An analysis of administrative reforms in Pakistan’s public sector

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyContext: Despite a long history of reforms, Pakistan‘s public sector (PS) is still considered cumbersome, corrupt, and inefficient by its citizens, government and international development community. Recent reforms were operationalised in 2001 under a new economic policy called the Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP) designed to facilitate the New Public Management (NPM) influenced transformation. The overarching objectives of these reforms were to strengthen the market and public sector simultaneously and so that they complemented each other. The PS reform actions taken under this strategy were mainly based on the World Bank‘s (WB) experience of developing countries which identified the state‘s weak institutional capacity as bottleneck to this transformation. Therefore, with the view to removing these impediments, actions to train the public servants, improve their salaries, and enhanced the use of information technology (IT) were included. However, many recent reports and indicators confirm the situation in Pakistan has remained unchanged. Various generic explanations of these compromised results have been provided; however, the concrete reasons in a Pakistani setting are still unknown. Research Questions: This study aims to investigate the reasons why Pakistan‘s PS organisations appear to be resistant to reform and why the repeated attempts at reform appear to have had so little impact. It addresses the following questions: What effects, if any, have NPM-inspired reform attempts had on the way that public sector organisations function? What have been the intended and unintended consequences of reform attempts? Research approach: This case study aims to bridge this gap through analysing the effects of administrative reforms in the federal tax agency where these actions have been revived as a part of the comprehensive reform programme. This study is qualitative and adopts a social constructionist approach. This case study is ethnographically oriented and works within pragmatist criteria of truth and validity; the case study organisation has been conceptualised as negotiated order (Strauss, 1978); and the initiatives of training, salaries and information technology are understood as managerial attempts to reshape organisational structures, processes, and the employment relationship with employees in line with the requirements of NPM. This research mainly depends on the interpretation and analysis of data gathered through 22 semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentary sources of information including public and classified reports from donors and government repositories as well as published scholarly articles. The data were analysed in two stages: 1. abstract analysis took place during data collection, arranging, cleaning, and extraction of themes and patterns; and 2. firm analysis happened through an iterative process of comparing these themes, patterns, and field notes to make the sense of data. Findings: The findings suggest that the desired results of efficiency, transparency, fairness, and controlling corruption could not be achieved due to the takeover of prevalent contextual corrupt practices of nepotism, favouritism and recommendation at the time of its implementation. Moreover, this content-focused approach has also ignored the context and processes that led to compromised results. I have supported these findings through the identification of these contextual problems at the organisational and national levels. Contribution: This research contributed to a greater understanding of the initiation and implementation processes of the NPM-inspired PSR in Pakistan through the identification of factors limiting its results at organisational and national levels. In turn, it helped to highlight the problems behind reformer‘s taken for granted assumptions of quick-fixing the institutions through rapid dosage of reform. The results will also be valuable to reformers as they will not only help reformers to understand the reasons affecting its intended results but also help them to include these in the list of safeguard

Paleoecology and sedimentology of the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian), marine strata at Åsen, Kristianstad Basin, Southern Sweden, Scania

The Campanian marine strata from Åsen, north east part of the Kristianstad Basin (southern Sweden) contain a most diverse vertebrate and invertebrate marine fossil assemblages. A diverse fossil fauna was collected from Campanian deposits from a ca. 4.15m thick section during June-August 2010-2012. The succession is divided into two zones, the latest early Campanian Belemnellocamax mammilatus Zone and early latest Campanian Belem-nellocamax balsvikensis Zone. The B. mammilatus Zone is further divided into distinct units; the Coquina bed, the Green sand bed and the Oyster bank. The B. balsvikensis Zone is divided into Balsvikensis Green and Balsvikensis Yellow. A total of 169 kg material was sorted and the invertebrate fauna collected includes brachiopods, bivalves, belemnites, bryozoans, barnacles, sea urchins and corals with fair amount of vertebrate bones and teeth, and even coprolites. The succession also contains charcoal fragments but most of them are encountered in the lowermost part representing the latest early Campanian marine strata. A quantitative fossil analysis was performed by weight per-centage of the fossils to assess the variation between the different beds of the studied locality. XRF analysis of the sediment samples were performed for elemental analysis of the different beds showing that silica (Si) and calcium (Ca) are the elements constituting the main part of the sediments. Further it is noted that Si and Ca show an inverse relationship through the whole succession. Si shows a decreasing trend all through the succession with highest val-ues in the samples from the terrestrial flood plain deposits and lowest values within the B. balsvikensis Zone. Ca on the other hand, shows the opposite trend with highest values in the B. balsvikensis Zone. XRF analyses of the bel-emnites were further made for temperature proxy based on variations in Sr/Ca ratio between different beds in the sequence. These revealed that the average Sr/Ca values and trend of the belemnites from different beds of the Cam-panian strata show increasing average values of Sr/Ca from the B. mammillatus Zone to the B. balsvikensis Zone. However, as analyses on aragonite were not perfomred furtehr interpretations are out of scope of this study. Char-coal fragments were studied in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and binocular microscope for identification, and in order to distinguish the source of the charcoal. This study revealed the presence of mainly conifer wood but with some angiosperm wood present. A stratigraphical log was compiled based on the fossil content and sedimen-tological results from the field study. The amount of pelagic fossil fauna and inoceramids identified suggests high sea levels, also the high faunal diversity and the XRF Sr/Ca of the belemnites suggests warm climates and high primary productivity during the latest early Campanian at Åsen. A sea level drop is inferred by the high amount of benthic communities and steinkern identified in the B. balsvikensis Zone, further, the size of the fossil fauna, the presence of the cold water carbonate producing fossil fauna suggest cooling sea temperatures during the early late Campanian at Åse

PENGOLAHAN AMMONIUM NITROGEN DARI LIMBAH CAIR INDUSTRI PUPUK UREA DAN BITTERN SEBAGAI PEMBENTUK PUPUK STRUVITE

Industri pupuk menghasilkan limbah cair yang mengandung kadar amonium (NH4+) yang tinggi sehingga akan sangat berbahaya bila limbah ini dibuang secara langsung ke perairan karena akan langsung merusak ekosistem perairan. Untuk mengurangi dampak negatif tersebut, perlu adanya recoveriy atau pengurangan kadar amonium dalam limbah. Struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) memiliki karakteristik yang slow release, artinya pupuk dapat melepas secara lambat senyawa yang diperlukan tanaman. Limbah garam (bittern) adalah pereaksi yang merupakan sumber Mg2+ pada produksi struvite. Untuk menurunkan biaya produksi sedapat mungkin digunakan limbah sebagai pereaksi untuk menghasilkan produk tersebut. Tujuan penelitian ini ialah untuk menurunkan konsentrasi limbah cair industri pupuk urea dengan pembuatan struvite. Pembentukan kristal struvite  dengan variabel tetap yaitu pH 9 dan variabel bebas yaitu perbandingan reaktan Mg:PO4. Hasil penelitian dari perbandingan molar Mg:NH4+:PO4 1:1:1 penurunan NH4+ maksimum adalah 132.5 mg/L. Penurunan konsentrasi  NH4+ meningkat pada molar reaktan Mg2+ yang lebih besar yaitu pada rasio molar Mg:PO4 1,2:1 mencapai penurunan konsentrasi optimum 75 mg/L. Produk struvite yang dihasilkan juga diperoleh pada molar reaktan pada Mg:PO4 1,2:1 yaitu 11.4 gr. Produk pupuk struvite dianalisa menggunakan XRD

Complex Fractional-Order LQIR for Inverted-Pendulum-Type Robotic Mechanisms: Design and Experimental Validation

This article presents a systematic approach to formulate and experimentally validate a novel Complex Fractional Order (CFO) Linear Quadratic Integral Regulator (LQIR) design to enhance the robustness of inverted-pendulum-type robotic mechanisms against bounded exogenous disturbances. The CFO controllers, an enhanced variant of the conventional fractional-order controllers, are realised by assigning pre-calibrated complex numbers to the order of the integral and differential operators in the control law. This arrangement significantly improves the structural flexibility of the control law, and hence, subsequently strengthens its robustness against the parametric uncertainties and nonlinear disturbances encountered by the aforementioned under-actuated system. The proposed control procedure uses the ubiquitous LQIR as the baseline controller that is augmented with CFO differential and integral operators. The fractional complex orders in LQIR are calibrated offline by minimising an objective function that aims at attenuating the position-regulation error while economising the control activity. The effectiveness of the CFO-LQIR is benchmarked against its integer and fractional-order counterparts. The ability of each controller to mitigate the disturbances in inverted-pendulum-type robotic systems is rigorously tested by conducting real-time experiments on Quanser single-link rotary pendulum system. The experimental outcomes validate the superior disturbance rejection capability of the CFO-LQIR by yielding rapid transits and strong damping against disturbances while preserving the control input economy and closed-loop stability of the system

Study of epidemiology and management of liver abscess in Jammu region

Background: Liver abscess is a common medical condition with different causes and variable morbidity and mortality in different parts of the world, this study has looked into epidemiology, pattern of disease gender and age of affected patients and associated factors. Methods: This prospective study was conducted at a government medical college over a period of one year from August 2022 up to July 2023. Data of patients managed at our centre was collected, analysed and interpreted on MS Excel. Results: The majority of affected patients were male (77.5%). 30 to 40 years age group was the most commonly affected, most of the patients presented with complaints of pain abdomen (85%). Amoebic abscess was present in 71.25% of patients. The right lobe of the liver was involved most commonly (67.5%). Conservative management was successful in 56.25% of patients. Alcohol intake was present in 43.75% of patients, complications were pleural effusion, portal vein thrombosis, necrotizing colitis and gastrointestinal bleeding. Conclusions: In the present era of modern medical science, diagnosis of liver abscesses has become easy through radiological and serological tests, and treatment modalities from minimally invasive to conservative have proved successful in the treatment of liver abscesses. Antibiotics remain the primary course of treatment for both amoebic liver abscess (ALA) and pyogenic liver abscess (PLA), unless there is persistent fever, a substantial abscess cavity, or complications that require surgical intervention. However, challenges persist in combating antibiotic resistance, stemming from incomplete and over-the-counter misuse of available medications. Special concerns include associated comorbidities, delayed medical consultation, and treatment-seeking behavior, as well as the misuse of unhealthy substances or alcohol

PENGARUH KECEPATAN, KELINCAHAN, DAN PERCAYA DIRITERHADAP KEMAMPUAN MENGGIRING BOLA PADA PERMAINAN SEPAKBOLA PESERTA DIDIK SMPN 3 WATANSOPPENG

Pengaruh kecepatan, kelincahan dan percaya diri terhadap kemampuan menggiring bola pada permainan sepakbola peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng”.Tesis. Program Studi Pendidikan Jasmani dan Olahraga, Pascsarjana Universitas NegeriMakassar. (Dibimbing oleh. Suwardidan Irfan). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh kecepatan, kelincahan dan percaya diri terhadap kemampuan menggiring bola pada permainan sepakbola peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng. Penelitian ini termasuk penelitian deskriptif. Populasi penelitian ini adalah berjumlah 364 peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng. Sampel penelitian 30 peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah teknik korelasi dan regresi dengan menggunakan SPSS Versi 16.00 pada taraf signifikan 95 % atau 0,05 Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pada masing-masing struktur, bahwa 1) ada pengaruh kecepatanterhadap percaya diri peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng, dengan nilai koefisien jalur sebesar -0,419dan (P < 0.05). 2) ada pengaruh kelincahanterhadap percaya diri peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng, dengan koefisien jalur sebesar -0,380dan (P < 0.05). 3) ada pengaruh kecepatanterhadap kemampuan menggiring bola pada permainan sepak bola , dengan koefisien jalur sebesar -0,373dan (P < 0.05). 4) ada pengaruh kelincahanterhadap kemampuan kemampuan menggiring bola pada permainan sepakbola peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng, dengan koefisien jalur sebesar 0,312dan (P < 0.05). 5) ada pengaruh percaya diri terhadap kemampuan menggiring bola pada permainan sepakbola peserta didik SMP Negeri 3 Watansoppeng, dengan koefisien jalur sebesar 0,366 dan (P < 0.05). Kata Kunci :kecepatan, kelincahan, percaya diri, kemampuan menggiring bol

Understanding User Interaction in a Video Game by using Eye Tracking and Facial Expressions Analysis

The increasing importance and employment of usability testing has heightened the need for a careful and extensive study of usability evaluation methods and tools available. Usability testing provides a means for understanding the real picture of the product being used in a context. The aim of this Master's thesis is to understand user interaction in a video game by using the two data collection methods, eye tracking and facial expressions analysis. Usability testing in video games is one of the important factors, if carried out consistently and timely it can significantly make the video game more enjoyable, playable and provide a quality user experience to the gamers. Overall, the usability testing efforts contribute to the enhanced effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in the gaming experience. The eye movements and facial expressions provide data which is useful for researchers to understand the user interaction of players' while playing a video game, as what objects capture their attention, what objects were ignored or didn't get attention, difficulties in progressing through the game and also players emotional state when interacting with video game elements. Total eight participants were recruited including one pilot participant to perform the usability testing. The participants were asked to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and progress through the game by completing the objectives. Data collected by using eye movement tracking and facial expressions analysis. Data analysis performed to generate results from usability testing, questionnaire and interviews