CORPORATE CASH HOLDINGS AND SHAREHOLDER WEALTH: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTANI MARKET

The purpose of this study is to understand the influence ofcash holdings on shareholder wealth in Pakistan. After probing paneldata ranging from 2006 to 2014, the study provides evidence that thesize of the firm (RSIZE) shows noteworthy positive correlation withcash holding, whereas Leverage and Close Cash Substitute (CCS)are negatively related to cash holding. The negative correlation ofleverage with cash holding provides support to the “pecking-ordertheory” in that companies use cash funds to pay back obligationswhen they turn out to be outstanding. These results also contributesome backing to the trade off theory, especially to (Keynes, 1936)“precautionary motive” where companies stockpile more cash. Thisstudy also funds that excess cash holding has a positive relation withmarket capitalization, which means that excess cash holdingsincrease shareholder wealth. These results are contrary to the earlierstudies and reflect that excess cash holding has an effect onshareholder wealth in Pakistan

POWER RELATED COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS

The physical fitness trainings, accordingly, have been split into specificaspects in order to attain endurance, coordination, flexibility, speed andstrength. Literature review clearly reveals that there is lack of data regardingphysical fitness levels in private and government school going children fromPakistan. The present study was conducted with an aim to compare the powerrelated components (Standing broad jump, Push Ups, Sit Ups, and Hand Grip)of physical fitness of government and private schools’ children. Crosssectional study design was used, the study was conducted on male children(n=304, 152 each from private and government schools) locatedwithin/outskirts of the main city of Sargodha, Pakistan. Total ten schools (5private and 5 government) were earmarked and registered in the study.Convenience sampling technique was used. Children between the ages of 9-11years, Children in primary level of education and children which are theresidents of Sargodha were included in the study. There were statisticallysignificant differences between Standing broad jump, Push Ups, Sit Ups, HandGrip of Private and Government schools’ students. Finally, it was concludedthat the power-related components of physical fitness of government schoolchildren is better than the private schools’ children except hand grip tes

Co-movement between Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Economic Factors in Pakistan’s Economy (1990-2013)

Prior to 1976, business community of the world followed gold as a stable standard exchange rate for international business. After flexible exchange rate system implemented in the world in 1976, different solutions for stabilizing the exchange rate system were introduced to reduce the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on business. Pakistan and US Economy relies on trade for improving its GDP, lowering inflation rate and enhancing the economy of the Country. However if the trade balance is sufficient but the exchange rate fluctuation is significant then GDP would decrease instead of increasing and the economy might be negatively affected. It is understandable that imports of Pakistan are more than its exports and if exchange rate also fluctuates between Pakistan and the imported country then the country economy would disturb. Due to this imbalance in import/export, Pakistan relies on different institutions like IMF, World Bank, etc. These loans many help in balance of payment, partial stability but on the same time depreciate the economy if Pakistan. These loans are in the form of US dollars and Pakistani rupees are mostly associated with US dollars. Pakistan economy suffers a setback when these loans are returned. This paper looks as to how exchange rate fluctuations between Pakistan and USA and affects Pakistan’s economy and what are the factors which are disturbed due to exchange rate fluctuations between the two countries

GTM approach towards engineering a features-oriented evaluation framework for secure authentication in IIoT environment

Industry Internet of Things (IIoT) has become the most evolving area over the last few years. The number of IoT devices connected in industry has sharply elevated but this surge has led to the vulnerability and data breach such as if a malicious entry is made to the secure network, it will forfeit all the network resources. For this purpose a full pledged secure authentication method is essential to safeguard IIoT network. There is a bulky list of number of authentications protocols available to keep network safe with a variety of features so but it becomes herculean task for network administrator to pick the strong and secure authentication method due to huge number of criteria, conflicting objectives and availability of authentication protocols in industry environment. It has become imperative to get the most rational authentication method in devices operating in IIoT. To address this issue, a feature-oriented assessment framework is put forward to provide a ground for ranking and selection of best authentication mechanism. This framework uses a mathematic approach known as Graph Theory Matrix Approach (GTMA) and selects the best authentication method based on the number of features. These features are related to authentication and covers almost every aspect of authentication method and are used as benchmark for selection purposes. This framework takes into account the most important features and helps in selecting the best and most ideal features-oriented authentication method that can be employed in IIoT to keep the integrity and security of connected devices and overall network infrastructure.Qatar National Library and Qatar University - grant No. QUHI-CBE-21/22-1

IoT platforms assessment methodology for COVID-19 vaccine logistics and transportation: a multi-methods decision making model

The supply chain management (SCM) of COVID-19 vaccine is the most daunting task for logistics and supply managers due to temperature sensitivity and complex logistics process. Therefore, several technologies have been applied but the complexity of COVID-19 vaccine makes the Internet of Things (IoT) a strong use case due to its multiple features support like excursion notification, data sharing, connectivity management, secure shipping, real-time tracking and monitoring etc. All these features can only feasible through choosing and deploying the right IoT platform. However, selection of right IoT platform is also a major concern due to lack of experience and technical knowledge of supply chain managers and diversified landscape of IoT platforms. Therefore, we introduce a decision making model for evaluation and decision making of IoT platforms that fits for logistics and transportation (L&T) process of COVID-19 vaccine. This study initially identifies the major challenges addressed during the SCM of COVID-19 vaccine and then provides reasonable solution by presenting the assessment model for selection of rational IoT platform. The proposed model applies hybrid Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach for evaluation. It also adopts Estimation-Talk-Estimation (ETE) approach for response collection during the survey. As, this is first kind of model so the proposed model is validated and tested by conducting a survey with experts. The results of the proposed decision making model are also verified by Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) technique which indicates higher results accuracy and reliability of the proposed model. Similarly, the proposed model yields the best possible results and it can be judged by the precision, accuracy and recall values i.e. 93%, 93% and 94% respectively. The survey-based testing also suggests that this model can be adopted in practical scenarios to deal with complexities which may arise during the decision making of IoT platform for COVID-19 SCM process.This work is supported by Qatar National Library, Doha, Qatar and QU Grant No. 2021-010.Scopu

Designing evaluation framework for the empirical assessment of COVID-19 mobile apps in Pakistan

The significant proliferation in the mobile health applications (Apps) amidst Coronaviruses disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in decision making problems for healthcare professionals, decision makers and mobile users in Pakistan. This decision making process is also hampered by mobile app trade-offs, multiple features support, evolving healthcare needs and varying vendors. In this regard, evaluation model for mobile apps is presented which completes in three different phases. In first phase, features-based criteria is designed by leveraging Delphi method, and twenty (20) mobile apps are selected from app stores. In second stage, empirical evaluation is performed by using hybrid multi criteria decision approaches like CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method has been used for assigning weights to criteria features; and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method has been used for assessment of mobile app alternatives. In last step, decision making is performed to select the best mobile app for COVID-19 situations. The results suggest that proposed model can be adopted as a guideline by mobile app subscribers, patients and healthcare professionals.Qatar National Library and Qatar University - grant No. IRCC.2021-010

DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW HYBRID MULTI CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING METHOD FOR A CAR SELECTION SCENARIO

Increasing competition in the automobile industry has led to a vast variety of choices when buying a car thus making car selection a tedious task. The objective of this research is to develop a new hybrid multi-criteria decision-making technique, with accuracy greater than that of the already existing methods, in order to help the people in decision-making while buying a car. Hence, considering a broader spectrum, this study aims at easing the process of multi-criteria decision-making problems in different fields. To achieve the objective, seven different alternatives were evaluated with respect to the enlisted evaluation criteria, which were selected after analyzing the secondary data obtained from Pak wheels based on style, fuel economy, price, comfort and performance. These criteria were then analyzed using the proposed Full Consistency Fuzzy TOPSIS method. As the name tells, this method is a unique combination of two techniques. The Full Consistency method is used to calculate the weights of the criteria while the Fuzzy TOPSIS approach is applied to rank the alternatives according to their scores in the selected criteria. The outcomes demonstrate an increase in the consistency ratio of the weight coefficients due to which the ranking of the alternatives by the FCF-TOPSIS is more accurate than the TOPSIS and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The novelty of the method lies in the fact that this combination has not been used for an alternative selection scenario before. In addition to this, it can be used in various industries where a choice between the available alternatives arises based on a set of evaluation criteria