, age, and education were significant predictors of WTP. The study reflects findings in other development and geography contexts and highlights the need for broader dissemination of information on critical threats to park trees and underlines the potential for engaging locally to maximize effectively in the management of park trees

MLGOPerf: An ML Guided Inliner to Optimize Performance

For the past 25 years, we have witnessed an extensive application of Machine Learning to the Compiler space; the selection and the phase-ordering problem. However, limited works have been upstreamed into the state-of-the-art compilers, i.e., LLVM, to seamlessly integrate the former into the optimization pipeline of a compiler to be readily deployed by the user. MLGO was among the first of such projects and it only strives to reduce the code size of a binary with an ML-based Inliner using Reinforcement Learning. This paper presents MLGOPerf; the first end-to-end framework capable of optimizing performance using LLVM's ML-Inliner. It employs a secondary ML model to generate rewards used for training a retargeted Reinforcement learning agent, previously used as the primary model by MLGO. It does so by predicting the post-inlining speedup of a function under analysis and it enables a fast training framework for the primary model which otherwise wouldn't be practical. The experimental results show MLGOPerf is able to gain up to 1.8% and 2.2% with respect to LLVM's optimization at O3 when trained for performance on SPEC CPU2006 and Cbench benchmarks, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed approach provides up to 26% increased opportunities to autotune code regions for our benchmarks which can be translated into an additional 3.7% speedup value.Comment: Version 2: Added the missing Table 6. The short version of this work is accepted at ACM/IEEE CASES 202