Use of ICT and Students' Personal and Social Development at Higher Education Level

The substantive purpose of this study was to identify the effect of using ICT on students' personality development. Population of the study consisted of students of two universitiesof Lahore. Sample of the study comprised randomly selected 242 students. A self-developed and validated instrument was used for data collection. Instrument comprised two sections one contained demographic variables and other statements related to personality development of students.  A pilot study was conducted to validate the instrument. The reliability index (cronbach alpha) was .83 which is statistically significant. Data were analyzed through SPSS. t- test was run to identify mean difference in personality development of male and female students. ANOVA was applied to see mean difference in the responses of students, regarding their personality development in different programs. Results showed that use of ICT has a profound effect on Female students' personality. Results of ANOVA revealed that students of BBA department show more effect of ICT on their personality. Recommendations were made on the basis of findings

Adherence of surgeons to the World Health Organization recommendations of hand scrubbing in a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar

Background: In an effort to combat the global rise of wound infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended hand scrubbing guidelines for surgeons. Our study aimed to determine the adherence of surgeons in Peshawar to these recommendations.Methods: The method and duration of scrubbing for the first surgical procedure of the day was anonymously observed for 182 surgical consultants and residents in the operating theatre of Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar from July to August 2019 followed by a questionnaire which assessed the knowledge of the participants regarding scrubbing protocols. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Students t test was used and p>0.05 was taken as statistically significant.Results: Out of 182 participants, 41 (22.5%) were consultants and 141 (77.5%) were residents. A total of 3 (1.6%) participants were observed to strictly adhere to the WHO standards of scrubbing. Average time taken by each surgeon was 0.95±0.6 seconds. Students t-test showed no significant difference between the mean time of consultants and residents (p>0.05). The results of the questionnaire revealed that 90.7% of the staff was aware of the WHO recommendations of scrubbing and 82.6% had noticed relevant display charts in the OT. Majority of participants (69.8%) reported that patient load and limited time were the main cause of lack of compliance.Conclusions: A serious lack of compliance to protocol was noted in the operating theatre of Khyber Teaching hospital. There is a dire need to improve scrubbing practices.

Effect of Teachers’ Favouritism on Academic Sabotage: An Empirical Evidence of Elementary Education Students in Pakistan

Favoritism is the action of giving preference to one group or individual over others regardless of having same privileges. It is a common practice at most of the institutes of education. This study is an effort to impart insight by measuring the effect of teachers’ favouritism on academic sabotage of future teacher of Elementary Education in Pakistan. This causal comparative study was based on a survey method. A sample of 450 students of session 2015-2017 was selected from the teacher education department of Elementary Education of Pakistan by using simple random sampling technique. Scale developed by Aydogan (2008) used to measure the Favouritism. This scale was consisted of 28 items under four factors: nature of preference, violation of rules, students’ assessment, and terms of communication. Education sabotage was measured through the scale of nine (9) items developed by Harris and Ogbonna in 2006. The items of both scales were revised to fit in the educational context of Pakistan. Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation, & Regression Analysis) were applied to analyze the data. Results depicted that according to future teachers’ perceptions teachers’ favouritism was at high level. In addition, there was insignificant difference in the perceptions of future teachers regarding teachers’ favouritism with respect to gender. However, a significant difference was found in the perceptions of students regarding teachers’ favouritism on the basis of their marital status. Moreover, there was a positive moderate relationship was determined between favouritism and academic sabotage. It is concluded that the teachers’ favouritism had significant effect on academic sabotage. It is suggested that policy makers may develop a transparent system for avoidance of favoritism in order to make educational institutes more effective and productive. Keywords: Favouritism, Academic Sabotage, Elementary Education

Association Analysis in Linseed (Linum Usitatissimum L.)

Fifteen advanced lines of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) were evaluated to identify the relationship of grain yield and its related attributes during 2010-11 at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan. Grain yield (kg/ha) had significant and positive association with plant height, number of primary branches plant-1, number of capsule plant-1, number of grains capsule-1 and 1000 grain weight both at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Therefore focusing on these traits would improve breeding efficiency of linseed in the future breeding programs. Path analysis demonstrated that plant height, number of primary branches plant-1, number of capsule plant-1, number of grains capsule-1 and 1000 grain weight had the positive direct effect in determining the grain yield (kg/ha) in linseed. According to these results, breeding for high grain yielding cultivars of linseed, number of capsule plant-1 should be kept in mind firstly followed by 1000 grain weight, number of grains capsule-1, number of primary branches plant-1and plant height. Key Words: genotypic correlation, phenotypic correlation, path analysis, Linsee

Effect of different dielectrics on material removal rate, electrode wear rate and microstructures in EDM

Diesinker electric discharge machining is widely used non-conventional technique for making high precision and complex shaped parts. Dielectrics and electrical parameters were considered as the main factors for EDM performance. In this paper, the effects of pulse-on-time (μs) and current (ampere) were evaluated for performance measures using kerosene and water as dielectrics. A comparison was performed for both dielectrics in terms of material removal rate (mm3/min), electrode wear rate (mm3/min), and microstructures. Aluminum 6061 T6 alloy was used as material for this research due to its extensive use in aerospace and automotive industries. Experiments were designed using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array (OA). Time series graphs were plotted to compare material removal rate and electrode wear rate. Microstructures were taken by scanning electron microscope to analyze the surface produced in terms of cracks, globules and micro-holes. Higher material removal rate and lower electrode wear were achieved with kerosene dielectric. The novelty of this research work, apart from its practical application, is that Aluminum 6061 T6 alloy is used as work material to compare the performance of dielectrics (kerosene and distilled water). Paper presented at: Complex Systems Engineering and Development Proceedings of the 27th CIRP Design Conference Cranfield University, UK 10th – 12th May 2017

The Impact of Military Expenditures on Economic Growth of Pakistan

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the long run relationship between military expenditure, number of persons in military and economic growth. To fulfill this, the study used ARDL approach for annual time series data from 1990 to 2015. The results show that Pakistan military expenditures are insignificant (military burden for the country is statically insignificant) and number of persons in military are positively and significantly related with GDP growth in long run. The error correction term is negative and significant which shows that short run relationship exists among economic growth, military expenditures and number of army persons. In short run military expenditure and number of persons in military are positively and significantly related with GDP growth but in long run only number of military persons affects economic growth positively and significantly

Characters Association Analysis in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Twenty genotypes of safflower was evaluated to study the genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients and path effects of yield related traits on grain yield during rabi cropping season 2011-12 at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan. Grain yield (kg/ha) correlated significantly and positively with plant height, boll diameter, number of grains per boll, 1000 grain weight and days to maturity. Thus these characters are the key yield contributing attributes to be given selection pressure for improving yield. The result of path analysis showed highest and positive direct effect of number of grains per boll followed by 1000 grain weight and plant height on grain yield (kg/ha). Key words: Genotypic correlations, phenotypic correlation, path analysis, safflowe

Microwave absorption properties of CoGd substituted ZnFe2O4 ferrites synthesized by co-precipitation technique

A series of co-precipitated Zn1−xCoxGdyFe2−yO4 spinel ferrites (x =0.0–0.5, y=0.00–0.10) sintered at 1000 °C were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM) and microwave cavity perturbation (MCP). XRD patterns and FTIR spectra reveal formation of the spinel phase along with few traces of GdFeO3 second phase. The lattice constant decreases with an increasing amount of CoGd ions due to the segregation of Gd3+on the grain boundaries and due to replacement of lager Zn2+ ions with smaller Co2+ ions. SEM shows grain size to decrease with the increase of CoGd contents due to grain growth inhibition by the second phase. VSM results show remanence and saturation magnetization to exhibit an increasing trend due to Co substitution on octahedral sites and presence of a second phase. The coercivity increases with the increase of CoGd contents due to anisotropic nature of Co. MCP shows the complex magnetic permeability to increase with CoGd concentration while the complex permittivity decreases