Modeling the interaction between TCP and Rate Adaptation

In this paper, we model and investigate the interaction between the TCP protocol and rate adaptation at intermediate routers. Rate adaptation aims at saving energy by controlling the offered capacity of links and adapting it to the amount of traffic. However, when TCP is used at the transport layer, the control loop of rate adaptation and one of the TCP congestion control mechanism might interact and disturb each other, compromising throughput and Quality of Service (QoS). Our investigation is lead through mathematical modeling consisting in depicting the behavior of TCP and of rate adaption through a set of Delay Differential Equations (DDEs). The model is validated against simulation results and it is shown to be accurate. The results of the sensitivity analysis of the system performance to control parameters show that rate adaptation can be effective but a careful parameter setting is needed to avoid undesired disruptive interaction among controllers at different levels, that impair QoS

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence upon the Team Effectiveness

The emotional intelligence is a kind of professional skill which an individual attain during the course of his/her career. The leadership regarding their emotions must be synchronized with their team members. They must be well tempered and must comprehend the whims and wishes of their subordinates. The emotional intelligence only can lead towards the maximum output by exercising the assigned authority. The effectiveness of the team is a multi-dimensional phenomenon which is based upon the qualities of the leadership alone. To some social scientists, this kind of intelligence is intrinsic (by birth), but to others it is acquired. When the leadership exercises his/her authority intelligently, its result is not only team effectiveness rather it is cost effective as well. On the part of the leadership, emotional intelligence is a collective phenomenon, whose cumulative impact on the project regarding the team effectiveness has been discussed in the present wor

From Measurements to Modeling The Trade-off between Energy Efficiency and System Performance

In this thesis, the work is based on experimental and modeling methodologies. I applied this starting from measurements of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology, which is the preferred high-speed access to the Internet. The work focuses on the problem of determining the maximum stable bandwidth that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) can offer. This task was accomplished by monitoring and analyzing a large set of ADSL end-users. Huge amount of collected data allowed us to get a detailed statistical analysis of the behavior of ADSL lines, such as the distribution, variable dependencies and correlation of effective bitrate with the physical measurements exposed by network devices. Analysis of collected data suggest that there is no clear trend to predict a downstream bandwidth of ADSL line based on line conditions, and thus requires an intelligent way of analyzing the ADSL lines. Thus, a Neural Network (NN) was employed, which is an intelligent machine learning tool to (i) learn the behavior of ADSL lines, (ii) extract useful information from huge set of measurements, (iii) automatically suggest maximum stable bandwidth. The results indicate that NN performs well in predicting end-users available bandwidth. However, NN is required to be properly trained, as well as needs careful selection of design parameters. Later, the focus of the work was centered over the energy efficiency of telecommunication systems using mathematical modeling approach. Motivation of first work was to know how much energy efficient is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) architecture as compared to traditional Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) architecture used for voice communication. To answer this, these two architectures already implemented at our campus were extensively examined by means of measuring real power consumption. To generalize or estimate power consumption for any given number of users, a mathematical model of power consumption for both the architectures is built. The results indicate that VoIP architecture consumes a lot of power, yet VoIP system have the flexibility to be made energy efficient by adding some sort of energy-wise schemes. The last part of the work investigates the interaction between the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and rate adaptation mechanism. Where rate adaptation is an approach to save energy by adapting the transmission rates or capacity according to traffic dynamics. To have deep insight of the interaction, a mathematical model based on fluid based framework is built to depict the behavior of TCP and rate adaptation scheme. The model is then tested for its accuracy and stability by conducting simulation experiments and steady state analysis. Later, the model is used to study the impact of tuning the parameters on system performance. The results suggest that the implementation of rate adaptation scheme can be effective but a careful parameter setting is needed to avoid undesired disruptive interaction among controllers at different levels, that impair QoS

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF PRODUCT PACKAGING CUES ON PRODUCT QUALITY PERCEPTION: DEVELOPING COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE

The study aims to investigate the effect of food packaging cues on the quality perceptions of the consumers. The data was collected from Pakistani consumer market through survey. The regions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were selected for data collection by using self-administered questionnaires.  Mall intercept method was applied for collecting the responses and the malls were selected on the basis of popularity and high customer turn out. SPSS and PLS were used in order to carry out descriptive and inferential analysis respectively. The outcomes of the study indicate that both the image variables taken as predictors (Halal label, nutritional label) casts a worthwhile effect on perceptions of quality while consumer knowledge casted no moderating impact on the perceived product quality in Pakistani consumer market.Alike other studies, there are few research limitations to this study as well. Since the data has been collected from the regions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad only, an issue of generalizability can occur. The findings of the study reveal that cues presented on the packaging can cast a meaningful impression on the minds of consumers. The findings of the study also suggest that intelligent placement of the extrinsic cues by practitioners can help in the formation of positive quality perceptions which in turn lead to better sale outcomes. Since there are limited number of such studies in Pakistani context so it provides significant contribution to the literature as well.

Self-esteem: A Gender based analysis

Self-esteem refers to the amount of realistic respect that you have for yourself. It is important for a person to have an elated profile in order to lead a contented and successful life, both at the personal and professional level. People with low self-esteems often suffer from a feeling of discontentment. A person with a high profile has the realization that he/she can make achievements and can lead a successful life. On the other hand, a person with low profile possesses low desiring level with minimum achievements. In this study the topic is categorically elaborated especially that how male and female consider their self-esteem accordingly. The data was collected from the both genders; all of them were students of MBA and MPA department, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan. To fulfill the purpose, the independent variables were utilized to reach the conclusion. Keywords: Gender, Self-esteem, MBA`s, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Kha

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF PRODUCT PACKAGING CUES ON PRODUCT QUALITY PERCEPTION: DEVELOPING COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE

The study aims to investigate the effect of food packaging cues on the quality perceptions of the consumers. The data was collected from Pakistani consumer market through survey. The regions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were selected for data collection by using self-administered questionnaires.  Mall intercept method was applied for collecting the responses and the malls were selected on the basis of popularity and high customer turn out. SPSS and PLS were used in order to carry out descriptive and inferential analysis respectively. The outcomes of the study indicate that both the image variables taken as predictors (Halal label, nutritional label) casts a worthwhile effect on perceptions of quality while consumer knowledge casted no moderating impact on the perceived product quality in Pakistani consumer market.Alike other studies, there are few research limitations to this study as well. Since the data has been collected from the regions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad only, an issue of generalizability can occur. The findings of the study reveal that cues presented on the packaging can cast a meaningful impression on the minds of consumers. The findings of the study also suggest that intelligent placement of the extrinsic cues by practitioners can help in the formation of positive quality perceptions which in turn lead to better sale outcomes. Since there are limited number of such studies in Pakistani context so it provides significant contribution to the literature as well.Â

Mobile Banking Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: An Application of Carter Model

Purpose: Mobile banking is one of the modern means of handy banking services. Using the Carter model, this study aims to find the nexus between customer satisfaction and mobile banking service quality among Pakistani users. Design/methodology/approach: The structured questionnaire has been administered to 400 mobile banking users in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Wah Cantt. Simple random sampling was used to gather the respondents for data collection.Findings: The analysis shows that there exists a positive association between the dimensions of assurance, tangibility as well as responsiveness with customer satisfaction. However, there exists no relationship between empathy and reliability with customer satisfaction.Implications: This study fills up the gap in literature by providing insights from mobile banking sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, the model of the study can be extended in different contexts with other dimensions also. It will be better if banks develop their e banking services up to date by adapting to the latest changes in industry and technology.Originality/value: This particular study has a deep importance as it provides evidence from the developing nation of Pakistan. It has spread heading endeavour to explore the consumer loyalty in the keeping money industry of Pakistan by utilizing a vast example and progress measurable systems.Limitations/Future horizons: The study has been conducted in the area of Rawalpindi and Islamabad however future researchers may expand the premises as well as add more variables to the model to gain deeper insights

CAPITAL STRUCTURE DETERMINANTS OF ISLAMIC AND CONVENTIONAL BANKS OF PAKISTAN

Purpose- The major objective behind conducting this research is to explicate that how does the conventional as well as Islamic banks opt for their capital structures and what are the noteworthy variables that effect the decisions of the company as regard to their capital structure. Design/methodology/approach- Data for study was gathered throughthe yearly reports of the KSE indexed companies. The yearly reports from the years 2004-2014 were selected for the study. For analysis, ordinary least square (OLS) is applied in order to obtain the results. Findings- The primary outcomes of study prove that the conventional banks are more leveraged as compared to the Islamic banks. In addition, the conventional banks are bigger in size than Islamic banks and possess higher level of profitability. The fixed operating resources possessed by the Islamic banks are more in comparison to the conventional banks. The outcomes show that the profitability and tangibility are inversely associated with book leverage however the bank size has significant nexus with the book leverage of Islamic banks. On the other hand, profitability, growth and tangibility are negatively related to book leverage in whereas the bank size positivelyimpacts the decisions of the conventional banks for choosing the capital structure. Earning volatility shows no impact on capital structure decisions. Practical implications- The outcomes of the study present that the directors of bank need to develop an understanding related to the bank specific factors which would help them to decide regarding the capital structure of the bank taking into consideration that the controlling powers are vested with state bank of Pakistan. Originality/value- This study would propose that some noteworthy insights regarding the variables that impact financing decisions ofPakistani conventional and Islamic banks. This study also provides a framework to the future researchers for deeper exploration regarding capital structure of the banks.  Keywords- Conventional Banks; Islamic Banks, Ordinary Least Square, State bank of PakistanÂ

IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE ON POVERTY: EVIDENCE FROM RURAL PAKISTAN

This study aims at finding out the socio-economic impact of micro finance services, offered by MFIs, in one of the poorest districts of Pakistan. A sample of 344 respondents has been selected for this purpose. The study takes children's nutrition and education expenditures, savings of clients and investment of loan as explained variables. Our findings show that microfinance services have myriad influences on subsistence of the poor. Though respondents have concerns over the performance of MFIs, the overall impact goes in concord with results of previous studies. This study validates the relationship between microfinance and poverty alleviation