Testing for Environmental Kuznets Curve and Pollution Haven Hypothesis: A Continental Analysis

Environmental pollution and sustainable development have become major concerns for policy makers as both may not be achieved simultaneously. On one hand, economic growth and foreign direct investments (FDI) are necessary for the countries to prosper. On the other hand, economic growth and FDI are related with environmental pollution which affects atmosphere at global level and poses threat to all those who share common environment. To address this concern, this study tests the validly of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) for CO2 emission. The study uses cross-sectional as well as panel data for a sample of 42 countries from three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and covers the period from 1990 to 2014. The study applies ordinary least square, pooled OLS, fixed effect model, random effect and twostage least square techniques to estimate the models. The study finds that energy use and globalization positively impact pollution when estimated for full sample. Moreover, the study suggests that EKC holds for full sample, Asia, and Europe while results do not confirm EKC for Africa continent. Besides, the study finds that PHH does not sustain in any of the three continents. The study suggests that use of cleaner energy should be promoted to mitigate CO2 emission. Therefore, the policy makers should design alternative policies for Africa to reduce global environmental degradation

Organizational Commitment of Teachers and Role of Their Employment Traits in the Context of Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan

Employment traits have been studied having an impact over the organization commitment of the teachers. However, the scholars have inconsistent views regarding the relative strength of different traits groups such as Experience, Education, Type of Organizations, Chairpersonship, Salary and Designation over the commitment. In existing study, Meyer and Allen (1984-1997) “Three Component Model” was employed for collection of commitment profile of 312 both Public and Private faculty members of Institute of Management Sciences of Pakistan. Test of significance both t and ANOVA was applied and results of the statistical test divulge that most of the demographic variable like (experience, education, Salary etc.) causes a variation in the mean of commitment of the faculty members of Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan

Characterization of leaves and flowers volatile constituents of Lantana camara growing in central region of Saudi Arabia

AbstractThe chemical components of essential oils derived from leaves and flowers of Lantana camara growing in Saudi Arabia are analyzed for the first time using gas chromatography techniques (GC–MS, GC–FID, Co-GC, LRI determination, and database and literature searches) on two different stationary phase columns (polar and nonpolar). This analysis led to the identification of total 163 compounds from leaves and flowers oils. 134 compounds were identified in the oil obtained from leaves of L. camara, whereas 127 compounds were identified in the oil obtained from flowers; these compounds account for 96.3% and 95.3% of the oil composition, respectively. The major components in the oil from leaves were cis-3-hexen-1-ol (11.3%), 1-octen-3-ol (8.7%), spathulenol (8.6%), caryophyllene oxide (7.5%) and 1-hexanol (5.8%). In contrast, the major compounds in the flowers oil were caryophyllene oxide (10.6%), β-caryophyllene (9.7%), spathulenol (8.6%), γ-cadinene (5.6%) and trans-β-farnesene (5.0%). To the best of our knowledge, cis-3-hexen-1-ol and 1-octen-3-ol that were identified as major components in this study have not been reported earlier from Lantana oils

A Marketing Strategy for HAC Consulting’s Emissions Trading Consulting Services

HAC Consulting Pty Ltd. (HAC) is currently examining strategic options to grow its consulting services business, specifically in the emissions trading consulting services industry, in anticipation of the implementation of an Emission Trading Scheme in Australia by 2010. Climate change is the driving force for Emission Trading Schemes and the Australian ETS is expected to fuel demand for the next few years. The industry is characterized by high supplier power, threat of entry, Government intervention, low threat of substitutes, moderate customer power and increasing rivalry. HAC faces many competitors in this industry, but the rapid growth of demand and current industry positioning allows it to differentiate its services from its competitors. A SWOT Analysis reveals the internal capabilities of HAC and the strategic alternatives available. It is recommended that HAC establish a marketing plan to promote itself through increasing awareness for the Australian ETS

Identification of strategy implementation influencing factors and their effects on the performance

This paper investigates the factors that influence strategy execution in service organisations within both public and private sectors. The successful execution of the strategy is the key survival asset of the organisation. Many organisations could not maintain their competitive advantages, in spite of the existing process of drafting a strong strategy, due to lack of achievement in the strategy implementation stage. Leaders and top management of organisations must pay more attention to strategy implementation due to the higher failure rates that occur at this stage. For that, successful strategy implementation requires a better understanding of the relevant influencing factors that dictate that implementation’s outcomes. The existing literature does not provide a rigorous and structured conceptualisation of these factors, or their influence on strategy implementation. Accordingly, we precisely explored the mechanisms and interdependent abilities of such factors and their impact to address the gap. In addition, this paper presents many factors, which usually are neglected and cause failure or effect on the efficiency severity industry. This article also shows how some factors are more important in certain industry and l ess important in other industry in the Middle East

Robust Method for Semantic Segmentation of Whole-Slide Blood Cell Microscopic Image

Previous works on segmentation of SEM (scanning electron microscope) blood cell image ignore the semantic segmentation approach of whole-slide blood cell segmentation. In the proposed work, we address the problem of whole-slide blood cell segmentation using the semantic segmentation approach. We design a novel convolutional encoder-decoder framework along with VGG-16 as the pixel-level feature extraction model. -e proposed framework comprises 3 main steps: First, all the original images along with manually generated ground truth masks of each blood cell type are passed through the preprocessing stage. In the preprocessing stage, pixel-level labeling, RGB to grayscale conversion of masked image and pixel fusing, and unity mask generation are performed. After that, VGG16 is loaded into the system, which acts as a pretrained pixel-level feature extraction model. In the third step, the training process is initiated on the proposed model. We have evaluated our network performance on three evaluation metrics. We obtained outstanding results with respect to classwise, as well as global and mean accuracies. Our system achieved classwise accuracies of 97.45%, 93.34%, and 85.11% for RBCs, WBCs, and platelets, respectively, while global and mean accuracies remain 97.18% and 91.96%, respectively.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure

Seismic Interpretation and Reservoir Evaluation Utilizing 2-D Seismic Data and Wireline Logs of Bijnot-01 Well, Fort Abbas Field, Central Indus Basin, Pakistan

Present study attempts to decipher the subsurface structure and reservoir characterization of Fort-Abbas field, located in Punjab platform, Central Indus Basin utilizing 2-D seismic and wireline logs data. Four seismic lines, 944-FABS-42, 944-FABS-43, 944-FABS-48, 944-FABS-49 and wireline logs of Bijnot-01 well have been used for this research work to delineate subsurface structures and demarcation of zone having fair potential of hydrocarbon accumulation. Formation evaluation for hydrocarbon potential using the reservoir properties is also the foremost objective of this research work. Based on the results of seismic data interpretation of Fort-Abbas field and integrating it with formation tops and wireline logs data, three prominent reflectors have been marked i.e. Eocene Sui Main Limestone, Cretaceous Lower Goru and Jurassic Chiltan Limestone. The structure of the area is interpreted as gently dipping monocline. Based on the breakup of reflectors on seismic section, one normal fault is marked. Time and depth contour maps are generated to demarcate lateral extension and closure of the reservoir. Based on interpretation of wireline logs, a zone has been marked from depth of 504 m to 594 m (Datta Formation) as a favorable zone having good potential for hydrocarbon accumulation. Saturation of hydrocarbon (Sh) in this zone is calculated as 57%

Phytochemical analysis and bioactivity screening of three medicinal plants of Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To investigate the phytochemical analysis and bioactivity screening of some Asteraceae medicinal plants. Methods: The chemical constituents were isolated by column chromatography and elucidated using chemical and extensive spectroscopic methodologies including gas chromatoraphy-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The plant extracts were obtained by solvent extraction method while hydrodistillation was used to isolate plant essential oils. Furthermore, cup-plate agar diffusion was applied for antimicrobial activity evaluation while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was assessed by microdilution technique. Results: Centaurea pseudosinaica, Tripleurospermum auriculatum, and Koelpinia linearis afforded previously undescribed three coumarins (xanthotoxin, cirsimaritin, salvigenins) from C. pseudosinaica, one steroid (estradiol) and a pentacyclic triterpene (β-amyrin) from T. auriculatum and a coumarin (santin) from K. linearis in good yields. In addition, the plant extracts and oils exhibited remarkable bioactivities including antifungal, antibacterial and antipyretic etc. Conclusion: The results reveal the presence of bioactive phytomolecules from Asteraceae plant extracts and volatile oils from three Asteraceae plants. Keywords: C. pseudosinaica, T. auriculatum, K. linearis, Xanthotoxin, Salvigenin, Cirsimaritin, Santin, Estradiol, β-amyrin, Antimicrobial activit

The Amazing Race Repeated Update Q-Learning VS. Q-Learning

In this paper, we will conduct an experiment that aims to compare the performance of two reinforcement learning algorithms, the Repeated Update Q-learning algorithm (RUQL) [1] and the Q-learning algorithm(QL) [5]. A simulated version of a robot crawler developed by [6] will be used in this experiment, it is shown in figure (1). An investigation study about the difference in performance between RUQL and Q-learning algorithm (QL) [5] is discussed in this paper. Several trials and tests were conducted to estimate the difference in the crawler’s movement using both algorithms. Additionally, a detailed description of the Markovian decision processes (MDPs) elements [2] is introduced, MDP model includes states, actions and rewards for the task in hand. The parameters that were used and tuned in this experiment will be mentioned and the reasons for choosing their values will be explained.  Finally, the source code for the crawler robot was modified in order to implement RUQL and Q-Learning (QL) algorithms, Eclipse [3] and Java SE Development Kit 8 (JDK) [4] are used for this purpose. After running the crawler robot simulation, the results drawn from the experiment showed that RUQL significantly outperforms the traditional QL.  &nbsp

The Role of Organization Culture in Predicting Organizational Effectiveness: A Case from Developing Countries

This study aims to extend cross-cultural research in examining the potential influence of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness in the context of higher education institutions of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A non-experimental and cross sectional perceptual data was collected using survey questionnaire through the senior faculty members and administrators. Selection of the subjects was made on one of the most efficient probability sampling techniques namely disproportionate stratified random sampling.Further, the measurement instruments based on a competing values framework of renowned scholars in the field were adopted to tape both of the study variables. Grounded on collected data for direct effect of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness was empirically tested via multiple regression analysis. Overall, the resultant information of regression model revealed organizational culture as a significant predictor of organizational effectiveness. Moreover, out of four traits of organizational culture, two traits i.e., clan, adhocracy showed significant positive relationships to organizational effectiveness, while bureaucratic type of culture exhibited as inverse association and seemed in line of prior research.Contrarily, exception is noticed for market type of culture. Discussion of these findings followed by implications, limitations, direction for future research and conclusion are given subsequently in the article.Key words: Organizational culture; Competing Values Framework (CVF); Organizational effectiveness; Higher education institution