Growth of Output and Productivity in Pakistan’s Agriculture: Trends, Sources, and Policy Implications

The paper aims to review the growth performance of Pakistan’s agriculture from 1950 to 1995. The long-term growth rate of agriculture, although respectable, has exhibited considerable yearly fluctuations even between decades. The period of the fifties and early seventies lacked any growth. Accelerating and high growth rates marked the decade of the sixties but the performance has not been satisfactory since 1979-80 and average growth rates have barely exceeded the population growth rate, with widespread implications for growth of national economy, food security, and social welfare of the masses. Area, modern inputs, and technology have been the major determinants of growth but prices were equally important because of their incentive and disincentive effects. The agriculture price policies adopted during the 1980s are known to have had a negative effect on the development and use of technology in agriculture. In order to boost agricultural productivity, a change in price policy is needed to ensure incentive prices. This could be done by setting agricultural commodity prices at par with corresponding import and export parity prices. A higher investment in research and development can hardly be overemphasised. There is an urgent need to remove the bottlenecks in agricultural input markets since these markets represent the typical monopoly position. To break up the monopoly of registered dealers and to promote competition, free sales in the open market by interested parties and individuals may be allowed.

A Transparency Index Framework for Machine Learning powered AI in Education

The increase in the use of AI systems in our daily lives, brings calls for more ethical AI development from different sectors including, finance, the judiciary and to an increasing extent education. A number of AI ethics checklists and frameworks have been proposed focusing on different dimensions of ethical AI, such as fairness, explainability and safety. However, the abstract nature of these existing ethical AI guidelines often makes them difficult to operationalise in real-world contexts. The inadequacy of the existing situation with respect to ethical guidance is further complicated by the paucity of work to develop transparent machine learning powered AI systems for real-world. This is particularly true for AI applied in education and training. In this thesis, a Transparency Index Framework is presented as a tool to forefront the importance of transparency and aid the contextualisation of ethical guidance for the education and training sector. The transparency index framework presented here has been developed in three iterative phases. In phase one, an extensive literature review of the real-world AI development pipelines was conducted. In phase two, an AI-powered tool for use in an educational and training setting was developed. The initial version of the Transparency Index Framework was prepared after phase two. And in phase three, a revised version of the Transparency Index Framework was co- designed that integrates learning from phases one and two. The co-design process engaged a range of different AI in education stakeholders, including educators, ed-tech experts and AI practitioners. The Transparency Index Framework presented in this thesis maps the requirements of transparency for different categories of AI in education stakeholders, and shows how transparency considerations can be ingrained throughout the AI development process, from initial data collection to deployment in the world, including continuing iterative improvements. Transparency is shown to enable the implementation of other ethical AI dimensions, such as interpretability, accountability and safety. The 3 optimisation of transparency from the perspective of end-users and ed-tech companies who are developing AI systems is discussed and the importance of conceptualising transparency in developing AI powered ed-tech products is highlighted. In particular, the potential for transparency to bridge the gap between the machine learning and learning science communities is noted. For example, through the use of datasheets, model cards and factsheets adapted and contextualised for education through a range of stakeholder perspectives, including educators, ed-tech experts and AI practitioners

Optimization of material delivery time analysis by using Visual Basic for applications in Excel

[EN] In small and medium enterprises, huge numbers of reports are prepared regarding the procurement, planning, production etc on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. If the interval between preparation of same report is longer then there is the greater probability that employee can forget the procedure of preparing the report; thus it is beneficial to automate these types of reports especially when there is no cost required for automation. In the same way, material delivery analysis is a kind of report which is prepared on monthly basis and as per the employees` feedback they usually forget some of the steps of report formation; therefore, there was the chance of mistake at the end of employee. Therefore, this report was automated for to minimize the chance of error and report preparation time. All the manual tasks were enlisted and were programmed for automation by the help of VBA macros. For the execution of macros, userform was designed in visual basic editor (in MS excel) consisted on four command buttons and macros were called on command buttons` click. On pressing ‘ctrl + q’ userform used to appear on the screen. Furthermore, the comparison of old and automated methods was conducted to reflect the best suitable method. The report used to take 1.55 minutes to be made manually. Comparison of time of both methods of report formation indicated that suggested method took 70.86% less time as compared to the old method of preparing material delivery time analysis report.Authors of present research paper (representing the automation of one the routine reports) want to thank the concerned employee of ABC Company at its purchase department for his generous cooperation in the automation period of the report.Khan, MA.; Kalwar, MA.; Chaudhry, AK. (2021). Optimization of material delivery time analysis by using Visual Basic for applications in Excel. Journal of Applied Research in Technology & Engineering. 2(2):89-100. https://doi.org/10.4995/jarte.2021.14786OJS8910022Abidin, I.Z., Juahir, H., Azid, A., Mustafa, A.D., & Azaman, F. (2015). Application of Excel-VBA for computation of water quality index and air pollutant index. Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, 19(5), 1056-1064.Abraham, R., Burnett, M., & Erwig, M. (2009). Spreadsheet Programming. In Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering, B.W. Wah (Ed.). https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470050118.ecse415Ahmadi, A., Robinson, P.H., Elizondo, F., & Chilibroste, P. (2018). Implementation of CTR dairy model using the visual basic for application language of Microsoft excel. International Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Information Systems, 9(3), 74-86. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJAEIS.2018070105Bartoszewicz, G., & Wdowicz, M. (2019). Automation of the Process of Reporting the Compliance of the Production Plan with Its Execution Based on Integration of SAP ERP System In Connection With Excel Spreadsheet and VBA Application. Digitalization of Supply Chains. https://doi.org/10.17270/b.m.978-83-66017-86-3Belchior Junior, A., Bruel, R.N., Andrade, D.A., Sabundjian, G., Macedo, L.A., Angelo, G., … Conti, T.N. (2011). Development of a Vba Macro-Based Spreadsheet Application for Relap5 Data Post-Processing. In International Nuclear Atlantic Conference (pp. 978-85).Bernard, M., Dwi Minarti, E., & Hutajulu, M. (2018). Constructing Student's Mathematical Understanding Skills and Self Confidence: Math Game with Visual Basic Application for Microsoft Excel in Learning Phytagoras at Junior High School. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(3.2), 732-736. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i3.2.18738Blattner, D.E., & Valrico, F. (2007). Automatic Report Generation. United States.Blayney, P.J., & Sun, Z. (2019). Using Excel and Excel VBA for Preliminary Analysis in Big Data Research. In Managerial Perspectives on Intelligent Big Data Analytics. IGI Global (pp. 110-136). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7277-0.ch007Chatvichiencha, S. (2015). Enhancing Computational Thinking by Excel-VBA Based Problem Solving. In The 2nd International Conference on Innovation in Education (pp. 284-290).Chaudhry, A.K., Kalwar, M.A., Khan, M.A., & Shaikh, S.A. (2021). Improving the Efficiency of Small Management Information System by Using VBA. International Journal of Science and Engineering Investigations, 10(111), 7-13.Cirujano, J., & Zhu, Z. (2013). Automatic reporting for manpower resources. Proceedings, Annual Conference - Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, 1(January), 710-719.Ding, H.L., Qi, K.Y., Zhao, X.L., & Xu, G.F. (2017). Tibetan Typographical Specifications and Technical Realization Based on Word VBA. 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Retrieved from http://www.ieomsociety.org/ieom2020/papers/175.pdf [Accessed December 2020].Kalwar, M.A., Khaskheli, S.A., Khan, M.A., Siddiqui, A.A., & Gopang, M.A. (2018). Comfortable Waiting Time of Patients at the OPD with Varying Demographics. Industrial Engineering Letters, 8(2), 20-27. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234685697.pdf [Accessed December 2020].Kalwar, M.A., Mari, S.I., Memon, M.S., Tanwari, A., & Siddiqui, A.A. (2020). Simulation Based Approach for Improving Outpatient Clinic Operations. Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 39(1), 153-170. https://doi.org/10.22581/muet1982.2001.15Kalwar, M.A., Marri, H.B., & Khan, M.A. (2021). Performance Improvement of Sale Order Detail Preparation by Using Visual Basic for Applications: A Case Study of Footwear Industry. International Journal of Business Education and Management Studies, 3(1), 1-22.Kalwar, M.A., Shaikh, shakeel A., & Khan, M.A. (2020). Optimization of Target Calculation Method for Leather Skiving and Stamping: Case of Leather Footwear Industry. International Journal of Education and Management Studies, 7(1), 15-30.Kalwar, M.A., Shaikh, shakeel A., & Khan, M.A. (2021). Statistical Analysis of Driving Impatience Among Vehicle Drivers: A Case Study. International Journal of Education and Management Studies, 2(1), 1-32.Khaskheli, S.A., Kalwar, M.A., Siddiqui, A.A., Nagar, M.A. K., & Wadho, T.H. (2018). Impatience Among Drivers With Varying Demographics. In Professional Trends in Industrial and Systems Engineering (pp. 465-469). UET, Peshawar.Khaskheli, S.A., Marri, H.B., Nebhwani, M., Khan, M.A., & Ahmed, M. (2020). Compartive Study of Queuing Systems of Medical Out Patient Departments of Two Public Hospitals. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (Vol. 1913, pp. 2702-2720). Dubai, UAE. 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A Transparency Index Framework for AI in Education

Numerous AI ethics checklists and frameworks have been proposed focusing on different dimensions of ethical AI such as fairness, explainability, and safety. Yet, no such work has been done on developing transparent AI systems for real-world educational scenarios. This paper presents a Transparency Index framework that has been iteratively co-designed with different stakeholders of AI in education, including educators, ed-tech experts, and AI practitioners. We map the requirements of transparency for different categories of stakeholders of AI in education and demonstrate that transparency considerations are embedded in the entire AI development process from the data collection stage until the AI system is deployed in the real world and iteratively improved. We also demonstrate how transparency enables the implementation of other ethical AI dimensions in Education like interpretability, accountability, and safety. In conclusion, we discuss the directions for future research in this newly emerging field. The main contribution of this study is that it highlights the importance of transparency in developing AI-powered educational technologies and proposes an index framework for its conceptualization for AI in education

Epidemiological Analysis of Symmetry in Transmission of the Ebola Virus with Power Law Kernel

This study presents a mathematical model of non-integer order through the fractal fractional Caputo operator to determine the development of Ebola virus infections. To construct the model and conduct analysis, all Ebola virus cases are taken as incidence data. A symmetric approach is utilized for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the fractional order model. Additionally, stability is evaluated, along with the local and global effects of the virus that causes Ebola. Using the fractional order model of Ebola virus infections, the existence and uniqueness of solutions, as well the posedness and biological viability and disease free equilibrium points are confirmed. Many applications of fractional operators in modern mathematics exist, including the intricate and important study of symmetrical systems. Symmetry analysis is a powerful tool that enables the creation of numerical solutions for a given fractional differential equation very methodically. For this, we compare the results with the Caputo derivative operator to understand the dynamic behavior of the disease. The simulation demonstrates how all classes have convergent characteristics and maintain their places over time, reflecting the true behavior of Ebola virus infection. Power law kernel with the two step polynomial Newton method were used. This model seems to be quite strong and capable of reproducing the issue’s anticipated theoretical conditions.Basque Government:Grant IT1555-22 Basque Government: Grant KK-2022/00090 MCIN/AEI 269.10.13039/501100011033/FEDER,UE: Grant PID2021-1235430B-C21 MCIN/AEI 269.10.13039/501100011033/FEDER,UE: Grant PID2021-1235430B-C22

Dependent Elements of Derivations on Semiprime Rings

We characterize dependent elements of a commuting derivation d on a semiprime ring R and investigate a decomposition of R using dependent elements of d. We show that there exist ideals U and V of R such that U⊕V is an essential ideal of R, U∩V={0}, d=0 on U, d(V)⊆V, and d acts freely on V

Annotation and curation of hypothetical proteins: prioritizing targets for experimental study

Completely sequenced organisms have some uncharacterized proteins that are gene-encoded products. These proteins can be predicted through in-silico approaches and their biological activities are not proved by experimental evidence and known as hypothetical proteins (HPs). These proteins are important due to their excessive involvement in different cellular and signaling pathways. Structural and functional characterization of HPs reveal crucial roles in microorganisms, especially in pathogens related to human diseases. Here, we discussed all possibilities of in-silico analysis tools and other recently reported methods for hypothetical protein characterization and biomedical applications, including drug and vaccine development. Different methodologies, including meta-proteomics have been used to study protein expression by identification of HPs and comparative genomics have also come under observation due to the emergence of evolutionary study among different organisms. Structural characterization of proteins acts as a base for their functional prediction, novel drug target identification for disease treatment, vaccine production and sero-diagnosis. HPs have played major roles in different vital phenomenon for life including host adaptation, wound healing and chemotaxis. In the current era of drug and antibiotic resistance, HPs can be novel targets to treat related diseases. Identification and characterization of most HPs are under observation and will be the most promising genomic and bioinformatics techniques in structure-based drug designing and vaccine production in future

ROLE OF QUALITY EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)

At this critical time, the best thing that the government can do to stimulate progress is to provide the nation with the best minds to help the nation tackle future challenges. Now that the race towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is on, it is pertinent to set the key performance indicators for assessing progress in line with the overall vision of the development agenda. In this paper, the role of quality education for sustainable development goals (SDGs) is explored. Quality education is called SDG-4 because it is a 4th goal of the SDGs. The introduction and background of the quality education and sustainable development goals is defined in first section. In section 2, some relevant theories about the role of education in development are presented. Literature review of some selected studies is given in section 3 of the study. In section 4 of the study, the comparison is made among SDG-4, MDG-2 (Goal-2 of Millennium Development Goals) and EFA (Education for All) and reasons are given that how SDG-4 is differ from MDG-2 and EFA. In next section, it is defined that how we can achieve equitable and good quality of education and some priority targets will be set to achieve the goal. The challenges for higher education and the steps involved in translating global commitments are given in subsequent section. At the end, the conclusion of the study is given

Human-Computer User Interface Design for Semiliterate and Illiterate Users

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the lives of the people. The technology is embedded in daily life of literate or semiliterate/illiterate users. However, the user interface (UI) requirements for semiliterate/illiterate users are different from that of an educated person. The researchers of Human Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) face challenges to improve the usability of a UI for the semiliterate users. Therefore, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is conducted to provide a set of design factors and guidelines for UI development of semiliterate users. The study is based on extensive research gathered from literature to understand the user-centered design (UCD) approach, enhancing user experience (UX) for semiliterate users. This study analyses fifty two research articles that are published during 2010-2020. The findings shed light on the systematization of UI design guidelines for semiliterate/illiterate users. These guidelines can help in taking advantage of ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis shows that seventeen main design factors are indispensable for designing UI of semiliterate users. The most suggested design factors include localization and graphics, which should be incorporated in UI for the target population. Moreover, the lag in the design factors as personalization and consistency open a road for future research