Becker & Mincerian Models of Human Capital for Pakistan: A Case Study of Islamabad

Education is considered a key factor for of Human Capital formation which strengthens the society through skills, knowledge and as a result of that innovations take place. The Gary Becker and Mincer developed “Human Capital Model” which was based on relationship of income with level of education and experience. The present study investigates the effect of higher education and level experience on income of teaching staff of public sector educational institutes in Islamabad-Pakistan. There were 120 respondents randomly selected. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method was used to empirically examine the relationship among the variables. All coefficients of the variables found positively significant. The study concludes that increase in year of education and experience which ultimately increases income of the teaching staff. Therefore, the higher education plays a major role for enhancing income of teaching staffs of public sector educational institutes in Pakistan

Impact of Agricultural Credit on Production of Wheat Crop: A Case Study of District Faisalabad-Pakistan

Agriculture sector plays an important role in the economic development of Pakistan. Wheat is an important and most cultivated crop because it is an essential ingredient of food commodities. Credit plays a vital role in agricultural farming by indirectly participating in purchasing of agricultural inputs i.e. seed, fertilizer, irrigation, machinery and labor etc. Majority of the farmers are poor and they are not able to fulfill the cash requirement of farming, therefore credit has become their dire need. Due to credit farmers can timely purchase the agricultural inputs which resulting a bumper crop. The objective of this study is to depict the impact of credit on the production of wheat crop. Survey was conducted and random sampling technique was used to select the sample borrowers. The collected data was interpreted through “Cobb Douglas Production Function” by using statistical software (SPSS 16.0).The results showed that credit has positive and significant impact on wheat production. The values of R2 and F-statistics are found significant which represented that all selected variables are highly significant. The study not only shares the importance of credit to perform any agriculture activity but also helpful for economists and policy makers for designing agri financing policies

Prevalence and Antibiotic Sensitivity Testing of Bacteria Isolated from Open Wounds of Hospitalized Patients

Background: Substantial infectivity of open wounds by microorganisms not only precipitates in terms of complexity, morbidity and mortality because of encouraging other fatal comorbidities but also becomes challenging to handle by medical practitioners.Methods: To ascertain the bioburden associated particularly with bacteria in open wounds, this research work was conducted at the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics department of Women University, Multan in association with Pathology Department of Nishtar Hospital and College, Multan from January to June 2018. 65 different wound samples were collected from different wards and analyzed by standard procedures for bacterial isolation and characterization, employing biochemical tests including catalase, oxidase, coagulase, motility, triple-sugar iron (TSI), citrate and indole tests. The isolated bacterial strains were also evaluated for sensitivity or resistance against twelve different antibiotics.Results: All the 65 samples were found to be positive for bacterial presence. Gram-positive cocci constituted 63% of the isolates and gram-negative rods comprised 37%. Biochemical tests revealed that the predominant pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (63.1%) followed by Proteus spp., (15.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.3%) and Escherichia coli (9.2%), respectively. Antibiotic sensitivity testing disclosed that the most effective antibiotics against these isolates were Tigecycline and Polymyxin B while the least effective antibiotics were Ceftazidime and Ampicillin.Conclusion: These findings can prove beneficial in understanding the prevalence of various bacteria in wound infections. In addition, they indicate the need to develop and implement antibiotic stewardship programs so as to combat drug resistance among pathogens.Keywords: Gram-positive cocci; Drug resistance; Staphylococcus aureus   

Exploring the Implications of Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Employees’ Performance

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an effective tool to increase organizational productivity. This study depicts the impact of EI on employees’ performance who are engaged with customer services by using four elements i.e. self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management. A sample of 120 respondents was selected from four paint manufacturing companies in Pakistan. The primary data was collected through the structured questionnaire and simple regression method was used to investigate the relationship between employee’s performance and emotional intelligence. The results illustrate that EI has positive impact on employee’s performance. It is suggested that the implication of EI be ensured as contemporary need of customer services in paint industries so that organization productivity may be enhanced with efficient employees’ performance.&nbsp

Liaison of Terrorism and Poverty: Issues, Challenges and Policy Implications

Poverty is the condition of unavailability of basic human needs like cloth, shelter, food and clean drinking water etc. There is no universal definition of poverty. Every country/nation has developed its own definition of poverty. Similarly, the causes of poverty also vary from nation to nation and region to region within the globe. The paper has an objective to find out the relationship between terrorism and poverty in Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Study also digs out the root causes of poverty in these areas. It also analyzes the policies of government to reduce poverty in tribal areas. Why some policies failed and did not bring the fruitful results? What are the ground realties and what should be done more to uplift the living standard of the people living in FATA. At the end some policy implications are also given

The Impact of the Food Price Crises on the demand for nutrients in Pakistan

The global economic crisis in 2007-08 resulted in a tremendous food price increase that is likely to have adversely affected food security and nutritional status in many developing countries. Understanding how nutritional intakes may have changed as a result of the food price crisis is important, especially for Pakistan, the country under scrutiny which, despite of being a large producer of staple food, suffers severe problems of undernourishment. We use two survey rounds, 2005-06 and 2010-11, to investigate how calorie and macro nutrient intakes have evolved. The analysis was carried out with the use of a time varying model is enriched by an in-depth investigation for different quantiles. The results show that food security deteriorated because of the food price crisis. In the light of this outcome, policy implications will be discusse

The Impact of the Food Price Crises on the demand for nutrients in Pakistan

The global economic crisis in 2007-08 resulted in a tremendous food price increase that is likely to have adversely affected food security and nutritional status in many developing countries. Understanding how nutritional intakes may have changed as a result of the food price crisis is important, especially for Pakistan, the country under scrutiny which, despite of being a large producer of staple food, suffers severe problems of undernourishment. We use two survey rounds, 2005-06 and 2010-11, to investigate how calorie and macro nutrient intakes have evolved. The analysis was carried out with the use of a time varying model is enriched by an in-depth investigation for different quantiles. The results show that food security deteriorated because of the food price crisis. In the light of this outcome, policy implications will be discusse

Influence of Different Land Uses on Some Soil Microbial Indices (Case Study: Lasjerd, Semnan Province, Iran)

IntroductionWidespread lands in arid, semi-arid, or dry sub-humid areas of the world have been influenced by the consequences of the land degradation resulting from natural factors and human activities like agriculture, changes in the land use. A large part of Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions. The degradation of soil can be greatly impacted by agricultural activities, incorrect management, and improper land management. The most suitable solution to reduce the negative effects of land use change on the desert is to choose the best type of land management with the least degradation. The fragile nature of these ecosystems and the large area of arid and semi-arid areas of the country require proper and accurate management. Soil is an important and valuable terrestrial source of OC storage, which plays a significant role in the global C cycle by storing about 1500 billion tons of C. The total C in microbial biomass is 1.4% of the total SOC. demonstrating the significant contribution of this sector to the global C cycle. Land use change can be one of the most important factors of land degradation that affects the quality and quantity of soil organic C, and soil characteristics. The present study was done to investigate the role of different land uses including rangeland as control, abandoned land, Triticum aestivum L. cultivation, Hordeum vulgare L. cultivated lands and Medicago sativa L. cultivation, on some soil microbial indices such as basal soil respiration, substrate induced respiration, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, microbial quotient, metabolic coefficient and carbon access index, in Lasjerd , Semnan province in two depths  of 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 30 cm. Material and MethodsThe initial step was to select various treatments that included rangeland as control treatment, abandoned land, Triticum aestivum cultivation, Hordeum vulgare cultivated lands and Medicago sativa cultivation. In the second step, soil sampling was performed at two depths of 0-10 and 10-30 cm in five replications. In this regard, one soil profile in the center and four other profiles were dug in the form of a cross, considering the marginal effect. The samples needed for soil biological tests were carried and stored in the refrigerator containing dry ice and biological tests were performed later. The considered factors were measured by valid scientific guidelines and methods. Data related to soil microbial properties were analyzed by a factorial test in the form of a completely random design with five repetitions. All statistical computing was done using SPSS 19 software and the mean comparison tests were performed by Duncan test. Results and DiscussionThe results of the present study indicated that there is significant impact of the treatments on the properties studied at the two depths, at the first soil layer equals to the depth of 0 to 10 cm, basal soil respiration, substrate induced respiration, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, microbial quotient, and metabolic coefficient have been affected by different land uses, as the highest level of basal soil respiration in the abandoned land equals to 0.424 mgCO2g-1dm24h-1 and the lowest in Triticum aestivum cultivation 0.006 mgCO2g-1dm24h-1, as well as the second depth- 10 to 30 cm- basal soil respiration, microbial quotient, metabolic coefficient are affected by different types of land uses. The highest amount of metabolic coefficient was observed in abandoned lands as 0.068 mgCO2-Cg-1MBCday-1 and the lowest was found in Medicago sativa cultivation lands equals to 0.013 mgCO2-Cg-1MBCday-1. Soil microbial indices are sensitive to land use changes. The first top 10 cm of the soil studied, has been most affected by these indices.Due to the failure of soil pedons, the change in land use from rangeland to agricultural lands increases the speed of litter decomposition and decreases the storage of soil nutrients, the microbial population, composition and activity of the soil as an indicator of soil quality, health and fertility. But techniques of no-tillage or minimal-tillage, as well as the principles of sustainable agriculture (such as returning the residues to the soil, proper use of chemical fertilizers, using biological fertilizers, and biological control of pests) cause the destructive process of the biological indices to be adjusted and get balanced in a shorter time period with environment. Considering the changes in the biological indicators of the soil, which have caused the destruction of the cultivated lands in the studied area, it is suggested to rehabilitate the bare lands with native rangeland species of the region, such as Artemisia sieberi Besser, Zygophyllum eurypterum Boiss. & Buhse, and Astragalus tribuloides Delile. Range management plans are the only way to allocate rangelands in the region, and a detailed survey of rangelands in the region is necessary. To prevent land use change, it is important to address the multi-purpose uses of rangelands and the determination of economic units to support the lives of beneficiary households

A Review on Strong Impacts of Thermal Stress on Plants Physiology, Agricultural Yield; and Timely Adaptation in Plants to Heat Stress

In this review, we checked the harsh influence of high temperature or heat stress on plant metabolism and crop yield. Plants can bear a minimum range of temperature; temperature more than this optimum range comes in the term of heat stress. Climate changes increase the number and severity of heat waves that reduced the development of plants and resulted in the death of the entire plant. Heat stress is a major stressful environment that destroys plant growth, biochemical reactions, and the yield of crops across the world. High-temperature influences many physiological and chemical reactions in plants. HS is now a big deal for crop production and the essential goal of agriculture is to maintain a high yield of crops. A plant lives in the conditions of high temperature based on its capacity to receive the HT stimulus, generate and change the signal, and then initiate physiological and biochemical changes. The plants show physiological and biochemical responses to heat the stress, is an active area of research. To deal with HT, different molecular techniques are in progress. After thoroughly reviewed of the different discoveries on plants’ responses, adaptation, and forbearance to HT at the cellular, organelles, and entire plant levels, this article described several approaches that could be taken to increase thermo- forbearance in plants

Multiscale scenarios for nature futures

Targets for human development are increasingly connected with targets for nature, however, existing scenarios do not explicitly address this relationship. Here, we outline a strategy to generate scenarios centred on our relationship with nature to inform decision-making at multiple scales