Maternal education, empowerment, economic status and child polio vaccination uptake in Pakistan: a population based cross sectional study

Objectives: To explore the association of maternal education and empowerment with childhood polio vaccination using nationally representative data of Pakistani mothers in a reproductive age group. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Secondary analysis of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), 2012–2013 data was performed. Participants: Of the 13 558 mothers included in the survey sample, 6982 mothers were able to provide information regarding polio vaccinations. Main outcome measures: Polio vaccination coverage among children aged up to 5 years was categorised as complete vaccination (all four oral polio vaccine (OPV) doses), incomplete vaccination, and no vaccination (zero OPV dose received). Mothers' empowerment status was assessed using standard ‘Measure DHS’ questions regarding their involvement in decision-making related to health, household possessions and visits among family and friends. Education was categorised as no education, primary, secondary and higher education. Results of multinomial regression analyses were reported as adjusted OR with 95% CI. We adjusted for age, wealth index, urban/rural residence, place of delivery, and antenatal and postnatal visits. Results: Only 56.4% (n=3936) of the children received complete polio vaccination. Women with no education had significantly higher odds of their child receiving no polio vaccination (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.05 to 5.18; p<0.01) and incomplete vaccination (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.87; p<0.01). Further, unempowered women also had significantly higher odds of not taking their child for any polio vaccination (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.17 to 2.12; p<0.01) and incomplete vaccination (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.41; p=0.04). Conclusions: Illiteracy, socioeconomic status and empowerment of women remained significant factors linked to poorer uptake of routine polio vaccination

Secure digital voting system based on blockchain technology

Electronic voting or e-voting has been used in varying forms since 1970s with fundamental benefits over paper based systems such as increased efficiency and reduced errors. However, there remain challenges to achieve wide spread adoption of such systems especially with respect to improving their resilience against potential faults. Blockchain is a disruptive technology of current era and promises to improve the overall resilience of e-voting systems. This paper presents an effort to leverage benefits of blockchain such as cryptographic foundations and transparency to achieve an effective scheme for e-voting. The proposed scheme conforms to the fundamental requirements for e-voting schemes and achieves end-to-end verifiability. The paper presents details of the proposed e-voting scheme along with its implementation using Multichain platform. The paper presents in-depth evaluation of the scheme which successfully demonstrates its effectiveness to achieve an end-to-end verifiable e-voting scheme

A Quantum Key Distribution Network Through Single Mode Optical Fiber

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has been developed within the last decade that is provably secure against arbitrary computing power, and even against quantum computer attacks. Now there is a strong need of research to exploit this technology in the existing communication networks. In this paper we have presented various experimental results pertaining to QKD like Raw key rate and Quantum bit error rate (QBER). We found these results over 25 km single mode optical fiber. The experimental setup implemented the enhanced version of BB84 QKD protocol. Based upon the results obtained, we have presented a network design which can be implemented for the realization of large scale QKD networks. Furthermore, several new ideas are presented and discussed to integrate the QKD technique in the classical communication networks.Comment: This paper has been submitted to the 2006 International Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems (CTS 2006)May 14-17, 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada, US

How the Students’ Competitive and Collaborative Styles of Learning are Affected by Personality Traits at the University Level

Investigating how personality traits affect competitive and collaborative learning is the goal of the current study. When examining the influence of personality traits on learning styles, Big Five Theory was employed. Two hundred students were casually picked using the non-probability selection approach for this descriptive study design. After translation into the native language, a large-scale portfolio and the Grasha-Riechmann Scales of Student Learning Skills were utilized. Cronbach's alpha provided proficient estimation, pilot testing, and consistency, which all confirmed the instrument’s validity (α = 0.94). Five elements correlated with students' learning styles, including their personality traits. Students may benefit from a teaching approach that considers their unique characteristics and learning styles. Social training, academic achievement, and collaborative chances influenced personality traits and learning

Digitalization, Sustainability and Development in Business. Business Intelligence - The Innovative Solutions for Business Sustainability, Equality, and Green Initiatives of Long-Term Organisational Performance

Business Intelligence (BI) encompasses a suite of strategies, processes, applications, and technologies that convert raw data into valuable insights for business analysis. By aiding in informed decision-making, BI empowers organizations to enhance their competitive edge and streamline internal operations. It not only uncovers new prospects but also refines customer service and bolsters profitability. Through historical, real-time, and predictive perspectives on business operations, BI facilitates well-informed choices. Leveraging BI tools, businesses dissect consumer behavior, detect trends, and devise potent marketing tactics. BI amplifies comprehension of customers, rivals, and markets, leading to astute decisions that foster profitability. This study amassed data via a survey of 162 IT managers in multinational corporations within Malaysia. Employing partial least squares (PLS) through SmartPLS software, the analysis reveals that BI, along with its insights, contributes to effective management practices. Notably, the information requisites may shift based on the balance between uncertainty and ambiguity in an organization’s practices. Nevertheless, the research gap remains concerning the relationship between BI, its significance, and business performance. Keywords: business intelligence, data analytics, data mining, big dat

Evaluation of Modified Non-Normal Process Capability Index and Its Bootstrap Confidence Intervals

Process capability index (PCI) is used to quantify the process performance and is becoming an attracted area of research. A variability measure plays an important role in PCI. The interquartile range (IQR) or the median absolute deviation (MAD) is commonly used for a variability measure in estimating PCI when a process follows a non-normal distribution In this paper, the efficacy of the IQR and MAD-based PCIs was evaluated under low, moderate, and high asymmetric behavior of the Weibull distribution using different sample sizes through three different bootstrap confidence intervals. The result reveals that MAD performs better than IQR, because the former produced less bias and mean square error. Also, the percentile bootstrap confidence interval is recommended for use, because it has less average width and high coverage probability.11Ysciescopu

Impact of Inflation on Dividend Policy: Synchronization of Capital Gain and Interest Rate

The study evaluates the impact of consumer’s buying power regarded as overall CPI on the dividend policy of firms. Dividend yield is used as a proxy of dividend policy. There are two separate equations to explain the phenomenon. The predicted values of capital gain yield against inflation and other supporting variables were first estimated and these predicted values along with interest rate were then put to check the dependency of dividend policy. Its theoretical background is related to classical discussion among financial researchers about the inflation-hedging capabilities of stock investment in short to medium-run. Study is carried out on stocks listed at Karachi Stock Exchange to see the overall behavior of Pakistani Stock Market. Sample of KSE-30 index for six financial years from 2007 to 2011 for the study is used. Following the 2-stage least square regression, the empirical results of the study illustrate that capital gain is affected by inflation levels prevailing for the year and its relationship is of inverse in nature. The market is following the global trend in this perspective. On the other hand, dividend yield is also not independent with inflationary effect. Interest rate is found to be positively related with dividend yield. This behavior of interest rate in the market is astonishing. It may be deduced that in the context of Pakistan, moneary policy and business activities improve simultaneously

Impact of Inflation on Dividend Policy: Synchronization of Capital Gain and Interest Rate

The study evaluates the impact of consumer’s buying power regarded as overall CPI on the dividend policy of firms. Dividend yield is used as a proxy of dividend policy. There are two separate equations to explain the phenomenon. The predicted values of capital gain yield against inflation and other supporting variables were first estimated and these predicted values along with interest rate were then put to check the dependency of dividend policy. Its theoretical background is related to classical discussion among financial researchers about the inflation-hedging capabilities of stock investment in short to medium-run. Study is carried out on stocks listed at Karachi Stock Exchange to see the overall behavior of Pakistani Stock Market. Sample of KSE-30 index for six financial years from 2007 to 2011 for the study is used. Following the 2-stage least square regression, the empirical results of the study illustrate that capital gain is affected by inflation levels prevailing for the year and its relationship is of inverse in nature. The market is following the global trend in this perspective. On the other hand, dividend yield is also not independent with inflationary effect. Interest rate is found to be positively related with dividend yield. This behavior of interest rate in the market is astonishing. It may be deduced that in the context of Pakistan, moneary policy and business activities improve simultaneously