A Simulation Analysis of the Debt Problem in Pakistan

The current debt situation in Pakistan and the resulting financial crisis require serious attempts to find a sustainable indigenous solution. As such it is essential to search ways and means to reduce dependence on external borrowing over medium to long run.1 External debt is usually created to sustain a growth rate of the economy, which is otherwise not feasible with the given state of domestic resources, technology, consumption propensity and economic management practices. However, the success of economic growth financed by external borrowing depends on two factors, namely the domestic saving rate and productivity. A country with lower saving rate needs to borrow more to finance a given rate of economic growth. In Pakistan the flow of external loans is likely to have adversely affected the compulsion for savings. For example, no serious attempts have been made to improve tax collection or to control non-development government expenditure unless forced by the donor agencies.

Natural Evolution Strategies as a Black Box Estimator for Stochastic Variational Inference

Stochastic variational inference and its derivatives in the form of variational autoencoders enjoy the ability to perform Bayesian inference on large datasets in an efficient manner. However, performing inference with a VAE requires a certain design choice (i.e. reparameterization trick) to allow unbiased and low variance gradient estimation, restricting the types of models that can be created. To overcome this challenge, an alternative estimator based on natural evolution strategies is proposed. This estimator does not make assumptions about the kind of distributions used, allowing for the creation of models that would otherwise not have been possible under the VAE framework

Analysis of heavy metals (Pb and Cd) in soil, peach fruit and its accumulation in human blood

“” IJAAR welcome all of you to submit your research paper for publication in the field of Agriculture, Agronomy, Horticulture etc. Please submit your manuscripts via Online submission panel .“” Heavy metals are among the most hazardous substance present in the environment. Their presence in soil results in contamination of plants and consequently the food we obtain form plants. Consumption of contaminated food (fruits and vegetables) is the major cause of toxic metals transfer into human body. Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are among the most toxic heavy metals and cause serious health problem in humans. The current study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of cadmium in soil, peach fruit and human blood. Soil was collected from peach gardens and blood samples were taken from individuals. Blood samples were taken at two stages; before and after consumption of peaches. The obtained result showed that concentration of Cd in soil exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) standard limit while Pb concentration in soil was recorded within safe limit. Concentration of Pb and Cd in peach fruit exceed the safe limit while its seed contain lower concentration of the metals. The concentration of Cd and Pb in blood sample before treatment were (1.86 ppm) and (5.95 ppm) respectively. While the concentration of Cd and Pb in blood sample after treatment was (1.88 ppm) and (6.00 ppm) respectively. After treatment of peach, increase in the concentration of Cd and Pb was found in blood sample. Further investigation is suggested to find the effect of toxic metals like Cd and Pb on human physiology and biochemistry. International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research – IJAAR is an open-access scholarly research journal, published by International Network for Natural Sciences. IJAAR publishes original scientific research articles in the field of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences. IJAAR published 2 Volume and 12 issue per the calendar year

A Simulation Analysis of the Debt Problem in Pakistan

The current debt situation in Pakistan and the resulting financial crisis require serious attempts to find a sustainable indigenous solution. As such it is essential to search ways and means to reduce dependence on external borrowing over medium to long run.1 External debt is usually created to sustain a growth rate of the economy, which is otherwise not feasible with the given state of domestic resources, technology, consumption propensity and economic management practices. However, the success of economic growth financed by external borrowing depends on two factors, namely the domestic saving rate and productivity. A country with lower saving rate needs to borrow more to finance a given rate of economic growth. In Pakistan the flow of external loans is likely to have adversely affected the compulsion for savings. For example, no serious attempts have been made to improve tax collection or to control non-development government expenditure unless forced by the donor agencies. The adverse effect of borrowing on savings has recently been observed in [Ali et al. (1997)]. The evidence also does not support the proposition that higher rate of economic growth results in higher saving rate [see Ali et al. (1997)]. The saving rate in the private sector of Pakistan has remained low because of low real interest rates and the lack of legitimate and safe investment opportunities. Furthermore the poor and middle-income classes have been burdened with high inflation tax and no serious efforts have been made to tax the rich. Saving rate in the government sector has been deteriorating due to exponential growth in the size of this sector and extraordinarily low productivity. Government has ventured in the territories where it had no business in the first place

The Foundations of The Unity of Ummah in The Light of Holy Quran and Sunnah

The Holy Quran is such a book of rectitude and instructions which has immersed itself in the complete intellect for human welfare. In fact, it includes all types of matter whether dry or moist. There is no aspect or turn of human life, which has not been provided complete guidance to the human beings at every step. This also eliminates the doubts of human nature, removes the suspicions and the nonsense, protects from the predicament of self-made concepts, abolishes the human consideration from every type of uncertainties and guardsman from every kind of misleading, and guides him towards Allah Almighty, Who is the Lord and Master of all creatures. But the condition is that the man should seek guidance from Allah Almighty and may display obedience. At present, a major part of the Muslim Ummah is a victim of disintegration and differences. The efforts being carried out in the name of religious meditation are not for the preaching of Islam but are being wasted in the debate of Islam and infidelity among their own ranks. The religion of Islam, which is the preacher of human equality and unity, has become a source of promoting disintegration through deplorable efforts. Now the issue has gone beyond arguments and disputation, as no member of the Muslim Ummah is ready to listen to the other’s opinion. A series of non-stop indiscriminate killings and bloodshed has initiated, and bonfires of hatred have been inflamed on the name of Islam, which is the key to affection, brotherhood, and unity of the Ummah.  The reason for this prevailing situation is due to the evading from the teachings of the Holy Quran and relating this achievement of benevolence to the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is being considered as the book of guidance only to the extent of text, but help regarding the corporeal and life after death is sought from the sources which are against the Holy Quran’s teachings and guidance. Before any ceremony or sermon, the verses of the Holy Quran are being recited, but then whatever is spoken or presented is entirely considered the spirit of the Holy Quran. The heaps of hatred and animosity are raised. If we follow the principles of the unity for Muslim Ummah provided by the Holy Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the existing situation can entirely change

Determinants of Housing Demand in Urban Areas of Pakistan: Evidence from the PSLM

The study attempts to investigate the determinants of housing demand in urban areas of Pakistan. The empirical analysis is carried out using the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement (PSLM) survey 2004-05 and 2010-11. The hedonic price model is used for the estimation of house prices. In order to control the selectivity bias between the tenure choice and the quantity of housing services demanded, Heckman's two-step selection procedure is used. The empirical analysis shows that housing price and income (temporary and permanent) play an important role in the determination of the housing units' demand. An increase in houses' prices causes decrease in demand for the housing units while the housing demand increases when the permanent income increases. On the face of change or increase in the transitory income, the demand for housing units remains static, since people do not desire to make long-term decisions based on volatile income. To manage rising housing demand, government should focus on developing effective and enforced price control mechanisms. Keywords: Urban Housing Demand, PSLM, Pakista

Growth and Development of Saraiki Novel

The linguistic developments have always been coincideing with the development of human civilizations. It is, therefore, commonly believed among historians and linguistic scholars that language and its various generes are the museum of any civilization that help understand depth and breadth of its development over time. The historical development of Saraiki language over time also has been reflected into its various geners such as poetry, drama, prose, folklores or nonfiction, and media.  The present study has examined the the historical development of literary genre, novel in modern Saraiki literature and its sociocultural and linguistic implications. The study would help researcg scholars in the area of Saraiki literature and linguistics to gain deeper understanding of historical development of Saraiki novel in relation to other generes and look into its relationship with sociocultural development of people in Saraiki speaking areas

Common Histopathological spectrum of Posterior Fossa Tumors in Pediatric Age Group

Objective:  To know about the common posterior fossa tumors in the pediatric age group on basis of Histopathology in Neurosurgery Department, Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar. Material and Methods:  This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of MTI Hayatabad medical complex Peshawar from January 2017 to January 2020. We included a total of 52 patients who operated for posterior fossa tumors and biopsy reports were observed to know the histological pattern of the tumor. We included all those patients who have posterior fossa tumors except those tumors which involved or arise from brain stem and infections. The data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results:  Our study shows that the mean age was 6 years with a standard deviation ± 2.81. Fifty-eight percent of children were male and 42% of children were female. Histopathologic patterns were analyzed as 48% of children had Medulloblastoma, 25% of children had Astrocytoma, 19% of children had Ependymoma, 8% of patients had other histopathologic patterns. Conclusion:  Our study concludes that common histopathologic patterns of posterior fossa tumors in children were medulloblastoma (48%), Astrocytoma (25%), ependymoma (19%) respectively

Integrated marketing communication capability: an investigation in the consumer market of Pakistan

Every performance-oriented organization requires proper Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) to communicate and persuade its stakeholders. Firms capable of effective planning and implementing IMC activities yield the benefits of better Campaign Effectiveness and Brand Market Performance. However, the literature stresses the presence of conducive firm’s environment to facilitate the IMC process. Thus, consistent with the resource-based view, this thesis investigates the effects of the several supporting factors such as market orientation culture, brand orientation capability, information technology capability, marketing database and top-management support on the IMC capability and its related outcomes. This study hypothesizes several direct and indirect relationships between the supporting factors, IMC capability and its related outcomes. Adopting Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling technique and utilizing a total of 141 responses, the findings of this study clearly delineate that IMC capability is directly affected by the proposed supporting factors except for information technology capability. Moreover, IMC capability is found to have both direct and indirect influences on the related outcomes. In relation to the indirect effects of the supporting factors on IMC related outcomes, all the proposed relationships are found to be significant and positive except for the indirect effect of market orientation culture on the brand market performance. Indeed, the firms’ capability to plan and implement IMC activities and the supporting underlying factors play an important role in achieving the campaign effectiveness and brand market performance. Several empirical linkages, mostly new, have been established between the supporting factors and IMC capability followed by subsequent IMC related outcomes. Future studies should include other factors to assess their influence on IMC capability and subsequent outcomes focusing on longitudinal designs and large samples. Attention to the underlying resources and capabilities can accrue benefits for the firms’ IMC capability and hence, its outcomes

Impact analysis of the in-service teacher training programmes of the Testing and Evaluation sub-committee of the ELTR Project in Pakistan

AbstractThe study seeks to explore the perception of the concerned EL teachers (trainees) on the in-service training programmes conducted by the Testing and Evaluation sub-committee of the English Language Teaching Reforms (ELTR) Project of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. The researchers administered a questionnaire to gauge the overall effectiveness of programmes of the target sub-committee. The study brought to light a few gaps between the training objectives and their realization in real classroom settings mainly owing to the problem (of the lack of resources) faced by the trainees at their workplaces. The researchers felt the need for making merit or need-based selections/nominations of the trainees, devising a fool-proof mechanism for the follow-up of the trainees and for providing facilities to the trainees for implementation of the training input. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd