Size-Biased Generalized Negative Binomial Distribution

A size biased generalized negative binomial distribution (SBGNBD) is defined and a recurrence relationship for the moments of SBGNBD is established. The Bayes’ estimator for a parametric function of one parameter when two other parameters of a known size-biased generalized negative binomial distribution is derived. Prior information on one parameter is given by a beta distribution and the parameters in the prior distribution are assigned by computer using Monte Carlo and R-software

Terminology Extraction for and from Communications in Multi-disciplinary Domains

Terminology extraction generally refers to methods and systems for identifying term candidates in a uni-disciplinary and uni-lingual environment such as engineering, medical, physical and geological sciences, or administration, business and leisure. However, as human enterprises get more and more complex, it has become increasingly important for teams in one discipline to collaborate with others from not only a non-cognate discipline but also speaking a different language. Disaster mitigation and recovery, and conflict resolution are amongst the areas where there is a requirement to use standardised multilingual terminology for communication. This paper presents a feasibility study conducted to build terminology (and ontology) in the domain of disaster management and is part of the broader work conducted for the EU project Sland \ub4 ail (FP7 607691). We have evaluated CiCui (for Chinese name \ub4 \u8bcd\u8403, which translates to words gathered), a corpus-based text analytic system that combine frequency, collocation and linguistic analyses to extract candidates terminologies from corpora comprised of domain texts from diverse sources. CiCui was assessed against four terminology extraction systems and the initial results show that it has an above average precision in extracting terms

Knowledge and Attitude of Mothers Regarding Oral Rehydration Salt

Background: To assess the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of mothers about Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS). Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study a total of 320 mothers were enrolled by convenience sampling. Data was collected by means of semi-structured questionnaire. Questionnaire asked information regarding the knowledge of mothers about ORS, its availability in the market, method of preparation, source of information about ORS and the role of ORS in the management of diarrhoea. Results: Of the total 320 mothers, 80% respondents were literate. 61.87% mothers belonged to middle social class and among those 44% seemed to have adequate knowledge pertaining to ORS preparation and its significance in the management of diarrhoea. Only 4.06% mothers did not know about ORS. Information regarding availability of ORS was found to be accurate among 86.87% mothers. Most of the mothers (37.19%) got information about ORS from doctors followed by media (25%) and their mothers (20%). Conclusion: Knowledge about ORS was found to be adequate among educated mothers belonging to middle socioeconomic status. Information pertaining to ORS was mainly imparted by the health care providers

Western Philosophies of Research and Fundamentals of Islamic Paradigm

[Ontological position, referring to one's philosophy of what really exists in the world, and epistemological practice, based on that presumption, play a fundamental role in the design, conduct and results of research. Different theories, philosophies and presumptions regarding the reality in the world remained in practice throughout the history of man's quest for finding truth in the world. The modern discourse on ontology and epistemology has its roots in a certain socio-political, cultural and civilizational environment of Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment periods, which were hallmark of conflict between the Church and science. Since then, the philosophies relating to the nature of 'reality' and the corresponding credible methods of enquiry into that reality have been very influential in shaping the intellectual minds of present times. It is also true that these philosophies have also been criticized for their shortcomings and fallacies which give way to the questions such as 'Is there any alternate theorization in the field of research and science?' Muslim scholars and scientists claim that there is a rich heritage of Islamic theories of research which has guided the development of knowledge and science in the Muslim world for centuries.In this context, this paper explores the questions: whether the ontological framework of western philosophies is comprehensive enough to account for the social complexity that the researchers witness during the course of their research; whether Islamic philosophies of research are in a position to provide an alternate to the Western ones; and whether it is possible to develop theories for the applied research with the alternate Islamic perspective in the contemporary context.] </p

Moral hazard and financial systems: A diachronic study of a corpus of financial texts

For many thinkers, language is a communications system used to represent reality without interfering with the message. For others, contrarily, language shapes the message and becomes part of the message; language constitutes the message rather merely representing it. If language is constitutive then changes in the use of certain linguistic artefacts, like the frequency of some single and compound words, will correlate with real world data expressed in other modalities of communication – numbers for instance. We have looked at an iconic term, used frequently during the 2008-financial crisis, moral hazard, in a corpus of newspaper texts comprising 718926 tokens published between 1999-2009. A similar study was conducted on a corpus of papers drawn from four journals of economics and finance. The changes in the use of certain keywords correlate with the changes major stock market indices

COMMENTS ON ZAMAN “ISLAMIC ECONOMICS: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS"

Prof. Dr. Asad Zaman’s note on Islamic economics is a very useful effort at self criticism. I am generally in agreement with his plea to adopt a more problem oriented approach and give priority to operationalisation of Islamic concepts and goals, particularly establishment of social justice, elimination of poverty and tangible reduction in economic disparities. He is however, not the first person who has highlighted these aspects and almost every major writer on Islamic economics, particularly, the first generation writers have emphasized these points again and again 1. I welcome his forthright approach and plea for bringing this issue into the centre of the debate on research, teaching and policy making

Global Economic Crisis Need for a Paradigm Shift

[The global economic and financial crisis that started in 2008 and continues today with multidimensional and phenomenal consequences not only highlights once again the need to reform capitalist global economic system — particularly its present version of Market Fundamentalism — but also raises questions about the fundamentals of the discipline of economics. Leading economists of the world have called for a reform of the discipline. Some seeking way-out 'within' the dominant paradigm of economic thought and economy, yet others endeavor to search for not mere shift 'within' the paradigm but a shift 'of' the paradigm. Humanity today needs and urgent paradigm shift from elite oriented, free market fundamentalism based economic system to a human centric, just and equitable economic framework. The focus has to be on rediscovering and reestablishing the relevance of ethics and morality. After a discussion on worldview, values, principles and ideals of the Islamic economic paradigm, it is argued that this paradigm needs special attention. As against exclusive obsession with material affluences, and efficiency without reference to equity, Islamic economics emphasizes wealth creation activity, with a vision of economy that is humane, just and efficient, ensuring need fulfillment and well-being of all members of society.] </p

Results of autologous venous blood injections in plantar fasciitis: a prospective clinical study

Background: Plantar fasciitis is a degenerative disease of plantar fascia and is one of the most common causes of heel pain. The response to any treatment modality is unpredictable. The autologous blood might induce healing in the areas of degeneration by providing cellular and humoral components. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the results of autologous blood injection in plantar fasciitis.Methods: Thirty-two patients (average age of 42.4 years), 14 males (43.7%) and 18 females (56.2%) with history of chronic heel pain of more than 6 months duration were taken up for autologous blood injection. All the patients in this study were clinically evaluated and the visual analogous pain score was calculated from each patient pre-procedure and at 3 and 6 months after the procedure.Results: There was a significant improvement in VAS pain score in this study. Pre-procedure VAS pain score of 6.9 (average 4-10) was reduced to a mean score of 4.28 (average 0-9) at 3 months and a mean score of 3 (average 0-9) at 6 months.Conclusions: Autologous blood is an effective method of controlling pain in patients with plantar fasciitis