The Importance of Lapis Lazuli Corridor for Afghanistan

Lapis lazuli corridor is one of the most important and new transit routes which Afghanistan connects to central Asia countries and other countries. Lapis Lazuli corridor has a historical background and was part of the Silk Road through which the lapis lazuli of Afghanistan (from Badakhshan) was exported over 2000 years ago to the Caucasus, Russia, the Balkans, Europe, and North Africa, especially to the eastern civilizations along the ancient Silk Road. The lapis lazuli trade route connects Afghanistan and South Asia countries with Europe by roads and rails. It is considered one of the shortest and most reliable transit routes for Afghanistan where it has named a landlocked country, in order to get connected to Europe. The importance of this route is that to emerge as an economic corridor for inclusive development by which Afghanistan will be connected to Europe, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and then to Europe. It will connect Afghanistan through land and sea with developed and economic zones of central Asia and European countries, where it will provide more opportunities for Afghanistan to trade it’s all kind of products to other nations. In addition, it will be discussed the importance of this transit route for Afghanistan as a new economic policy of Afghanistan which conducted by Afghan government to connect this country with Central Asia countries and Europe. The main object of this essay covers the socio-cultural significances of the lapis lazuli route for Afghanistan and other nations which located on this way. Moreover, I will find out the cultural and social importance of lapis lazuli corridor in this essay to know its geographical location and its other important issues from articles and journals which discuss about the lapis lazuli corridor as a new economic way for Afghanistan

Towards Idiomatic Competence of Yemeni EFL Undergraduates

This study investigates how Yemeni EFL undergraduates recognize, comprehend, and use English idioms. It attempts to find out the link between English proficiency and idiomatic competence of a sample of 63 sophomores recruited from the Department of English at the Faculty of Education, Taiz University. Three idiom tests and a questionnaire were used to answer three research questions: a) To what extent are Yemeni EFL undergraduates able to process English idioms? b) What strategies do they use to learn idioms? c) What challenges do they encounter in acquiring idiomatic expressions? Findings of the study show that high-scoring students in the idiom tests outperformed their low-scoring counterparts in achievement tests of listening and speaking skills. The study highlighted some major challenges that face Yemeni EFL learners and the strategies they tend to use in order to tackle those challenges. Some implications and recommendations were suggested accordingly

A linear algebraic approach in analyzing the M/GE/1 and GE/M/1 queuing systems at equilibrium

Uses the algebraic approach in the queuing theory to derive the M/G/1 equilibrium solution for the number of jobs in the system when the probability distribution function representing the general distribution is the generalized exponential (GE-type). Similarly the GE/M/1 system is solved. Furthermore, it has been shown that as expected the solutions are equivalent to the maximum entropy solutions of the M/G/1 and G/M/1 systems respectively at equilibrium

Effects of Spur Dyke’s Orientation on Bed Variation in Channel Bend

Spur dykes also known as Groynes are often used to either divert or attract the flow from the main structure to safeguard their life. Those structures may be bridge piers, abutments or any similar hydraulics structures. Spur dykes are also used to save the cutting of banks on concave side of stream. Lots of work have been done in recent past on spur dykes by many investigators in which various hydraulic and geometrical parameters of spur dykes such as discharge, sediment size, flow velocity, shear stress, spur dykes shape, size and submergence etc. are studied in detail. But mostly all the studies were pointed out in straight open channels. Very few studies were done in curved channel and only their similar effects were studied. In present thesis main emphasis is given to study the effect of orientation and location of spur dykes in meandering channel on the bed of downstream side. In the present study experimental work has been carried out in 80° bend and constant discharge (Q = 4.5 l/s) is allowed to pass in channel without spur dyke. It is found that maximum scouring occurs at angular displacement θ = 60° to 80° in the vicinity of outer bank. To minimize this scouring, spur dyke has been installed at angular displacement θ = 20°, 40° & 60° by changing the dyke angle α = 60°, 90° & 120° respectively. It is found that scouring at θ = 60° is reduced by installing spur dyke at angular displacement θ = 40° which is oriented at α = 60° and scouring at θ = 80° is reduced by installing spur dyke at angular displacement θ = 60° which is oriented at α = 60°

An Enhanced Fuzzy K-means Clustering with Application to Missing Data Imputation

In this paper an adjustment on the Fuzzy K-means (FKM) clustering method was suggested to improve the process of clustering. Also, a novel technique for missing data imputation was proposed and it was implemented twice: (1) using FKM and (2) using the Enhanced Fuzzy K-means (EFKM) clustering. The suggested model for imputing missing data consists of three phases: (1) Input Vectors Partitioning, (2) Enhanced Fuzzy Clustering, and(3) Missing Data Imputation. The implementation and experiments showed a clear improvement in the imputation accuracy in favor of the EFKM according to the value of RMSE

Wasiyyah Wajibah in Islamic Estate Planning: An Analysis

Wasiyyah wajibah (binding will) is legislated by the law for unprivileged grandchildren due to death of their father during the lifetime of grandfather whereas other grandchildren, i.e. cousins, stay solvent. Contemporary Muslim scholars disagree on the obligatory status and category of inheritors of wasiyyah wajibah as well as confusion appears over its consumption among Muslim society. Hence, this study using an analytical method, aims to examine the legitimacy of wasiyyah wajibah and its parameters. The most important finding of this study is that wasiyyah wajibah is legitimate due to grandchildren’s sustenance and it is binding (wajibah) due to the authority of law as the judgment of ruler settles the dispute. Thus its legitimacy abides by the general principles of Islamic law. The study also concludes that the obligation of wasiyyah has been abrogated by the verse of inheritance only for the parents and relatives who inherit from the deceased’s legacy, not for the parents and relatives who are deprived from the deceased. Wasiyyah wajibah shall abide by the fundamentals of wasiyyah in Islamic law and the deceased’s volume of legacy will be the benchmark of the portion of grandchildren. Finally, wasiyyah wajibah signify the social justice and social solidarity of Islamic inheritance law (fara’id)

Estimation of Gini-index from continuous distribution based on ranked set sampling

This paper introduces the idea of using the novel ranked set sampling scheme for estimating the Gini index from continuous distributions. A one dimensional integral estimation problem based on ranked samples was discussed. It is demonstrated by a simple Monte Carlo experiment that this approach provides an unbiased and more efficient Gini index estimators than the traditional estimators based on simple random sampling

The Effect of Real Exchange Rate on Current Account

This research studies the impact of real Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and real exchange rate on the Current Account position in Jordan, during the quarterly periods from 2008 to 2022. The study reviews the literature on the theoretical framework around the impact of real GDP and fluctuations of the real exchange rate on the current account status. This study describes the performance of the current account during the study period and applies the appropriate econometric tests to an economic model. The main results show a significant, positive effect of real GDP growth in improving the status and sustainability of the current account; output growth indicates an increase in production leading to higher levels of exports and lower levels of imports. The results did not show a significant effect of the real exchange rate on the current account position, which is largely attributed to the stabilization policy of exchange rate pursued by the Central Bank of Jordan since October 1995