Seasonal Aerosol Classification Over South Asia by Satellite based Atmospheric Optical Data

Aerosol optical characteristics have been investigated to explore regional and seasonal inconsistencies of aerosols and to define the dominant type throughout South Asia from 2001 to 2021. MODIS aerosol products from collection 6.1 have been used in present study, that comprise daily values of Angstrom exponent (AE) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data. MODIS-derived AODs are validated by using nine ground-based AERONET station data. Overall, an adequate correlation is found among the two datasets. However, an overestimation of the MODIS retrievals is found in one site named Jaipur and underestimations are found at two sites named as Gandhi-college and Karachi. The seasonal evaluation shows that aerosol distribution found between 0 and 1.05, depending on the change in geographical location. The highest AOD value originates over the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP), mostly throughout warm season. The second maximum AOD value covers a large area of South Asia during spring, summer and autumn. The lowest values of AOD are found in winter season excluding the IGP. A region with high aerosol optical depth (AOD) values support a low value of angstrom exponent (AE) indicating the coarse aerosol during warm seasons (spring and summer) over IGP. The region with high AOD and high AE values is showing fine aerosol during the mild to cold seasons (autumn and winter). The threshold values for AOD and AE have been used to classify aerosols. The results demonstrate that urban/industrial aerosols prominent in every season across the region dominate in spring and summer due to frequent occurrence of dust events. The mixed type aerosol is second largest contributor in aerosol formation in all seasons. The Biomass burning/smoke aerosol is dominant over IGP due to open forest and crop burning in autumn. Clean and maritime aerosol has small unnoticeable involvement in the studied region

Impact of Total Quality Management Practices on an Organization Performance

Purpose: Although impact of TQM practices have been founded to improve the organization performance, the management literature has overlooked on the effort of individual level or in form of group outcomes, the purpose of this paper to explore the impact of TQM practices on organization performance in banking sectors. Practices has an impact on three dimensions of employee (physically, psychologically, social) weather well being should be consider as a mediator of the TQM practices and organization performance relationship. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: The paper use qualitative data collected from in depth case study via documents analysis and Sami structured interviews with quality expert’s practices about how to enhance the level of performance. Finding: Thepaper shows that impact of TQM practices can lead to both positive and negative motivation outcomes. Furthermore they create trade-off between the three dimensions of well-beings. While they increase employee well being on one dimension they are dramatic to another. Research limitation/Implications: Due to the scope of the research the paper bounded itself to analyzing three TQM practices. Different trade off may exist for other practices. Practical Implications: Many organization introducing TQM practices assuming that they will improve performance. However, the existence of well being trade-off need to be acknowledges and managed. Originality/ Value: This paper show that for a comprehensive understanding of the effects of TQM practices further studies need to contemplate the different dimension of well being separately, as trade-off may occur between them. It further suggests that well being may be an unexplored mediator of the TQM practice and organization performances relationship. Key words: TQM practices, organization performance, motivatio

Financial Development and Output Volatility Nexus: The Role of Financial Sector Instability

This research study explores the influence of financial sector development on output volatility. Particularly, the role of financial sector instability is modeled to provide a better understating of financial sector development and output volatility nexus. The empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional panel datasets for 180 countries from 1971 through 2020. In addition to Random and Fixed Effects models, the 2-SLS and GMM techniques were used for empirical analysis. Country analyses produce mixed results but show a considerable beneficial result. The results suggest that financial sector volatility increases output volatility. While financial development, on the other hand, is critical in protecting output from instability. Trade openness and inflation have also been controlled for their impact on output volatility. Trade openness, like financial stability, decreases production volatility. Inflation, as a monetary phenomenon, tends to amplify output volatility

Outsourcing and Organizational Performance in Banking Sector of Punjab, Pakistan

Organizations are more competitive these days .To maintain competitive position, Firms are developing new strategies and introducing new techniques. Outsourcing is widely recommended technique for this purpose. Outsourcing, support functions is a common practice in organizations so that the management can focus on its core functions. Outsourcing helps organization’s to improve their performance. This paper explores the impact of outsourcing on organizational performance in banking sector of Punjab, Pakistan. Key words outsourcing, organizational performance, banking, Pakista

Determinants of Student Satisfaction while working in Groups

The increasing popularity of team structures in business environment coupled with the common practice of including group projects/assignments in university curricula means that business schools should direct efforts towards maximizing team as well as personal results. Yet, most frameworks for studying teams center exclusively on team level outcomes to address organizational needs. Far fewer studies have examined effectiveness at individual team member level in an educational context. The quantitative study on which this paper is based investigated the impact of team process on the effectiveness of individual satisfaction in group work amongst business students in Hong Kong with work group effectiveness and management educational literature providing the theoretical background. The study surveyed 489 university business students and revealed that all three team process factors, namely workload sharing, mutual support and communication play a positive and significant role in individual satisfaction in team settings. Keywords: Individual Satisfaction; Team Process; Workload Sharing; Mutual Support; Communication; Group Work; Teamwork; Student Projec

Status of Small and Medium Enterprises in Punjab, Pakistan

The Sole purpose of the study is to carve out the performance and structure of the small and medium scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan in terms of employment and productivity. The present study has incorporated the transcendental logarithmic cost function to apply on secondary, cross section data of the 3-digit forty nine SMEs of Pakistan. This functional form allows for and assists in exploring the true production structure of the firms. It has been revealed that structure of SMEs in Pakistan is based on Non-homothetic, Non- homogeneous, Variable returns to scale and Non-unitary elasticises. It has further been found that SMEs are overwhelmingly efficient as the pro- SMEs advocate them, in terms of employment generation and productivity, as capital and labour are found to be substitutes, which means employment generation is possible without the expansion in capital in a densely populated country like Pakistan. The conclusion suggests that although public policy should be targeted to provide parallel support to capital and labour yet distinguished favour should be given to labour to generate employment in SMEs of Pakistan. Key Words: Training, Technology and Information Tools

Factors affecting online shopping behavior of consumers in Pakistan

Online shopping trend is very popular now days. This process requires a medium for buying goods and services that is internet. There are many factors that can influence consumer’s online buying behavior. These factors may vary from individual to individual. Financial risk, product risk, Convenience, Non-delivery risk and return policies are key factors discussed in this study. Risk of losing money and financial details has depressing effect on online shopping behavior. . Product and convenience risk are essential and considerable risk issues for not shopping online. Key words: Online shopping, Consumer behavior, Pakista

An increase in livestock density increases forage nutritional value but decreases net primary production and annual forage nutritional yield in the alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Pasture biomass and quality are dependent on herbivore grazing andprecipitation, but the responses of vegetation to the interactive effects ofclimate and grazing regimes remain unclear. We conducted an eight-yearsheep grazing experiment with 4 stocking rates (0, 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5 sheep/ha) inan alpine meadow of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The above-ground netprimary productivity (ANPP) and forage nutritional value (FNV) of four dominantspecies (Poa annua, Kobresia humilis, Astragalus adsurgens and Potentillafruticosa) were measured during a wet year (360 mm rainfall) and a droughtyear (216 mm rainfall). The FNV was used as indicator of forage quality and wascalculated from the crude protein (CP) content, in vitro true dry matterdigestibility (IVTD), metabolic energy (ME) yield, and neutral detergent fiber(NDF) content of the plant. The stocking rate explained a minimum of 76% ofthe variations of ANPP, and the precipitation sub-additive effect for ANPPranged from 5% to 12%. The interaction of sheep stocking rate and precipitationaffected ANPP of the 4 species, except for P. fruticosa. The FNV of the pastureincreased with increasing grazing pressure, but ANPP and forage nutritionalyield (FNY) decreased. In calculating FNY, the increase in FNV did notcompensate for the decrease in ANPP. In non-grazed plots, the CP yielddeclined sharply (18%-55%) in response to drought, but there was no effecton ME yield. The interaction between stocking rate and precipitation affected forage quality of the 4 plant species differently. The grassland ANPP and FNYcould be maintained at a grazing intensity of 3.5 sheep/ha in wet and dry years.Our results highlight that stocking density affects pasture ANPP and FNV, and iscontingent on rainfal

Comparing Mean Post-Operative Back Pain Score between Hemilaminectomy and Conventional Laminectomy in Patients of Lumbar Stenosis

Objective:  To observe the comparative mean post-operative back-pain score between hemilaminectomy and conventional laminectomy in patients of lumbar stenosis. Material and Methods:  The randomized controlled study was carried out in Neurosurgery Unit, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan. A total of 60 patients were distributed equally in two groups. Group A underwent hemilaminectomy while group B underwent conventional laminectomy. A linear median fascial incision was made on the side with more pain or symptoms. Only in the hemilaminectomy group, ipsilateral decompression was performed. It involves partial resection of adjacent parts of the hemi laminae of the superior and inferior vertebrae using operative loupes or neurosurgical microscope. Mean ±SD was calculated for quantitative data including back pain score. Results:  Mean age was 46.2 ± 6.94 years in hemi group and 46.3 ± 6.74 years in the conventional group. We observed that in hemi group, the back pain score was 2.23 ± 0.73 and it was 2.7 ± 0.65 in the conventional group (p-value was 0.011). Significant differences (p value<0.050) existed in these age ranges with respect to the back pain score in both surgery groups. A significant difference (p value < 0.0001) observed only in male patients between two surgery groups for the back pain scores. Conclusion:  Mean post-operative back pain score is significantly reduced in hemilaminectomy cases when compared with conventional laminectomy in patients of lumbar stenosis

Exploring The Relationship Between Egris and The Need For Mechanical Ventilation In Guillain Barré Syndrome

Background and objective: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune system-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy that accounts for approximately 100,000 new patients per year globally. GBS has also been linked to respiratory failure in 20% to 40% of cases. The objective of this study was to find an association between Erasmus GBS respiratory insufficiency score (EGRIS) and the need for mechanical ventilation. Methods: We conducted our cross-sectional study at department of Neurology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences from November 2019 to February 2020. Sixty patients were selected for this study. Data including demographic profile, variant of GBS, and EGRIS was calculated from all the study participants. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: All 60 patients enrolled in the study underwent continuous monitoring during admission time. Out of 60 patients, three (5%) endured mechanical ventilation with a mean EGRIS of 4.5. Others who didn\u27t need mechanical ventilation had mean EGRIS of 1.5. The three patients requiring mechanical ventilation were one each from Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy, and Acute Motor and Sensory Axonal Neuropathy variants of GBS. p-value was non-significant for the presented data. Conclusion: EGRIS could not meet statistical significance in identifying the requirement of mechanical ventilation for GBS in this study. This may be due to low sample size