Hosseini’s The Kite Runner: Some Critical Surveys, Impacts and Suggestions

Khaled Hossieni’s The Kite Runner (2003) is a multi-dimensional novel, which gives a variety of material for research from diverse angles. The critics and reviewers have explored the thematic, structural, political, denominational and strategic understanding of Afghanistan in their reviews. Their focus on ethnic through political to religious conflicts is revealed through socio-cultural dynamics of the characters. This study aims at focusing on the existing literature on the novel in such a way as to highlight its symbolic/ psychological suggestiveness. The in-depth analysis of the study shows that both the social and psychological sides of the humans are juxtaposed. If one side is balanced, the other will be developed and vice versa. Hence, the fundamental finding of the paper shows that prejudice, lack of cooperation, evils and stereotypes are caused by the psychological imbalance which can be corrected if one works on self-examination, self-criticism and self-improvement. Keywords: The Kite Runner; Political; Multi-dimensional; Psychological Imbalance; Self-examination

MOBILE ADVERTISING: A USER’S PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the preferences of mobile users when it comes to mobile advertising, what they perceive are the main characteristics and functions of mobile advertising messages. Qualitative approach was used in this data was collected through focus group discussions. Qualitative thematic analysis with the help of Nvivo has been used to evaluate the texts collected from the participants of the focus groups. The findings of the study revealed that the main functions of mobile phone are personal communication, advertising and information. Moreover, mobility, immediacy and personalization have been identified as the main characteristics of mobile communication and lastly, product centred messages and customer centred messages are identified as the main categories as far as the content of mobile communication is concerned

MAPPING THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE ON COVID-19 AND MENTAL HEALTH

Background: Within a few months during COVID-19 pandemic, more than a thousand studies on this topic have been published in scientific journals. Hence, the aim of the present study was to review and analyze the publishing trends on mental health literature including top cited documents, productive countries, institutions, journals, authorship and collaboration, the most frequent keywords and funding bodies. Method: A bibliometric analysis was performed, and data were retrieved from Scopus. The relevant data was harvested and 277 relevant records were imported on July 15, 2020. The data analysis was performed using various bibliometric software. Results: These documents were published by 195 journals and received 738 citations. USA ranked first with 50 articles and China is the most influential country with the highest Citation Impact. International journal of Environmental research and Public Health is the top journal for mental health studies with highest number of papers and citation impact. The trend of multi-author publications has outnumbered single-author pattern. Conclusion: Overall research shows that most of the papers published related to mental health care and COVID-19 were in the field of medicine and psychology. This research is first bibliometric study in the field of mental health care related to COVID-19

DIVERSIFICATION GAINS FOR A HOME BIASED TRADER IN THE EMERGING AND FRONTIER EQUITY MARKETS

We study the case of a home-biased equity trader based in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, or Latin America, who is looking at diversifying his/her investment risks internationally within his/her region and three other emerging/frontier regions. We focus on explaining the dynamic conditional correlations between equity markets from 3 January 2002 to 11 November 2016. Timevarying opportunities for diversification are found in several nations across regions. However, diversification opportunities outside a region are largely reserved for bad times, such as during the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis

PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN EMERGING AND FRONTIER STOCK MARKETS: EVIDENCE FROM TEN ASIAN COUNTRIES

In this paper, we take the case of Asian investors in any one out of ten emerging and frontier Asian (EFA) nations with an investment portfolio comprising of the MSCI of the home country, MSCIs of nine other Asian countries and stock market index of a developed nation. We examine their portfolio diversification opportunities for the period 2000 to 2013 after conditioning for oil price movements and global investor sentiments. Our empirical analyses imply significant opportunities to diversify within Asia. In particular, not all stock markets show a stable long run relationship. The unconditional correlations in the short run and conditioned regression linkages from VECMs are weak and mainly insignificant. Diversification opportunities for investors in some Asian nations improve after hedging for exchange rate movements. Further, we find that the portfolio examined here may lead to greater diversification gains than a portfolio without the nine other Asian countries

The outcome of Posterio-lateral Decompression and Transpedicle Fixation for Thoracic Spine Tuberculosis

Objective:  The study assessed the outcome of posterio-lateral decompression and trans-pedicle fixation for thoracic spine tuberculosis. Materials and Methods:  An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. All those patients who had undergone posterio-lateral decompression and trans-pedicle fixation for thoracic spine tuberculosis were included. Both genders with ages more than 14 years were included in our study. Ethical committee approval was taken. Pre-designed proforma was used for data entry. Patients’ data were analysed through SPSS software. Results:  A total of 31 patients with tuberculous spondylodiscitis were studied. The age ranged from 15 – 57 years with a mean of 37.74 ± 10.07 years. Most of the patients with thoracic TB were male 54.8% (17/31). Pain improved in all the patients and neurology improved in most of the cases. The dural tear was in one patient and one patient had a wound infection. There was no mortality. Conclusions:  We conclude from the study that posterior-lateral decompression and trans-pedicle fixation for thoracic spine tuberculosis is a safe procedure. It has good results in terms of pain relief and neurological improvement. This procedure has an acceptable complications rate. Therefore, it can be considered as a better alternative to other surgical procedures for thoracic spine tuberculosis

Influence of urea application on growth, yield and mineral uptake in two corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars

A pot experiment was conducted in a wire netting green house in order to assess the beneficial effect of urea on corn cultivars (C-20 and C-79) differing in yield production. Corn plants were grown in loam soil with alkaline in reaction. Application of varying urea levels did not change the physico-chemical properties of soil. Four weeks-old corn plants were subjected to varying levels of urea (0, 50, 100, 175 and 225 kg/ha urea) for 8 (mid-season harvest) and 15 weeks (final harvest). After which, plants growth, yield and mineral nutrient status of the two corn cultivars were assessed for both mid-season and final harvest. It was observed that cv. C-20 showed higher (P<0.1) growth and yield. Addition of varying levels of urea enhanced the growth and yield of both the corn cultivars. However, 175 kg urea /ha was found to be more effective (P<0.1) in enhancing growth and yield of both the cultivars. The rate of urea application at a rate of 175 kg/ha had greater beneficial effect on cv. C-20 due to improved mineral nutrient (N, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) status of the cultivar.Keywords: Corn cultivars, fertilizer treatment, urea, mineral nutrition, plant growt

Are Stock Prices a Random Walk? An Empirical Evidence of Asian Stock Markets

Investigating if the market is efficient is an old issue as market efficiency is imperative for channeling investments to best-valued projects and its importance endures. There is contradictory evidence in the literature provided by empirical researches. The primary purpose of this research has been to find out whether share prices are a random walk process by applying multiple unit root tests, Runs Test and newly developed State Space Model. The empirical findings of the study provide sufficient evidence that the stock prices of KSE 100 Index, S &amp; P BSE 500 Index, and CSE All Share Index is not a random walk process and are thus weak form inefficient hypothesis. In this study, the concept of the random walk is examined considering only the stock markets while bypassing the other asset markets. This research supply exciting facts about independent samples from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and complement the existing literature on emerging markets.DOI: 10.15408/etk.v17i2.7102</p

LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY: OUTCOME OF FIRST 202 CASES IN A DISTRICT HOSPITAL IN GILGIT

BACKGROUND: The incidence of gall stone disease is on the rise in Gilgit Baltistan. The objectives of the study were to assess the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in terms of conversion rate and postoperative morbidity, in The Aga Khan Medical Centre Gilgit. METHODS: It was descriptive case series. All patients that underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between June 2009 to May 2014 were included. The data was collected prospectively. Demographic features, operative time, and hospital stay were studied. Postoperative complications were documented and evaluated according to outcome measures (bile duct injuries, morbidity, mortality, conversion rates, wound infections). RESULTS: A total of 202 consecutive patients were enrolled with a mean age of 49±15 years. There were 164 (81%) female and 38(19%.) male patients. Twenty nine (15%) patients had hypertension, 51 (25%) patients had diabetes mellitus as comorbid conditions. The mean operative time was 54±21 minutes. The operative time was longer in 52 (26%) patients. Three patients (1.5%) required conversion to open cholecystectomy due to obscured anatomy in the area of Calot\u27s triangle, and empyema gallbladder. The mean hospital stay was 2±0.7 days. No common bile duct injury, solid organ or bowel injury occurred in this study. The mean follow up duration was 30±15 months. Postoperative complications include, port site infection in 8 (2%) patient, chest infection in 5 (2.4%) patients, and one (0.5%) patient had myocardial infarction. There was no mortality reported in this group of patients. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a safe procedure with advantages of decreased wound infection, less pain, decreased hospital stay, and early recovery