An Analysis of Allocative Efficiency of Wheat Growers in Northern Pakistan

Restricted translog production model is used to estimate the allocative efficiency of wheat growers in Peshawar Valley. It is found that average allocative efficiency is 72 percent. To increase the allocative efficiency, farmers need to increase the use of nitrogen and phosphorous and decrease the use of tillage and irrigation.

An Analysis of Allocative Efficiency of Wheat Growers in Northern Pakistan

For the last couple of years several agricultural and trade experts have been advocating if Pakistan has to compete in the international market for export of agricultural products then it needs to decrease the cost of production. In the light of Agreement on Agriculture of WTO, member countries are required to provide increased market access, decrease domestic support and tariff. These agreements are likely to increase the cost of production of various agricultural products for farmers producing these products, and make international competition tougher for export of agricultural commodities. There are three possible ways to decrease the cost of production—by decreasing cost of inputs, by developing cost effective high yielding technologies or by improving management practices. There is little hope for decrease in the cost of inputs. Over the recent years prices of the petroleum products, were revised upward several times and this trend is likely to continue in future. Similarly, there was increase in the prices of gas, electricity and other agricultural inputs. Historically, in Pakistan, increase in prices of agricultural inputs has been much higher than the increase in prices of agricultural outputs [Pakistan (1988)]. Under these circumstances there is little hope of decease in prices of agricultural inputs. As far as development of new agricultural technologies, particularly high yielding varieties, is concerned it is a long-term process. It takes several years to develop a new variety and in its formal approval for distribution to farmers. Nevertheless, there is room for decreasing cost of producing through improvement in the management practices. When economists talk about improvement in the management practices they talk in terms of ‘technical efficiency’ and ‘allocative efficiency’. Technical efficiency has been defined as firm’s ability to produce maximum output given a set of inputs and technology

Factors Affecting Cotton Production in Pakistan:Empirical Evidence from Multan District

This paper attempts to examine the factors affecting cotton production in Multan region using primary source of data. A sample of 60 small farmers, 25 medium and 15 large farmers was randomly selected from two Tehsils namely Multan and Shujabad of district Multan. The Cobb-Douglas Production Function is employed to assess the effects of various inputs like cultivation, seed and sowing, irrigation, fertilizer, plant protection, inter-culturing / hoeing and labour cost on cotton yield. The results depicted that seed, fertilizer and irrigation were found scarce commodity for all category of farmers in district Multan. The Cobb-Douglas Production Function results revealed that the coefficients for cultivation (0.113) and seed (0.103) were found statistically significant at 1 percent level. The Cost-Benefit Ratio for the large farmers was found higher (1.41) than that of small (1.22) and medium (1.24) farmers. There is a dire need to ensure the availability of these scarce inputs by both public and private sectors as these inputs were major requirement of the cotton crop.Cotton; Cobb- Douglas Production Function; Cost Benefit Ratio; Marginal Value Product; Allocate Efficiency of Critical Inputs; Multan District; Pakistan

Employers Perception Of Attributes Of Teachers And Training Practices In Pakistan: Difference Between Demand And Supply

The purpose of this paper is to identify the qualities employers look for in a teacher candidate. The objectives of the study were to compare the employers perception of personal qualities, personal habits, personal skills/abilities and teaching skills of teachers, desired by the market and the actual attributes of teachers trained by training institutions. All private schools of the Province Punjab were the population of the study. Three districts of the Punjab province were selected as target population to collect data. Thirty schools from each district were selected as a sample. It was concluded that the difference between desired and possessed qualities is quite significant. It was felt that a strong coordination between training institutions and schools is badly needed to transform training programs to make them compatible with the market demands

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

Marketing Analytics Capability and ERP Systems Implementation: Theoretical Framework and Case Study

ERP systems implementation through investment in marketing analytics capabilities (MACs) is imperative in Industry 4.0 age. The theoretical framework is developed and utilised for mapping the case study of a nationally well-renowned ERP consultancy strategic business unit (SBU) of FCL. The FCL uses marketing analytics capability for ERP projects’ implementation and consultancy around Pakistan. It is one of the few companies that have complete structure for SAP EPR solutions. The Marketing Analytics Capability Framework (MACF) for this case study is composed of Culture Capability (CC), Technology Capability (TC), and People Capability (PC), along with ERP implementation cycle. The team heads and experts, with notable experience, were interviewed, through operationalisation of non-probability purposive sampling. A holistic view of MACs for ERP implementation, through paradigm lens of big data business analytics (BDBA) is presented

Structural and functional studies on yeast mitochondrial magnesium transporter Mrs2

Mg2+ ist eines der am häufigsten vorkommenden zweiwertigen Kationen in Zellen und Organellen. In seinen chemischen Eigenschaften ist es im Vergleich mit anderen zweiwertigen Kationen einzigartig. Es spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Stabilisierung von Makromolekülen, in der Bindung an Nukleotide und als Kofaktor für zahlreiche Enzyme. Weiters beeinflusst Mg2+ das Volumen der Zelle und Signalprozesse, indem es die Aktivität von Ionenkanälen und Transportern reguliert. Die bisher charakterisierten Magnesiumtransporter sind an die einzigartigen physiochemischen Eigenschaften dieses Ions angepasst. Die Mg2+-Transporter der CorA/Mrs2 Familie gehören zur Klasse der 2-TM-GxN Proteine und zeigen keine Homologie mit anderen Ionentransportern. Sie sind in allen Domänen des Lebens vertreten und gehören zur Superfamilie der Metallionentransporter. Die am besten charakterisierten Vertreter dieser Klasse sind das Protein CorA der Prokaryoten, sowie die eukaryotischen Proteine Alr1/2 und Mrs2/Lpe10. Mrs2 bildet das Haupttransportsystem für Mg2+ in Mitochondrien bei Hefe, Pflanzen und Säugetieren und ist außerdem für die mitochondriale Mg2+ Homöostase essentiell. Das menschliche Mrs2 Protein vermittelt multiple Wirkstoffresistenz bei Magenkarzinomzellen indem es die Expression von p27 und Cyclin D1 sowie die Cytochrom C Freisetzung reguliert. Gemeinsamkeiten dieser Proteine sind zwei nahe aneinander liegende Transmembran-Helices (TM1, TM2) im C-terminalen Bereich des Proteins und das hochkonservierte F/Y-G-M-N Motiv am C-terminalen Ende von TM1. Der N-terminale Teil des Proteins besteht aus einer großen, löslichen Domäne, die eine trichterförmige Struktur besitzt. Es wurde bereits experimentell gezeigt, dass dieser Bereich ein allosterisches Regulationsmodul bildet, das so verändert werden kann, dass ein offener oder geschlossener Zustand des Kanals erreicht wird. Ist die intrazelluläre Mg2+-Konzentration niedrig, werden Mg2+-Ionen, die zwischen zwei benachbarten Monomeren gebunden sind, freigesetzt und die N-terminale Domäne des Proteins führt als insgesamt starrer Körper eine Bewegung aus. Im Gegensatz dazu kommt es bei den „willow“ Helices, zu einer Umlagerung zueinander und in Bezug auf die langen Helices, die den Trichter bilden. Diese führt schlussendlich zu einer Drehung der Helices die den Trichter bilden. Diese Drehung setzt sich bis zu den intrazellulären hydrophoben Schleusenstellen fort und aktiviert möglicherweise auch die periplasmatische Schleuse durch eine Interaktion der cytoplasmatischen, sauren Aminosäurenreste mit den C-terminalen, basischen Aminosäurenreste. Die Bewegung von TM2 und der MPEL Schleife führt dann zur Öffnung der periplasmatischen Schleuse und erlaubt schlussendlich den Einstrom von Mg2+-Ionen. Mrs2 der Hefe Saccharomyces cerevisae wurde in der Gruppe unseres Kollaborationspartners Prof. Schweyen zum ersten Mal als Magnesiumkanal charakterisiert und wird mit biophysikalischen und biochemischen Methoden intensiv studiert. In dieser Arbeit wurden verschiedene biophysikalischen und strukturbasierte Methoden angewendet, um den Mechanismus des Ionentransports durch diesen Kanal und seine Regulation auf molekularer Ebene zu klären Eine Reihe von MRS2-Konstrukten, mit Fokus auf den N-terminalen, löslichen Teil des Proteins wurden hergestellt. Das Design der Konstrukte basierte auf Bioinformatik und Ergebnissen eines begrenzten proteolytischen Abbaus des Proteins mit dem Ziel, ein funktionelles Protein zu erhalten, das aber gleichzeitig auch für die Strukturanalyse geeignet ist. Die inner-mitochondriale Domäne von Mrs2 von Saccharomyces cerevisiae wurde, in monomerischer Form, unter vier verschiedenen Bedingungen kristallisiert. Die Kristallstruktur wurde durch Einzelwellenlänge anomale Dispersion unter Ausnützung der anomale Signale des Schwefels mit einer Auflösung von 1,83 Å bestimmt. Mit den am European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) akquirierten hoch-auflösenden Daten wurde die Struktur weiter bis zu einer Auflösung von 1,28 Å verfeinert. Die N-terminale Domäne von Mrs2 besteht aus einem sechs-strängigen ß-Faltblatt, dass zwischen zwei Sets von α-Helices liegt. Die Faltung war, wie erwartet, vergleichbar mit der N-terminalen Faltung des prokaryotischen CorA Proteins. Analytische Gelfiltration und dynamische Lichtstreuungs-Analyse haben gezeigt, dass die N-terminale Domäne von Mrs2 unter niedriger Ionenstärke Pentamere bildet. Versuche mit einer Verlängerung des C-Terminus des Proteins haben aber gezeigt, dass ein Teil der Transmembran-Helix für die Oligomerisierung der löslichen Domäne notwendig ist. Diese Beobachtung wird auch durch die von uns, auf Basis der pentamerischen CorA Kristallstruktur durchgeführte Analyse des Inter-Domänen Interface des generierten Mrs2 Modells unterstützt. Basierend auf Strukturvergleichen von Mrs2 mit seinen bekannten, funktionellen Homologen (dem bakterielle Magnesiumtransporter CorA und dem Zinktransporter ZntB) haben wir mit Asp 97 von Helix α3 das vermutliche aktive Zentrum des Proteins identifiziert. Diese Aminosäure befindet sich in großer räumlicher Nähe zum benachbarten Monomer in der funktionellen, rekonstruierten, pentamerischen Form. Ein Sequenzabgleich mit anderen eukaryotischen Magnesiumtransportern zeigt, dass im funktionellen Pentamer, die Carboxylgruppen der Aminosäuren Glu 70, vermutlich zusammen mit Asp 97 im angrenzenden Protomer das Metallion koordinieren. Beide Aminosäuren sind in der gesamten eukaryotischen Transporterfamilie hochkonserviert. In der Kristallstruktur der monomeren N-terminalen Domäne konnte kein gebundenes Metallion gefunden werden. Dennoch hat die Analyse des, auf der Basis der bereits bekannten Struktur von CorA, erzeugten pentameren Mrs2 Modells, in Kombination mit strukturbasiertem Sequenzabgleich, es uns erlaubt, die Aminosäurenreste, zu identifizieren die vermutlich die stärksten Verengungen der Pore und damit die Schleusen des Kanals bilden.Mg2+ is one of the most abundant divalent cations in cells and organelles. Magnesium is unique in its chemical properties compared to the other cations. It plays an important role in stabilizing macromolecules and in binding to nucleotides. Furthermore, it acts as a cofactor of a number of different enzymes. Mg2+ also influences cell volume and signalling processes by modulating the activities of ion channels and transporters. The magnesium transporters discovered to date have unique characteristics, which correlate with the typical physicochemical properties of Mg2+ cations. The CorA/Mrs2 family of Mg2+ transporters belongs to a class of transporters known as 2-TM-GxN with no homology to other ion transporters. This class of ion transporters is wide spread in all domains of life and belongs to the metal ion transporter superfamily. The best studied members of this family are the CorA protein of prokaryotes, and the eukaryotic Alr1/2 and Mrs2/Lpe10 proteins. Mrs2 transporters form the major mitochondrial Mg2+ uptake system in yeast, plants and mammals and are essential for mitochondrial Mg2+ homeostasis. Human Mrs2 is involved in promoting multidrug resistance in gastric cancer cells by regulating p27, expression of cyclin D1 and release of cytochrome C. Common features of all of these proteins are the presence of two adjacent transmembrane helices (TM1, TM2) near their C-terminus and the highly conserved GMN sequence motif at the very end of TM1. The N-terminus is characterized by a large soluble domain which forms a funnel like structure and is shown to constitute an allosteric regulatory module that can be designed to promote an open or closed state. In the absence of sufficient intracellular Mg2+ levels, Mg2+ ions bound between monomers are released, the N-terminal domains move as a rigid body, whereas the willow helices undergo a rearrangement with respect to one another and relative to the stalk helices (pore forming helices). This causes a torque along the stalk helix. The torque propagates onto the intracellular hydrophobic gates and possibly activates the periplasmic gate by interaction of the cytoplasmic, acidic residues and the C-terminal, basic residues. This causes an infringe on periplasmic gating residues through movement of TM2 and the MPEL motif loop and thus allow Mg2+ ions to flow through. Mrs2 from Saccharomyces cerevisae is being extensively studied biophysically and biochemically by our collaborative group of Prof Rudolf J. Schweyen (late) who discovered the MRS2 gene in the late eighties. In this work, a number of efforts based on biophysical methods and structural studies have been carried out in order to elucidate the mechanism of magnesium transport at the molecular level across the membrane and to enhance insights into the regulation of the transport. In this thesis, several constructs of Mrs2 were prepared, focusing on the soluble N-terminal inner mitochondrial domain of Mrs2. They were designed based on bioinformatics, limited proteolysis in order to determine the construct which behaves as a functional protein and at the same time being suitable for structural studies. The inner mitochondrial domain of Mrs2 from Saccharomyces cerevisae was crystallized in four different conditions in the monomeric form and its crystal structure solved by a single-wavelength anomalous dispersion exploiting sulphur anomalous signal at 1.83 Å. This structure was then further refined against the high resolution data set at 1.28 Å, collected at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The N-terminal domain of Mrs2 is a six-stranded anti-parallel β-sheet sandwiched between two sets of α-helices and adopts the expected, a prokaryotic CorA N-terminal like fold. Analytical gel filtration and dynamic light scattering showed that the N-terminal domain of Mrs2 forms pentamers at low salt concentration. Extension of the C-terminus shows that a portion of the trans-membrane helix is necessary for the oligomerisation of the soluble domain, this is also supported by our analysis of the inter-domain interface of the Mrs2 model generated on the CorA pentameric crystal structure. Based on the structural comparison with known functional homologues (CorA, the bacterial magnesium transporter, ZntB, the bacterial zinc transporter) of Mrs2, we have identified the presumed active site which is formed by an Asp 97 of α3, located in close proximity to the neighbouring monomer in a functional reconstructed pentameric form. A sequence alignment of eukaryotic magnesium transporters reveals that the carboxylate residues of Glu 270 possibly coordinate the metal ion together with Asp97 of the adjacent protomer in the functional pentamer, and that both residues are highly conserved in the whole family of eukaryotic Mrs2 proteins. In the crystal structure of the monomeric N-terminal domain no bound metal was found at the putative metal binding site. The analysis of the pentameric Mrs2 model constructed on the known structure of CorA together with structure based amino acid sequence alignment, allowed us to identify the putative gate forming residues forming the narrowest constriction along the pore

Globalization and Economic Growth: Evidence from Pakistan

The globalization process has positives as well as negative impacts on any society, which differ from country to country. The negative effects can be countered by adopting the policies that contribute in economic development.  This study attempts to review the long-run relationship of economic growth and globalization in Pakistan from the years 1980-2009  by employing the time series data, co-integration and error correction technique are use to determine the long run effect of globalization on economic growth. The results indicate that globalization can be a useful tool for economic growth for a developing country like Pakistan

Impact of Overall injustice on Employee Performance: Moderating Effect of Supportive Leadership Style

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of overall injustice on the performance of employees working in the Private sectors and to investigate how supportive leadership style in supervisors can increase employee performance when they are under high stress due to injustice perceptions. Data was collected through questionnaires that were designed and distributed to the employees working in private sectors. Sample size of 250 was equally distributed in the two sectors. This measured the perceived level of injustice related stress and its possible effect on employee performance. Supportive leadership style has a significant effect on performance of employee and increases the performance but injustice may or may not affect employee performance. Injustice is sometimes not given much importance due to low magnitude or external causes of injustice, so it is not always negatively related to employee performance. The research expands our knowledge of supportive leadership and tended to focus that how supportive leadership style in supervisors can increase employee performance working in private sectors. Public sector organizations should also be studied and sample size should be increased to cover large number of organizations. By expanding the range of organizations in the study would add credibility to the findings. Supportive leadership style plays an important role in the overall performance of an employee. Organizations need to improve leadership skills in supervisors to achieve positive outcomes and increased productivity

Impact of Overall injustice on Employee Performance: Moderating Effect of Supportive Leadership Style

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of overall injustice on the performance of employees working in the Private sectors and to investigate how supportive leadership style in supervisors can increase employee performance when they are under high stress due to injustice perceptions. Data was collected through questionnaires that were designed and distributed to the employees working in private sectors. Sample size of 250 was equally distributed in the two sectors. This measured the perceived level of injustice related stress and its possible effect on employee performance. Supportive leadership style has a significant effect on performance of employee and increases the performance but injustice may or may not affect employee performance. Injustice is sometimes not given much importance due to low magnitude or external causes of injustice, so it is not always negatively related to employee performance. The research expands our knowledge of supportive leadership and tended to focus that how supportive leadership style in supervisors can increase employee performance working in private sectors. Public sector organizations should also be studied and sample size should be increased to cover large number of organizations. By expanding the range of organizations in the study would add credibility to the findings. Supportive leadership style plays an important role in the overall performance of an employee. Organizations need to improve leadership skills in supervisors to achieve positive outcomes and increased productivity