Labour productivity convergence and structural changes: Simultaneous analysis at country, regional and industry levels

Many structural changes have occurred in the European Union countries, for example, there have been changes in sectoral employment share, in the demand of goods due to technology, in trade patterns and in technology. These structural changes may affect the process of convergence. Most of the existing studies on convergence have ignored the role of structural change, which may have resulted in different conclusion. This study considers the role of structural change in testing labour productivity convergence and its speed at the country, region and industry levels simultaneously. The results show that conditional convergence exists at country, regional and industry levels. However, speed of convergence is different across different aggregation levels. Convergence speed at the regional levels is faster than at the country and industry levels. Furthermore, if we do not incorporate structural change, convergence speed may be over- or underestimated

A Fresh Look at the Interplay of Work Goals, Work Attributes and Graduates’ Intention to Apply for a Job

University graduates are a favorable source of human capital but due to changing dynamics of the external environment and growing uncertainties, managers of both public and private sector find it difficult to attract, recruit and retain competent graduates. Therefore there is a need to study work goals and work attributes of a new generation of workforce. To fill this void, the present study aims to explore the effect of work goals and work attributes on graduates’ intention to apply for the job. To this end, we involved (n = 270) university graduates from Pakistan and the data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0. Results show that the majority of university graduates intend to join public sector organizations upon their graduation. Our findings further indicate that work goals influence university graduates to apply for a job at different types of organizations. Finally, we discuss the limitations, future research opportunities, and implications for theory and practice in depth

The Role of Universities and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Producing Entrepreneurs for Industry 4.0

Entrepreneurship is regarded as a tool to boost economic growth and alleviate poverty. A number of individuals from both developing and developed countries engage in entrepreneurial activities every year, but their success ratio is very low. In addition to that, recently scholars show concerns regarding the effectiveness of degree programs specialized in entrepreneurship being offered at universities in producing entrepreneurs for industry 4.0. This research aims to address these concerns studying the entrepreneurial intentions of students and the role played by Pakistani universities in producing entrepreneurs. To this end, we adopted data triangulation method by incorporating a case study method followed by semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that environmental factors significantly contribute to entrepreneurial intentions. Similarly, we found an underrepresentation of entrepreneurial courses at various degree programs in Pakistani universities. The findings further suggested that although relevant infrastructure and other facilities required by an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem are present in Pakistani universities, there is need of synchronization between the universities and elements of entrepreneurial ecosystem

Resume Ranking Using Natural Language Processing

Finding the ideal candidate for a position is one of a company’s most important and crucial tasks. The conventional approaches typically necessitate spending a significant amount of time manually going through each applicant’s application, reviewing their resumes, and compiling a shortlist of candidates who ought to be contacted for an interview. Numerous resumes are received by companies, many of which are poorly formatted. On the other hand, selecting a candidate based on their resume has not yet been completely automated. The applicant will be able to upload their pdf resume on our website. We will use Natural Language Processing to rank abilities and work insight from the unstructured resumes. Our model will rank the best candidate in each category. The process of screening is made easier by the removal of all irrelevant information, and recruiters are able to better analyze each resume in less time

Prevalence of Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Disease in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Purpose: To explore the prevalence of risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted for the prevalence of risk factors for CAD among 200 patients admitted at the different hospitals of Southern Punjab, Pakistan from December 2012 to April 2013. A questionnaire was used to collect data, including demographic information, family health history, dietary habits, physical activity and tobacco use. History of hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) or its treatment was recorded after observing their medical reports.Results: The proportion of females and males was 65.53 and 34.46 %, respectively. Of the 200 patients, the mean age of males was 52.7 years and 55.8 years for females. The most prevalent coronary artery risk factors were physical inactivity (52.5 %), hypertension (52 %), poor dietary habits (48.5 %), fatty food consumption (47.5 %), obesity (38 %) and smoking (37 %), respectively. Other less common risk factors were diabetes (30 %) and family history of CAD (20 %).Conclusion: CAD was seen in only 20 % of the subjects; the prevalence of individual risk factors ranged from 30 to 52.5 % and can be improved by encouraging the patients to adopt a healthy life style.Keywords: Risk factors, Prevalence, Coronary artery disease, Diabetes, Southern Punja

Measurement of cell membrane thermo-stability and leaf temperature for heat tolerance in maize (Zea mays L): Genotypic variability and inheritance pattern

The rise in ambient temperature is intimidating sustainability of maize productions worldwide. To overcome heat stress effects, identification of potential genotypes and knowledge of inheritance pattern is necessary for developing thermo-tolerant cultivars. This investigation, consisted of four experiments, was conducted for assess- ing genetic variation followed by developing and evaluating breeding material in non-stressed and heat-stressed environments. The first experiment concerning reproductive stage heat tolerance comprised one hundred maize inbred lines, was conducted at mean day/night temperatures of 33°C/19°C (field) and 40°C/23°C (plastic tunnel), respectively. Variance analysis of absolute and relative data for leaf temperature and cell membrane thermo- stability revealed statistically significant (P ≤ 0.01) genotypic variations. In second and third experiments, one heat tolerant (ZL-11271) and one susceptible (R-2304-2) lines were selected and crossed in a generation mean fashion to develop non-segregating (P , P , F ) and segregating (BC , BC , F ) plant populations. The fourth experiment involved appraisal of six basic generations in a factorial randomized complete block design replicated thrice with mean day/night temperatures of 33°C/20°C and 39°C/24°C. Data on leaf temperature and cell membrane thermo- stability recorded at reproductive phase were analyzed in a nested block design which suggested involvement of digenic epistatic interactions in controlling inheritance of both these traits. Generation variance analysis, however, revealed predominance of additive genes supported by higher estimates [> 60%] of broad sense and narrow sense heritability (F and F ). Future progress in plummeting leaf temperature and cell membrane thermo-stability of plant material is achievable through hybridization and rigorous selections in succeeding generations

Some newly explored exact solitary wave solutions to nonlinear inhomogeneous Murnaghan’s rod equation of fractional order

The use of improved generalized Riccati equation mapping method has been demonstrated to find some new exact travelling wave solutions to space-time fractional non-liner double dispersive equation (DDE). The equation is used for modelling wave propagation in elastic inhomogeneous Murnaghan's rod. We have used Caputo's fractional derivative to achieve the fractional version of Murnaghan's rod equation. Improved generalized Riccati equation mapping method proves to be very effective tool to find a variety of soliton solutions. As a result, we found many new and general solutions including dark, combined dark-bright, singular periodic wave, combined singular periodic wave solutions and rational solutions. We have simulated the solitons, to check their types, with the help of graphs and all the solutions obtained in this article have been verified by back substitution in original equation by using Maple 17

Effect of once-a-day milk feeding on behavior and growth performance of pre-weaning calves

Objective The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the effects of once-a-day milk feeding on growth performance and routine behavior of preweaning dairy calves. Methods At 22nd day of age, twenty-four Holstein calves were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (n = 12/treatment) based on milk feeding frequency (MF): i) 3 L of milk feeding two times a day; ii) 6 L of milk feeding once a day. The milk feeding amount was reduced to half for all calves between 56 and 60 days of age and weaning was done at 60 days of age. To determine the increase in weight and structural measurements, each calf was weighed and measured at 3 weeks of age and then at weaning. The daily behavioral activity of each calf was assessed from the 22nd day of age till weaning (60th day of age) through Nederlandsche Apparatenfabriek (NEDAP) software providing real-time data through a logger fitted on the calf’s foot. Results There was no interaction (p≥0.17) between MF and sex of the calves for routine behavioral parameters, body weight and structural measurements. Similarly, there was no effect of MF on routine behavioral parameters, body weight and structural measurements. However, the sex of the calves affected body weight gain in calves. Male calves had 27% greater total body weight and average daily gain than female calves. There was no effect of the sex of the calves on behavioral measurements. Collectively, in the current study, no negative effects of a once-a-day milk feeding regimen were found on routine behavioral and growth parameters of preweaning calves in group housing. Conclusion Once-a-day milk feeding can be safely adopted in preweaning calves from 22nd day of age

Burden of waterpipe smoking and chewing tobacco use among women of reproductive age group using data from the 2012-13 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey

Background: Despite the general decline in cigarette smoking, use of alternative forms of tobacco has increased particularly in developing countries. Waterpipe (WP) and Chewing Tobacco (CT) are two such alternative forms, finding their way into many populations. However, the burden of these alternative forms of tobacco and their socio demographic determinants are still unclear. We assessed the prevalence of WP and CT use among women of reproductive age group in Pakistan. Methods: Data from the most recent Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012–13 (n = 13,558) was used for this analysis. Information obtained from ever married women, aged between 15 and 49 years were analyzed using two separate data subgroups; exclusive WP smokers (total n = 12,995) and exclusive CT users (total n = 12,771). Univariate and Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted and results were reported as crude and adjusted Odds Ratio with 95 % confidence intervals. Results: Prevalence of WP smoking and CT were 4 % and 2 %, respectively. After multivariate adjustments, ever married women who were: older than 35 years (OR; 4.68 95 % CI, 2.62–8.37), were poorest (OR = 4.03, 95 % CI 2.08–7.81), and had no education (OR = 9.19, 95 % CI 5.10–16.54), were more likely to be WP smokers. Similarly, ever married women who were: older than 35 years (OR = 3.19, 95 % CI 1.69–6.00), had no education (OR = 4.94, 95 % CI 2.62–9.33), were poor (OR = 1.64, 95 % CI 1.07–2.48) and had visited health facility in last 12 months (OR = 1.81, 95 % CI 1.22–2.70) were more likely to be CT users as well. Conclusion: Older women with lower socio-economic profile were more likely to use WP and CT. Focused policies aiming towards reducing the burden of alternate forms of tobacco use among women is urgently needed to control the tobacco epidemic in the country