Impact of Perceptual Dimensions and Behavioral dimension on brand equity in Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of consumer-based brand equity dimensions on Pakistani mobile branded market. To do this, data were collected through convenient sampling from 250 consumers of mobile users from Universities and shopping malls. Islamabad and Rawalpindi were selected for data collection. Through self-administered questionnaire based surveys in order to investigate the mobile’s brand as product. The analysis involved Regression and Mean values that, all alternative hypotheses have been accepted. The regression analysis results show all dimensions positively and significantly, influences brand equity. This research study is important in identifying the sources of brand equity in Pakistan’s mobile industry. This is the first study investigating the perceptual and behavioral dimension of consumer-based brand equity of mobile brand in Pakistan. Hence, it makes a contribution for both marketer and practitioners for devising strategies

Combining Classification and Clustering Tasks to Categorize Known and Unknown Classes

Since the past few years research has been directed towards the training of neural networks using unlabeled data or pairwise pseudo constraints known as unsupervised learning and semi-supervised learning respectively. In this thesis, we explored several methods to improve the performance of the current state-of-the-art algorithm for unsupervised learning called SCAN using semi-supervision from pairwise pseudo constraints.M.S

Examining Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Counterproductive Work Behavior: A Moderated Mediated Model

Despite various attempts to know the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB), the findings are inconsistent and offer a varying degree of associations. The present study examines the underlying mechanism by hypothesizing impression management (IM) as a mediator to address the element of equivocality in the subject matter. Furthermore, it tests the moderating role of self-esteem (SE) on the impression management to counterproductive work behavior relationship. A representative sample of 398 employees was collected from different organizations of Pakistan. The results confirmed the intervening role of impression management between emotional intelligence and counterproductive work behavior. Furthermore, the employees high on self-esteem showed lesser tendencies to involve in counterproductive work behavior. Theoretical and practical implications have also been discussed

Search Engine Optimisation: Evidence From Pakistan

This study has two objectives. The first objective is to investigate firm exploitation of search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques with respect to website traffic. The second objective is to report on the searching habits of Internet users. This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach that analyses 15 different case studies of business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) companies. These companies include nine banks, four telecommunication companies and two automotive companies. The indepth, semi-structured interviews were administered by telephone and/or personal interviews. Additionally, a questionnaire-based survey was administered to Internet users to determine their web use and searching habits. The results demonstrate that firms are currently exploiting SEO at a limited level, that the use of social media is rare and that firms do not consider users' searching habits. This study also reveals that 84% of web users spend up to two hours daily searching the Internet. The dominant search engine (i.e., the engine used by 90% of users) is Google. The use of social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Orkut is high among users (i.e., 85%). This study highlights the opportunities that SEO provides to companies with respect to the use of their corporate website as a strategic marketing tool

Antibiotic utilization patterns for different wound types among surgical patients : findings and implications

Antimicrobial prophylaxis is effective in reducing the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) post operatively. However, there are concerns with the extent of extend prophylaxis post-operatively especially among low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This increases antimicrobial re-sistance (AMR), which is a key issue in Pakistan. Consequently, we conducted an observational cross-sectional study among 583 patients undergoing surgery at a leading teaching hospital in Pakistan with respect to the choice, time and duration of antimicrobials to prevent SSIs. Identi-fied varables included post-op prophylactic antimicrobials given to all patients in all surgical procedures. In addition, cephalosporins were frequently used for all surgical procedures and among these, the use of third generation cephalosporins was common. The duration of post-operative prophylaxis was 3-4 days, appreciably longer than guideline suggestions, with most patients prescribed antimicrobials up to discharge. The inappropriate choice of antimicrobials combined with prolonged post-operative antibiotic administration post-operatively need to be addressed. This includes appropriate interventions, including antimicrobial stewardship pro-grams, which have been successful in other LMICs to improve antibiotic utilization associated with SSIs and reduce AM

Pakistan-Central Asia Relations: Challenges and Interests (2010-2020)

Pakistan has very close historical, religious and cultural relation with CARs but unfortunately could not develop political, economic and military relations with CARs. Pakistan can facilitate CARs in connecting with global trade by providing direct access to warm waters through the sea ports of Karachi and Gwadar and can benefit from CARs huge potential in natural resources in return and both states can revolutionize business and trade with mutual support and cooperation. The hurdles for Pakistan include political instability in Afghanistan, Indian conspiracies, US involvement, Russian and Chinese influence, Iran’s role, authoritarian regimes in CARs and week foreign policy of Pakistan. The geostrategic, geopolitical and geo-economic significance and its richness in natural oil and gas reserves is attracting Russia, China, US, EU, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India. Pakistan needs to be very vigilant for policy making for relations with CARs to have sound and permanent deep trade, business, political and military agreements for a stable political and economic development

Application in medicine: Has artificial intelligence stood the test of time

Artificial intelligence (AI) has proven time and time again to be a game-changer innovation in every walk of life, including medicine. Introduced by Dr. Gunn in 1976 to accurately diagnose acute abdominal pain and list potential differentials, AI has since come a long way. In particular, AI has been aiding in radiological diagnoses with good sensitivity and specificity by using machine learning algorithms. With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, AI has proven to be more than just a tool to facilitate healthcare workers in decision making and limiting physician-patient contact during the pandemic. It has guided governments and key policymakers in formulating and implementing laws, such as lockdowns and travel restrictions, to curb the spread of this viral disease. This has been made possible by the use of social media to map severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 hotspots, laying the basis of the smart lockdown strategy that has been adopted globally. However, these benefits might be accompanied with concerns regarding privacy and unconsented surveillance, necessitating authorities to develop sincere and ethical government-public relations

Methanolic extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) escalates functional restoration following a compression injury to the sciatic nerve in a mouse model

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is one of the major health concerns faced by the community at present. Till now, available therapeutic approaches are ineffective to fully heal a nerve injury and to assure the functional recovery entirely. Natural compounds can prove attractive and effective drug candidates to bridge up this gap. In this scenario, the present study was designed to explore the role of methanolic extract of Foeniculum vulgare (F. vulgare) seeds in accelerating the function regain following a sciatic nerve injury in a mouse model. For this purpose, 12 adult healthy albino mice (BALB/C), 8–10 weeks old, were grouped as control (Ctrl, n = 6) and treatment (Trt, n = 6). The treated group was given methanolic extract of F. vulgare (200 mg/kg per day) started from the day of nerve crush until the end of the study. The sensorimotor function regain assessed by hot plate test, grip strength, and SFI assessments was found significantly (p < .05) ameliorated in the F. vulgare-treated group. A prominent improvement in the muscle mass of the treated group further affirmed these effects. Furthermore, morphometric analysis of muscle fiber cross-sectional area of tibialis anterior muscle between groups revealed a noticeable improvement in muscle fibers’ diameter of the treated group. Conclusively, these findings suggest that F. vulgare methanolic extract exhibits the potential to escalate functional recovery following a peripheral nerve injury. However, the real players of this extract and the mechanism involved in boosting functional restoration need to be dissected by further work