The Impact of Exchange Rate on Output Level: Bounds Testing Approach for Pakistan

The stabilisation of growth process has been the aspiration of the nations in modern era. Since the industrial revolution in the world, most of the developing nations have been in the paradigm of chronic current account situation, loss in output, high import bill, less integration of their export sector, and less competitiveness in trade with the world. The process to devalue their currency may be evaluated as optimism for the improvement of their national growth that not only overcome the soaring trade deficit but also may be helpful to compete in international market. In theoretical literature, there has been contradiction among the researchers based on its effects in determining the net output of the economy. Since the work of Cooper (1971) and Krugman and Taylor (1978), the ambiguity arises for the effects of currency depreciation on output and their pioneer work explain the demand side as well as supply side channels through which depreciation may appear as loss in net output. The devaluation induces higher prices of tradable products that appear as loss in real balance of the economy and ultimately result in less output and growth. Some studies [Krugman and Taylor (1978); Edwards (1986) and Lizondo and Montiel (1989)] also support to contractionay output hypothesis with the induction of income redistribution channel that just redistribute income from the wage earners towards profit earners having the excess savings. This process ultimately leads to less aggregate demand as well as output via meager consumption. On the supply side, depreciation of currency result in higher input cost and less output level [Krugman and Taylor (1978); Van Wijnbergen (1986)]. In addition, wage indexation mechanism is also important that reduces the net benefits on producer side and escorts to the contraction in output [Agenor and Montiel (1996)]

Which Factors Influence the Economic Growth of the Country? Evidence with Reference to Pakistan

Economic growth of the country is influenced by different factors. These factors vary from country to country. Some of the factors which fluctuate the economic growth of the country are common in all the countries either these are developed countries or underdeveloped countries as well. Different researches have already been conducted by different researchers in different countries and they used different variables which have impact on economic growth of the country as well. This study used five independent variables named as Inflation Rate, FDI, Literacy Rate, exchange rate and interest which become the reason of bringing change in economic growth of the country. Gross Domestic Product has been used as proxy for economic growth of the country as dependent variable in this study. This study mostly results match with previous studies as well. This study used for tests for results such as collinearity for reliability, correlation, regression and descriptive statistics as well to check the relationship between these dependent variable and independent variables. This study found that three variables named as inflation rate, FDI and interest rate has significant positive relationship with GDP except one inflation rate which has significant negative relationship with GDP. While other two variables named as exchange rate and literacy rate has insignificant positive relationship with GDP as well. Keywords: GDP, FDI, Pakistan, Collinearity, Regression, Correlation, Pakista

Foreground detection of video through the integration of novel multiple detection algorithims

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityThe main outcomes of this research are the design of a foreground detection algorithm, which is more accurate and less time consuming than existing algorithms. By the term accuracy we mean an exact mask (which satisfies the respective ground truth value) of the foreground object(s). Motion detection being the prior component of foreground detection process can be achieved via pixel based and block based methods, both of which have their own merits and disadvantages. Pixel based methods are efficient in terms of accuracy but a time consuming process, so cannot be recommended for real time applications. On the other hand block based motion estimation has relatively less accuracy but consumes less time and is thus ideal for real-time applications. In the first proposed algorithm, block based motion estimation technique is opted for timely execution. To overcome the issue of accuracy another morphological based technique was adopted called opening-and-closing by reconstruction, which is a pixel based operation so produces higher accuracy and requires lesser time in execution. Morphological operation opening-and-closing by reconstruction finds the maxima and minima inside the foreground object(s). Thus this novel simultaneous process compensates for the lower accuracy of block based motion estimation. To verify the efficiency of this algorithm a complex video consisting of multiple colours, and fast and slow motions at various places was selected. Based on 11 different performance measures the proposed algorithm achieved an average accuracy of more than 24.73% than four of the well-established algorithms. Background subtraction, being the most cited algorithm for foreground detection, encounters the major problem of proper threshold value at run time. For effective value of the threshold at run time in background subtraction algorithm, the primary component of the foreground detection process, motion is used, in this next proposed algorithm. For the said purpose the smooth histogram peaks and valley of the motion were analyzed, which reflects the high and slow motion areas of the moving object(s) in the given frame and generates the threshold value at run time by exploiting the values of peaks and valley. This proposed algorithm was tested using four recommended video sequences including indoor and outdoor shoots, and were compared with five high ranked algorithms. Based on the values of standard performance measures, the proposed algorithm achieved an average of more than 12.30% higher accuracy results

The Role of Organizational Strategies, Social Support, and Technological Capabilities in International Marketing Channel Performance

Information communication technologies increase the competitive intensity among organizations. The only way to get a sustainable competitive advantage is to focus on their resources, and capabilities to establish, and implement effective strategies to increase international marketing channel performance (IMCP). The target population of this study is the food industry in Pakistan, and the sample size is 400. Data has been collected through survey method based on an adapted questionnaire. Data has been analyzed through partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Results showed that validity and reliability of data, and organizational strategies (OS) focused on relationship strategies (RS) and marketing integration strategies (MIS) has positive and significant effect on IMCP. Whereas, technological capabilities (TC) has moderated and significant effect between OS and IMCP. Furthermore, social support (SS) has insignificant effect.  This study has theoretical and practical significance. Because this study opens the new horizons in literature and provide guidelines to align their strategies with their capabilities to gain sustainable competitive advantage, which will improve their IMCP.

The Role of Organizational Strategies, Social Support, and Technological Capabilities in International Marketing Channel Performance

Information communication technologies increase the competitive intensity among organizations. The only way to get a sustainable competitive advantage is to focus on their resources, and capabilities to establish, and implement effective strategies to increase international marketing channel performance (IMCP). The target population of this study is the food industry in Pakistan, and the sample size is 400. Data has been collected through survey method based on an adapted questionnaire. Data has been analyzed through partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Results showed that validity and reliability of data, and organizational strategies (OS) focused on relationship strategies (RS) and marketing integration strategies (MIS) has positive and significant effect on IMCP. Whereas, technological capabilities (TC) has moderated and significant effect between OS and IMCP. Furthermore, social support (SS) has insignificant effect.  This study has theoretical and practical significance. Because this study opens the new horizons in literature and provide guidelines to align their strategies with their capabilities to gain sustainable competitive advantage, which will improve their IMCP.Â

Studies On the Role of Fungal Strains in Bioremediation of Dyes Isolated from Textile Effluents

Fungal strains are widely used for the cleaning of soil, sediments, groundwater, surface water, and the ecosystem. The presence of extracellular enzymes in fungi facilitates the process of bioremediation of textile dyes. This study was conducted to observe the quality of water being released from textile dyes industries and also the capability of some fungal strains which can remediate these dyes by showing the tendency of their resistance. Samples of water were collected from the polluted area surrounding the textile dyeing industries in Lahore. In the process of isolation, Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium was used to verify the fungal growth. Fungal strains were purified, and the morphological characterization of fungal strains was carried out at 10X and 100X by using a magnification microscope. The fungal strains, such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillusoryzae, and Aspergillusflavus were identified. The stress of four types of dyes was given to each fungal strain. The results showed that Aspergillusoryzae was one of the most stable, non-toxic, and resistant fungal species against the high stress of dyes as compared to other specie

ROLE OF BRAND LOYALTY IN BUILDING BRAN EQUITY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT LEVELS

Although the concept of brand loyalty and equity in recent times has evolved one of the dominant phenomena of brand management, yet the picture is incomplete without considering the role of consumer involvement levels. The purpose of this study is to investigate significant antecedents of brand loyalty, and its role in building brand equity, relationships are also measured by conducting comparative analysis of consumer involvement levels. The self-administered survey and regression analysis used to measure relationships of variables. The findings showed significant and positive relationship of perceived quality, brand trust, and customer satisfaction with brand loyalty, and highly significant and positive impact of brand loyalty is found in building brand equity. Significant differences are found between high and low involvement settings. This research will provide exceptional learning opportunities for brand managers and scholars alike, through empirical verifying the relationships of variables, by using two brands of different consumer involvement levels.Â