Mitigating Risk of Failure by Expanding Family Entrepreneurship and Learning from International Franchising Experiences of Johnny Rockets: A Case Study in Pakistan

It is generally believed worldwide and backed by research too that startups face a high risk of failure and eight to nine out of ten ideas may not work (Hisrich, Peters, & Shepherd, 2009). However, many experts claim that the situation can turn vice versa for family entrepreneurship (or creative family businesses) and franchise ventures (Francorp, 2016). This exploratory probe aims to discover these two phenomena for Johnny Rockets (JR) Pakistan, which is an international franchise of fast food chain of restaurants, and simultaneously it is a family business extension. Literature is reviewed from four perspectives: family entrepreneurship and business, franchise business, internationalization of companies, and fast food restaurant industry in Pakistan. Primary data is garnered from three sources: in-depth interviews from middle to top management of Johnny Rockets, owners of the franchises, and from its consumers in accordance with phenomenology method and purposive sampling to analyze their lived experiences with JR and its direct rivals. The data analytic techniques comprise thematic analysis and constant comparison. The findings unveil that in the wake of tolerating several difficulties, now Johnny Rockets seems to be on the right path of sustainable growth. The study underpins the notions that family entrepreneurship and franchise ventures enjoy a high probability of success, but it requires an organizational culture of the congenial work environment, and propensity to create a customer-centric modern learning organization, ready to accept trials and errors and continuously innovating its processes and systems

Incidence and Trends of Neural Tube Defects in Babies Delivered at Dera Ghazi Khan Tertiary Care Center

Objective:  A cross-section study was conducted to determine the incidence and trends of neural tube defects in babies delivered at a tertiary care center. And those babies who were delivered elsewhere and were brought to a tertiary care center for treatment. Material and Methods:  The Study was conducted at neurosurgery and pediatric surgery departments, Ghazi Khan Medical College and Teaching Hospital. Two thousand (n = 2000) women delivered their babies at a tertiary care hospital were enrolled, out of them 52 women who delivered babies with neural tube defects (NTDs) were further assessed. Women were interviewed and history of folic acid intake, previous baby with NTDs and family history were recorded. Tests of significance were applied to assess the significant results. Results:  Folic acid intake was occurred in n = 298 (14.9%) subjects. Association of folic acid on neural tube defects. Odds ratio showed that if a baby without intake of folic acid had 7.8 times at risk to suffer from a neural tube defect. The association was also significant (p = 0.000). Conclusion:  Neural tube defects are common in tertiary care centers its incidence was 2%. Increased incidence of NTDs was observed in babies who delivered by folic acid deficit mothers. Early childhood marriages in rural areas and cousin marriages are the main contributing factors. Keywords:  Neural tube defect, Anencephaly, Spina bifida, Hydrocephalus, Meningocele

Incidence and Predisposing factors of Brain Abscess in Children at a Tertiary Care Center Dera Ghazi Khan

Objective:  A cross sectional study was aimed to investigate the incidence and predisposing factors of brain abscess in children. Material and Methods:  The study was conducted in the departments of Neurosurgery and Pediatric Surgery, Ghazi Khan Medical College and Hospital DG khan. Thirty two children with brain abscess were enrolled in the study. A diagnosis of brain abscess was made on clinical and radiological basis. T-test and chi square were applied to see the association between variables. Results:  Most common location of Abscess was found as frontal in 21.9% patients, temporo parietal in 53.1% patients and occipital in 25.0% patients. Streptococci was the most common microorganism on culture reported, noted in 46.9% patients. Major predisposing factors (p = 0.000) and location of abscess (p = 0.003) were the effect modifiers for microorganism on culture reports. Conclusion:  Streptococci was the most common abscess causing microorganism causing about 47% of total abscess causing pathogens. Main predisposing factors were: otitis media, cyanotic heart disease and post head injury otorrhea. Keywords:  Brain abscess; Children; Otogenic brain abscess; Otitis media, Seizures; Streptococci

Mitigating Risk of Failure by Expanding Family Entrepreneurship and Learning from International Franchising Experiences of Johnny Rockets: A Case Study in Pakistan

It is generally believed worldwide and backed by research too that startups face a high risk of failure and eight to nine out of ten ideas may not work (Hisrich, Peters, & Shepherd, 2009). However, many experts claim that the situation can turn vice versa for family entrepreneurship (or creative family businesses) and franchise ventures (Francorp, 2016). This exploratory probe aims to discover these two phenomena for Johnny Rockets (JR) Pakistan, which is an international franchise of fast food chain of restaurants, and simultaneously it is a family business extension. Literature is reviewed from four perspectives: family entrepreneurship and business, franchise business, internationalization of companies, and fast food restaurant industry in Pakistan. Primary data is garnered from three sources: in-depth interviews from middle to top management of Johnny Rockets, owners of the franchises, and from its consumers in accordance with phenomenology method and purposive sampling to analyze their lived experiences with JR and its direct rivals. The data analytic techniques comprise thematic analysis and constant comparison. The findings unveil that in the wake of tolerating several difficulties, now Johnny Rockets seems to be on the right path of sustainable growth. The study underpins the notions that family entrepreneurship and franchise ventures enjoy a high probability of success, but it requires an organizational culture of the congenial work environment, and propensity to create a customer-centric modern learning organization, ready to accept trials and errors and continuously innovating its processes and systems

Transformational Leadership and Corporate Reputation: Mediation Effects of Employer Branding

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of transformational leadership and corporate reputation on employer branding by testing a hypothesized model. This study employed a quantitative online survey technique. The researcher distributed 350 questionnaires through purposive sampling out of which 132 questionnaires received back for data analysis. Regression analysis was selected to analyze the collected data to test the hypothesis developed from past literature. Results validate that transformational leadership has an impact on employer branding and employer branding has a direct impact on corporate reputation but correlation amid transformational leadership and business reputation goes insignificant when added employer branding showing full mediation of this variable. The present study backs the writings of business reputation that can be developed through transformational leadership and employer branding. The findings would be helpful for organizational leaders in developing strategies to create a corporate reputation

Analysis of Human Gait Cycle with Body Equilibrium based on leg Orientation

Gait analysis identifies the posture during movement in order to provide the correct actions for a normal gait. A person\u27s gait may differ from others and can be recognized by specific patterns. Healthy individuals exhibit normal gait patterns, while lower limb amputees exhibit abnormal gait patterns. To better understand the pitfalls of gait, it is imperative to develop systems capable of capturing the gait patterns of healthy individuals. The main objective of this research was to introduce a new concept in gait analysis by computing the static and dynamic equilibrium in a real-world environment. A relationship was also presented among the parameters stated as static \& dynamic equilibrium, speed, and body states. A sensing unit was installed on the designed metal-based leg mounting assembly on the lateral side of the leg. An algorithm was proposed based on two variables: the position of the leg in space and the angle of the knee joint measured by an IMU sensor and a rotary encoder. It was acceptable to satisfy the static conditions when the body was in a fixed position and orientation, whether lying down or standing. While walking and running, the orientation is determined by the position and knee angle variables, which fulfill the dynamic condition. High speed reveals a rapid change in orientation, while slow speed reveals a slow change in orientation. The proposed encoder-based feedback system successfully determined the flexion at 47$^\circ$, extension at 153$^\circ$, and all seven gait cycle phases were recognized within this range of motion. Body equilibrium facilitates individuals when they are at risk of falling or slipping

Technological Dramas and the Punjab Police: The Downfall of Front Desk

Electronic dependence and utilization have been emerging as one of the driving forces towards departmental growth and development in this new era of globalization and modernization in Punjab police. The Front Desk (FD) project has a sign of change in Punjab police. It was changing the face of the police from the very first day it was started, but with the passage of time, it has changed its motive and began to change in the color of police. Hence, this paper highlights the issues and their solutions regarding the implementation and utilization of the FD project in the Punjab police department. It also highlights the working of Punjab police with and without FD and the importance of FD in the police department to delivering the grievance and of analysis the true nature of crimes. It discusses various aspects of police department myths and mistakes undertaken by the Punjab police officials and suggests various solutions for changing the face of the department. Keywords: Front Desk Project, Information Technology, Police Culture, Policing, Police Myths, Working of FD, Training & Development. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/11-1-07 Publication date: February 28th 202

A Review - Colorectal Cancer, Prevalence, along with Screening, Diagnosis, and Novel Therapies

Colorectal cancer is considering a communal health problem and in the whole world, its number is third in all cancers that were diagnosed. It causes a significant burden in terms of sickness and death with the estimation of seven lakhs annual deaths. In many countries of the world western way of life is rapidly adopted that is a well-debated factor for colorectal cancer and in term of primary preventive measures, it could be besieged. Comparatively slow advancement of this cancer allows severe reduction of occurrence and death rate with the help of secondary prevention. These facts motivate primary care physicians to play a key role in health plans that improve prevention and rapid diagnosis. In ancient years, the targeted therapies with combinational treatment have proven to be very effective for specific colorectal cancer patients. These therapies are epidermal growth factor, receptor inhibitor, and growth factor. As the advancements in clinic and science have visible that give new treatment options for metastatic colorectal cancer, the five-year existence rate is still fourteen percent low. But in other subtypes of colorectal cancer, the results may not be successful and not highly explored. We can reduce side effects and make the treatment effect by using alternative therapies instead of traditional therapies such as anticancer drugs, probiotics, etc. Herein, some major topics related to CRC in recent literature have been reviewed, to acknowledge its malignancy, risk, and defensive factors, along with the screening methodologies. Moreover, we also debate over preventive as well as screening strategies to fight against CRC

Human Gait Recognition Subject to Different Covariate Factors in a Multi-View Environment

Human gait recognition system identifies individuals based on their biometric traits. A human’s biometric features can be grouped into physiologic or behavioral traits. Biometric traits, such as the face [1], ears [2], iris [3], finger prints, passwords, and tokens, require highly accurate recognition and a well-controlled human interaction to be effective. In contrast, behavioral traits such as voice, signature, and gait do not require any human interaction and can be collected in a hidden and non-invasive mode with a camera system at a low resolution. In comparison with other physiological traits, one of the main advantages of gait analysis is the collection of data from a certain distance. However, gait is less powerful than physiological traits, yet it still has widespread application in surveillance for unfavorable situations. From traditional algorithms to deep learning models, a gait survey provides a detailed history of gait recognition