The impact of cash holding, and exchange rate volatility on the firm’s financial performance of all manufacturing sector in Pakistan

Exchange rate movement is a mostly debatable issue amongst economists and strategic financial planners in the economies as a vital phenomenon, of every economy in the developing the world. This study sets out to examine the impact of cash conversion cycle, Size, Age, and exchange rate movement on firms’ financial decisions. The estimation used techniques of static panel data analysis in this study; pooled OLS, random effects, and fixed effects. Interaction techniques are applied to check the impact of the exchange rate by multiplying this variable with the main variables of cash conversion cycle, that is receivable in days and payables in days. The results depict there is a significant negative relationship between return on assets and exchanger rate during the period of review while the beta of cash conversion cycle has negative value; age and size are positive and significant at 1% level with return on assets. Therefore, it is recommended that organizations that have some measure to agreement in foreign currencies can adopt some advanced hedging technique to occupy the exchange rate movements risk to improve firm’s performance

An Analytical Investigation of the Culture of Work in Islam with Emphasis on Quranic Verses and Hadiths

Regarding the role of work and activities for the promotion of economic and social life of a society, exerting efforts for promoting the culture of working is a religious and ideological necessity. The culture of working can provide appropriate grounds for hardworking, creativity, innovation, sense of responsibility, and professional conscience, social order and ethics in the great work community. In the divine insights of Islam, work is the origin of acquiring properties and income as well as the key of using natural and God-given resources. Since a lot of individuals are under the influence of these divine insights and teachings, it is obligatory that the genuine concepts of these religions be investigated. Therefore, in the present study, these genuine concepts are drawn in five key principles including emphasis on working, work professionalism, job commitment, traveling to work, and benefits of working so that the culture of work can be investigated in Islam. The method employed in the present study is a descriptive-analytical one. In addition, using valid and primary books, and employing library-documentary data collection method, the related data were collected. The results of the present study indicate that God in the Holy Quran and Imams in their Hadiths, have advised working significantly and warned human beings of laxity and lethargy. Keywords: Islam, emphasis on working, work professionalism, job commitment, travelling to work, benefits of working

The Interest of the Supreme Audit Institution in Sustainable Economic, Social and Environmental Development on the Audit Quality Performance

Purpose: This research aims to Identify role of the Board of Supreme Audit has a significant role in achieving the dimensions of sustainable development (SD).   Theoretical framework: The research provides a conceptual framework for SD, its objectives and dimensions. It probes the role of supreme audit institution (SAI) in achieving the goals of SD.   Design/methodology/approach: The study examined the perceptions of 100 participants affiliated to the institution of financial supervision, department of technical studies and research. we are hypothesized that the SAI has an interest in SD, and that this interest is reflected in the quality of auditing performance. we are used Z-TEST to test the significance of the association hypotheses between the interest of SAI in economic, social and SD and the quality of the control audit performance.   Findings: The study found that the most supreme audit achieved the completion of the tasks entrusted with high levels of quality in performance. Results also showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between the SAI interest in sustainable economic, social and environmental development (SED) and the quality of auditing performance.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The interest of SAI in sustainable economic, SED on the quality of auditing performance.   Originality/value: the Originality of value in the article by the role of audit quality (AQ) over the organizing relationships, dividing work according to terms of reference, providing the necessary resources, and exerting the necessary professional care

How Similar are the Determinants of Mortality and Fertility?*

In a pre-transition situation both fertility and mortality are high. However, in the process of demographic transition, fertility decline follows mortality decline and when the demographic transition is complete both these variables vary closely at a low level. In other words, both these variables behave in a way which are oomplimentaJy to each other and hence it may be hypothesised that the factors which explain variation in fertility should explain variation in mortality or vice versa. Nevertheless, the strength and sometimes even direction of these determinants may vary from time to time and from place to place. Presently, Pakistan is in the process of demographic transition. By using the 1990-91 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey data, here in this exercise, an attempt is made to identify and investigate' the similarities and the differences if any, in the determinants of both fertility and mortality

Convection Heat Transfer Modeling of Ag Nanofluid Using Different Viscosity Theories

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the effects of adding nanoparticles (including Ag) to a fluid media for improving free convection heat transfer were analysed. The free convective heat transfer was assumed to be in laminar flow regime, and the corresponding calculations and solutions were all done by the integral method. Water, as a Newtonian fluid, was considered as the base and all relevant thermo physical properties of the nanofluids were considered to be unvarying. The calculations performed and the graphs generated showed that, in general, the addition of nanoparticles to the fluid media resulted in an increment or improvement of its heat transfer coefficient. With increase in the concentration of the nanoparticles, the heat transfer rate of the fluid also increased. The increment in heat transfer is also dependent on the nanoparticles’ thermal conductivity and the viscosity theory which was utilized in the calculations. In this study, four different theories were used to calculate the viscosities of the nanofluids. The effects of viscosity on the nanofluids’ thermal conductivity were apparent from the calculations which were performed for nanoparticle concentrations of 4% or less.   ABSTRAK: Kajian ini menganalisis kesan penambahan nanopartikel Ag ke dalam media bendalir bagi tujuan pembaikkan pemindahan haba perolakan bebas. Perolakan bebas diandaikan berada di zon aliran laminar, di mana penyelesaian dan pengiraan telah dilakukan mengunakan kaedah kamilan. Air yang merupakan cecair Newtonian, dianggap sebagai asas dan sifat terma fizikal nanocecair dianggapkan tidak berubah. Mengikut pengiraan yang dilakukan dan graf yang diplotkan, umumnya penambahan nanopartikel kepada media bendalir menyebabkan peningkatan dan pengembangan pekali pemindahan haba. Kadar pemindahan haba meningkat dengan nanopartikel. Peningkatan pemindahan haba juga bergantung kepada pengalir haba nanopartikel dan teori kelikatan yang digunakan. Di dalam kajian ini, empat jenis teori telah digunakan bagi pengiraan kelikatan nanopartikel. Kesan kelikatan ke atas pengalir haba nanocecair sangat jelas kelihatan. Kesemua pengiraan telah dilakukan ke atas kepekatan kurang dari 4%. KEYWORDS: Ag nanofluid, heat transfer, natural convection

Economic Performance of China (1980 – 2014)

Success of Chinese economy has been well studied by now. This paper focuses on economic performance of China since 1980 to 2014. To measure economic performance of China, ‘Economic Performance Index’ (EPI) has been used. EPI uses four macroeconomic variables to calculate the EPI score. It was found that average EPI score for China in last 35 year is 96.49%, which is considered as overall excellent economic performance. Key words: Economic Performance, Growth, GDP, Inflation, Budget Deficit, Chin

Blind Detection of Copy-Move Forgery in Digital Audio Forensics

Although copy-move forgery is one of the most common fabrication techniques, blind detection of such tampering in digital audio is mostly unexplored. Unlike active techniques, blind forgery detection is challenging, because it does not embed a watermark or signature in an audio that is unknown in most of the real-life scenarios. Therefore, forgery localization becomes more challenging, especially when using blind methods. In this paper, we propose a novel method for blind detection and localization of copy-move forgery. One of the most crucial steps in the proposed method is a voice activity detection (VAD) module for investigating audio recordings to detect and localize the forgery. The VAD module is equally vital for the development of the copy-move forgery database, wherein audio samples are generated by using the recordings of various types of microphones. We employ a chaotic theory to copy and move the text in generated forged recordings to ensure forgery localization at any place in a recording. The VAD module is responsible for the extraction of words in a forged audio, and these words are analyzed by applying a 1-D local binary pattern operator. This operator provides the patterns of extracted words in the form of histograms. The forged parts (copy and move text) have similar histograms. An accuracy of 96.59% is achieved, and the proposed method is deemed robust against noise

Arms Race, Economic Growth, and Government (Military and Non Military) Expenditure: Empirical Investigation for India and Pakistan

This study examines the relationship of economic growth with civilian and military portions of government expenditure for two neighboring countries and nuclear powers; India and Pakistan. Considering the rough bilateral relationship between the two countries, the paper also seeks to determine the existence of arms race between them. For this purpose, Johansen cointegration and Granger causality tests are applied while taking account of the limitations of time series data.  Our cointegration results indicate a positive impact of military spending on economic growth for India and a negative impact for Pakistan. In case of government civilian expenditure and economic growth, the relationship is statistically insignificant for Pakistan while it is negative and significant for India. The Granger causality results show lack of any causal relationship of economic growth with government and military spending for Pakistan. In case of India, economic growth is Granger caused by government as well as military expenditure. Bidirectional causality is found between defense spending of India and defense spending of Pakistan. Keywords: Government expenditure, Military expenditure, Economic Growth, Arms race, Cointegration, Granger causalit

Basics of Self Micro Emulsifying Drug Delivery System

About 70-75% of drugs is taken orally and is found not to be as useful as desired. A self-micro emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) is a drug delivery system that uses a micro-emulsion achieved by chemical rather than mechanical means. Micro-emulsions have significant potential for use in drug delivery, and SMEDDS are the best of these systems. SMEDDS are of particular value in increasing the absorption of lipophilic drugs taken orally. SMEDDS are mixtures  of natural or  synthetic oils,  solid  or  liquid  surfactants, or alternatively, one or more  hydrophilic solvents and  co-solvents/surfactants  that have a unique ability  of  forming fine  oil-in-water (o/w) micro  emulsions  upon mild agitation followed  by  dilution in  aqueous media, such as  GI fluids. SMEDDS spread readily in the GI tract, and the digestive motility of the stomach and the intestine provide the agitation necessary for self-emulsification. SMEDDS can be encapsulated in hard or soft gelatin capsules or can be converted to solid state (Solid SEDDS/SMEDDS). This review article provides an overview of SMEDDS and its advantages over conventional dosage forms. Keywords: SMEDDS, Micro-emulsions, Co-solvent

The Effectiveness of Cognitive Therapy based on Mindfulness Training on Reducing Social Anxiety and Increasing Self-esteem of Students with Learning Disabilities

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness training on reducing social anxiety and increasing the self-esteem of students with learning disabilities. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental trial with a pretest-posttest design along with a control group. The statistical population included all male students with learning disabilities in the 2018-2019 academic years, in the fourth to sixth grades of Isfahan. The sample consisted of 30 people who were randomly divided into two groups of control and experimental (15 people in each group). The research instruments included the Libovitz social anxiety questionnaire and Cooper-Smith self-esteem questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 according to the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was effective in reducing social anxiety of students with learning disabilities (Pvalue<0.01). Also, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was effective in increasing the self-esteem of students with learning disabilities (Pvalue<0.01). Conclusions: Based on the results, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can reduce social anxiety in students with learning disabilities and increase their self-esteem.  Keywords: Cognitive therapy, Social anxiety, Self-esteem, Learning disabilities