India-Bangladesh political relations during the Awami League Government, 1972-75

This study deals with the nature and content of I ndia-Bang1adesh political relations during the period 1972-75, when the Awami League Government was in power in Bangladesh. The Government of India had assisted the League, first, in bringing about the secession of East Pakistan and, subsequently, in consolidating its political power in the new State. This gave rise to a number of allegations in Bangladesh against the League Government, namely, that in seeking Indian military assistance to rid Bangladesh of the Pakistan Army, it had reached secret understandings with India which were inimical to Bangladesh's Interests; that it subsequently became a subaltern to Indian interests; and that Bangladesh's sovereignty was undermined by its political intimacy with New Delhi. In the process of assessing the validity of these allegations, the thesis has sought to answer a larger and a more important question: What were the causes behind the deterioration of political relations between India and Bangladesh by 1975, after an euphoric start In 1972? As a theoretical tool the concept of influence relationship has been used in this study, where influence has been defined as follows: influence is manifested when A (the Indian leadership) affects, through non-coercive means, directly or indirectly, the behaviour of B (the Bangladesh leadership) in the hope that it redounds to the policy advantage of A, and vice versa. Such a theoretical tool has necessitated the treatment of only selective instances of bilateral relations between them; only those Issues where influence could have operated in either direction have been chosen for examination. The thesis comprises nine chapters in which are discussed, intev alia, the following issues: the Indo-Bang1adesh friendship treaty; the Bangladesh Army; the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini; the border trade agreement; land border and maritime boundary delimitation talks; oil exploration in the Bay of Bengal; and the Ganges waters dispute. The findings of this study do not support any of the allegations stated above. While the Tajuddin Government did accommodate the Indira Government during the crisis period, and was also willing to kowtow to it subsequently, Mujib was generally steadfast In his unwillingness to compromise on Bangladesh's national interests. The study also finds that the gradual collapse in Indo-Bang1adesh political relations was a direct corollary of the League leadership's political myopia, administrative ineptitude and its proprietary attitude that characterized its rule in Bangladesh. While India does not stand exonerated, the League must bear the lion's share of the blame for the deterioration in that relationship

HITA: An Architecture for System-level Testing of Healthcare IoT Applications

System-level testing of healthcare Internet of Things (IoT_ applications requires creating a test infrastructure with integrated medical devices and third-party applications. A significant challenge in creating such test infrastructure is that healthcare IoT applications evolve continuously with the addition of new medical devices from different vendors and new services offered by different third-party organizations following different architectures. Moreover, creating test infrastructure with a large number of different types of medical devices is time-consuming, financially expensive, and practically infeasible. Oslo City healthcare department faced these challenges while working with various healthcare IoT applications. This paper presents a real-world software architecture (HITA) to create a test infrastructure for healthcare IoT applications. We discuss the quality requirements achieved by HITA and the status of work products developing as a part of HITA. We also present our experiences and lessons learned from the architectural work related to HITA.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA 2023

Testing Real-World Healthcare IoT Application: Experiences and Lessons Learned

Healthcare Internet of Things (IoT) applications require rigorous testing to ensure their dependability. Such applications are typically integrated with various third-party healthcare applications and medical devices through REST APIs. This integrated network of healthcare IoT applications leads to REST APIs with complicated and interdependent structures, thus creating a major challenge for automated system-level testing. We report an industrial evaluation of a state-of-the-art REST APIs testing approach (RESTest) on a real-world healthcare IoT application. We analyze the effectiveness of RESTest's testing strategies regarding REST APIs failures, faults in the application, and REST API coverage, by experimenting with six REST APIs of 41 API endpoints of the healthcare IoT application. Results show that several failures are discovered in different REST APIs with ~56% coverage using RESTest. Moreover, nine potential faults are identified. Using the evidence collected from the experiments, we provide our experiences and lessons learned.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 31st ACM Joint European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (ESEC/FSE 2023

Knowledge Sharing Behavior Of Business Teachers Of Pakistani Universities: An Empirical Testing Of Theory Of Planned Behavior

This study aims to explain the knowledge sharing behavior of business teachers of Pakistani Universities using the theory of planned behavior. For this purpose, data was collected from 157 business teachers serving in the Pakistani Universities. Smart-PLS has been used to analyze the collected data. Factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha confirmed the validity and reliability of the measurement scales. Similarly, Structural model were applied to find out the relationship among independent variables (attitude towards knowledge sharing, subjective norms of knowledge sharing, perceived behavioral control of knowledge sharing) and dependent variable (knowledge sharing intention and knowledge sharing behavior). The findings show positive and significant relationship among all the study variables

Fly Ash an Alternative of Clay in Bricks: A Sustainable Solution for Future Constructions

Clay (CL) bricks have been commonly used in construction industry for centuries. The negative environmental impacts of use of CL bricks include rapidly depleting fertile clayey layer of soil and the high energy consumption of CL bricks, which have led to the development of alternative brick units incorporating waste materials. Fly ash (FA) brick has been identified as a sustainable and environmental friendly alternative of traditional CL brick, which reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and hence global warming. This study aims to develop eco-friendly geopolymer mortar brick mixes using FA and CL without heat curing and applying molding pressure. This study investigates influences of percentage replacements of CL with FA and curing period on the compressive strength (CS) of geopolymer mortar brick mixes. In the preparation of geopolymer mortar mixes, the percentage replacements of CL with FA varied from 0 to 100% (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100%) using 12 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. A total of 11 geopolymer mortar mixes were cast and cured at 14, 28, 56 and 90 days. The optimum CS of 49.7 MPa with 80% replacement of CL with FA using 12 M NaOH solution at 90 days was achieved. This study is expected to contribute in reducing the level of CO2 emissions, which will subsequently reduce global warming and smog formation in Pakista

Supply Chain Strategy and the Role of Suppliers: Evidence from the Indian Sub-Continent

Supply chain strategy is widely recognized as being a crucial component of a broader corporate strategy. However, the relationships between a firm’s strategic supply chain focus, the tactical orientation of its suppliers, and the firm’s performance, are less well understood. Much of what is known is also based on developed country contexts. This study empirically examines relationships between a buying firm’s supply chain strategy and operational dimensions of its suppliers in a developing country context

Determinants of occupational hazards knowledge and safety practices among textile workers in Karachi, Pakistan: A cross sectional study

Objective: To determine the factors associated with good knowledge and safe practices regarding occupational hazards among textile workers.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi from September 2015 to February 2016, and comprised male workers from seven textile mills. A 45-item structured questionnaire was developed and pretested in Urdu, the local language. One part of the questionnaire comprised 31 items related to good knowledge, and the other part comprised 14 items related to safe practices. Data was analysed using SPSS 19.Results: Of the 300 subjects, 123(41%) were aged 18-27 years, 183(63%) were educated, 184(61.3%) worked more than eight hours daily, 170(57%) were employed in the weaving section and 164(55%) as machine operators. Besides, 231(77%) had good knowledge, and 62(21%) reported safe practices. Educated workers were more likely (p\u3c0.05), and machine operators were less likely (p\u3c0.05) to have good knowledge, while educated workers, those in the spinning section and those working less than 8-hours daily (p\u3c0.05) were more likely to report safe practices.Conclusions: There was a high knowledge level, but a wide gap in adopting safety practices, which indicates need for focused interventions targeting high-risk workers and regulation of working hours

Linkages between Firm Innovation Strategy, Suppliers, Product Innovation, and Business Performance: Insights from Resource Dependence Theory

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use resource dependence theory to hypothesize that a buyer’s innovation strategy enhances supplier innovation focus and a buyer-supplier relationship that supports product innovation. These in turn positively impact buyer product innovation outcomes and business performance. Moreover, it is argued that the buyer-supplier relationship positively moderates the impact of supplier innovation focus on product innovation. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear regression are used to test hypotheses. Findings The results support all hypotheses and suggest that company (buyer) age and variables related to buyer engagement with international markets directly influence performance. The results also indicate that the buyer-supplier relationship does not moderate the relationship between innovation strategy and innovation performance. Research limitations/implications This study demonstrates that how a firm builds the conditions to effectively leverage the complementary resources and capabilities of suppliers directly influence innovation outcomes and business performance. Practical implications An important factor in firms achieving their product innovation goals is the selection and management of suppliers that are strategically aligned with regard to innovation. While managers need to develop internal innovation capabilities, partnering with like-minded organizations, and creating conditions for effective cooperation are key drivers of innovation outcomes. Originality/value In contrast to prior research that has examined operational issues, this study shows how the strategic alignment of buyers and suppliers with regard to innovation is an antecedent of product innovation outcomes. Moreover, it adds to a limited literature on supply chain management practices in emerging markets

Cytogenetic abnormalities in myelodysplastic syndromes: An overview

Karyotype is one of the main constituents of the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) and revised-IPSS that are the cornerstones for the prognostication of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Del(5q), -7/del(7q), +8 and -Y are among the most extensively studied cytogenetic abnormalities in MDS. The same applies for normal karyotype. There are hundreds of other rare cytogenetic abnormalities that have been reported in MDS, included but not limited to -X, 3q abnormalities, +13/del(13q), i(17q), +21/-21. However, due to a very low number of patients, their impact on the prognosis of MDS is limited. Knowledge of the molecular consequences of different cytogenetic abnormalities allows us to modify treatment regimens based on drugs most active against the specific karyotype present, allowing for the opportunity to individualize MDS treatment and improve patient care and prognosis