Technical Efficiency of Domestic Commercial Banks: A Case Study of Pakistan

The study applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to inspect the technical efficiency of Domestic commercial banks in Pakistan for a period of 2006-2008. Two basic models (CCR and BCC) of DEA were used in their input orientation.  The results of 16 banks under CCR model showed that 3 banks were efficient in year 2006 and 2008 while 2 banks were efficient in year 2007. Two banks (HMP and MCB) were efficient throughout the study period. Under BCC model, 6 banks achieved 100% efficiency level in 2006, 7 banks in 2007 and 8 banks in 2008 showing improvement in managerial efficiency. Two banks namely HMP and MCB were found efficient under Both CCR and BCC models and were also 100% scale efficient. The results also revealed that technical inefficiency in the banks under study was mainly caused by not operating at optimum scale. Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis, Technical Efficiency, Commercial Banks, CCR, BCC, Managerial Efficiency, Scale efficienc

Societal Perception regarding Situational Crime Prevention

In this modern era, the situational crime prevention is one of the most emphasised and key concern of whole world. Devil exists almost everywhere in a society, to do wrongs or committing crimes. Therefore, a society must have some strict policies and techniques to contain these evils. The current research highlights societal perception regarding situational crime prevention. The main objectives of the study was to find out the effects of two most commonly used tools (i.e. CCTV and Street lights) on the situational crime prevention. To cater these objectives, quantitative research was conducted through survey questionnaire from Faculty of Social Sciences, Crime reporter and Criminal lawyers. In current research, data was collected form 134 respondents from participants of these three different backgrounds. On the basis of collected data, the study finds that both tools i.e. CCTV and Street lights play a key role in situational crime prevention. The study concluded that government organizations should install the CCTVs and Street lights in order to prevent the situational crime rate

Potential application of Conyza canadensis (L) Cronquist in the management of diabetes: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

Purpose: To investigate the antihyperglycemic activity of Conyza canadensis via α-glucosidase inhibition in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.Methods: In vitro antidiabetic activity was investigated using α-glucosidase inhibition assay with acarbose (62.5, 125, 500 and 1000 μg/ml) as the standard drug. Conyza canadensis crude extract (Cc.Cr) in doses of 10, 30, 100 and 300 mg/kg were administered daily as a single dose to alloxaninduced (200 mg/kg) diabetic mice (Balb/c), and its effect on fasting blood glucose levels and body weight were evaluated for 15 consecutive days; oral glucose tolerance test was conducted. Metformin (500 mg/kg) was used as a standard antidiabetic drug for comparison. Acute toxicity of Cc.Cr was also evaluated at doses of 3 and 5 g/kg.Results: Conyza canadensis crude extract (Cc.Cr) exhibited strong enzyme inhibition at concentrations (μg/ml) of 1000 (74.78 ± 0.92), 500 (65.11 ± 0.07), 250 (57.55 ± 0.41), 125 (51.55 ± 0.67) and 62.5 ( 44.00 ± 0.57), with a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 107 μg/ml. Cc.Cr at all test doses (10 - 300 mg / kg) reduced fasting blood glucose levels in alloxan (200 mg/kg) - induced diabetic mice on days 5, 10 and 15 compared to the diabetic control group (p < 0. 001). These effects were similar to those caused by the standard antidiabetic drug, metformin. Cc.Cr at all test doses also increased body weight of treated animals. The extract (300 mg/kg) significantly improved tolerance of oral glucose overload in mice, like metformin. The extract did not cause any mortality up to the maximum dose of 5 g/kg.Conclusion: The results reveal that Conyza canadensis possesses potent secondary metabolites which can cause inhibition of α-glucosidase. Moreover, the plant extract has the ability to reduce blood glucose level in diabetic animals and significantly improves oral glucose overload tolerance.Keywords: Conyza canadensis, α-Glucosidase, Blood glucose, Alloxan, Diabetes, Glucose toleranc

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the plant Heliotropium strigosum

Heliotropium strigosum is an important medicinal plant and belongs to the Boraginaceae family. Traditionally, this plant is used as laxative and diuretic. The juice of the plant is used to treat gum boils, sore eyes and also as a cure for stings of nettles, insects and snake bites. The current study was carried out to evaluate the  medicinal properties of this plant. The plant was collected from Malakand, Pakistan. It was dried in shade and  crushed into powder. The shade dried plant powder was macerated for 15 days. A crude extract and ethyl  acetate, n-hexane, chloroform and aqueous fractions were obtained. The crude extract and fractions were  screened for antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. The plant showed excellent antimicrobial  activity. Chloroform and n-hexane fractions inhibited the growth of all four fungal strains that were used in the  antifungal assays. Crude extract showed antifungal activity against all fungal strains except Aspergillus flavus. The aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions had no antifungal activity. The plant exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis, moderate activity against  methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Bacillus subtillus but was inactive against   Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. The plant showed excellent diphenyl picryl hydrazine (DPPH)  scavenging activity. Antioxidant activity was shown by ethyl acetate, n-hexane and aqueous fractions. Crude extract and chloroform fractions were lacking in DPPH scavenging activity.Key words: Heliotropium strigosum, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant

Growth of Islamic Banking in Pakistan: A Comparative Study

The study focused on the growth of Islamic banking in Pakistan in terms of its Deposits, Investments, Assets and Owners Equity for the period from 2004 to 2009. The horizontal analysis technique was used to determine the growth rates of Islamic and conventional banks while t-test was used for statistical significance. The growth rate of Islamic banking was higher than its traditional counterpart in Deposits, Investments, Assets and Owners Equity. The growth rates of deposits and Assets of Islamic bank were statistically significant, whereas growth rates in investments and Owners equity were found statistically insignificant. Keywords: Islamic Banking; Growth Rates; Deposits, Investments; Assets; Owners Equit

Relationship between Performance Appraisal Politics, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention.

Most of the studies define organizational commitment as commitment specifically targeted towards the organization as an administrative entity. Organizational commitment has been found both as an antecedent and consequence of number of work related variables. Numerous research articles show that organizational commitment is the consequence of personal variables, work environment variable and as predictor of absenteeism, performance and turnover. Going through the literature on organizational commitment consequences, scholar strongly believes that the strongest and most predictable behavioral outcome of the employee commitment is reduced turnover. The focus of this research was to study and examine the effects of performance appraisal politics . organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The population for this research was defined as pharmaceutical marketing firms (private sector) of Pakistan,  including  national  and  multinational  firms.  Data  was  collected  from 10 pharmaceutical firms (both national and multinational). A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed and out of those, 270 complete questionnaires were gathered, hence depicting a response rate of 90 %. This  study  examined  the  effects  of  performance  appraisal  politics  on  organizational commitment,  and turnover intention. Initially the perceptions of appraisal politics was viewed as single general variable, but after factor analysis of the items used to assess the variables, resulted in two independent factors.i.e one linked to political motives that benefit employees and other is linked to personal bias and punishment motive.   KEY WORDS; Organizational commitment, Turnover intentions, Performance appraisal politic

Perception of job Performance appraisals toward Turnover intention and Job Satisfaction.

Performance appraisal has been widely recognized as an integral part of the Human Resource  Management  process.  This recognition has been accompanied by numerous publications, both academic and practitioner oriented, that concentrate solely on this issue Performance Appraisal has been widely recognized as an integral part of the Human Resource Management process. This recognition has been accompanied by numerous publications, both Academic and practioner-oriented, that concentrates solely on this issue (Eberhardt & Pooyan, 1988; Bernardin & Beatty, 1984; Carroll & Schneier, 1982; DeVries, Morrison, Shullman & Gerlach, 1981; Henderson, 1981; Latham & Wexley, 1981). Also, Performance Appraisal is often considered one of the most important Human Resource practices (Kuvaas, 2006; Boswell & Boudreau (2000); Judge & Ferris, 1993) and one of the more heavily researched topics in work psychology (Kuvaas, 2006; Fletcher, 2002). However, the traditional research agenda has done little to improve the usefulness of Performance Appraisal as a managerial tool. KEY WORDS; Performance appraisal, Human Resource Management process

current state of poison control centers in Pakistan and the need for capacity building.

Background: Chemical exposure is a major health problem globally. Poison control centers (PCCs) play a leading role both in developed and developing countries in the prevention and control of poisonous chemical exposures. In this study, we aimed to assess the current state of PCCs in Pakistan and highlight capacity building needs in these centers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the two registered PCCs was done during August – December 2011. Necessary services of the PCCs were evaluated and the data were recorded on a predesigned checklist. Results: Both PCCs are affiliated to a tertiary care hospital. Clinical services to poisoned patients were available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. Information on common local products was available to poison center staff. Both centers were involved in undergraduate and post graduate teaching. Telephone poison information service was not available in either of centers. There was a limited capacity for qualitative and analytical toxicology. Common antidotes were available. There were limited surveillance activities to capture toxic risks existing in the community and also a deficiency was observed in chemical disaster planning. Conclusion: PCCs in Pakistan need capacity building for specialized training in toxicology, toxicovigilance, chemical disaster planning, analytical laboratory tests and telephone service for consultation in poisoning cases

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Potential of Aerial Parts of Monotheca buxifolia

In this study, different aerial parts of Monotheca Buxifolia were screened for their antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-oxidant activity. Extract of the fruit was most active against P. mirabilis, MSSA and M. morganii strains. Moreover, the methanolic fruit extract demonstrated good antibacterial properties against VRSA, S. aureus and Acinetobacter. Despite having good antibacterial properties, Monotheca buxifolia showed low antifungal activity. The cytotoxic activity was the highest in the pet-ether fruit extract, causing 60% of lethality against Artemia salina larvae with LD50 at 3.307. The highest scavenging activity was shown by the methanolic leaf extract in a concentration-dependent pattern. The findings of this study suggest that Monotheca Buxifolia has good antibacterial, antioxidant potential but low antifungal properties