Factors Affecting the Repurchase Online Shopping Intention of Thai Customers in Bangkok: A Case Study of eBay.com

This study explores the repurchase intention to Thai customers on a well known international e-commerce web site. Specifically, it aims to examine the repurchase intention of working Thai customers in Bangkok toward eBay.com. The target population is Thai people working in three highly-ranked commercial areas of Bangkok. An alternative repurchase intention model was developed with perceived usefulness, trust, privacy, perceived interactivity and customer satisfaction as the independent variables and repurchase intention as the dependent variable. 390 Thai respondents were surveyed with a questionnaire. The Pearson’s Correlation was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that trust in a website has the ability to influence the perceived usefulness of eBay. They also show that the relationship of privacy with trust has an indirect impact on repurchase intention of Thai eBay customer and that customer satisfaction, perceived usefulness, perceived interactivity and trust directly affect the repurchase intention of Thai eBay customers

Analysis of Different Levels of Organization Learning: A comparative study on Ghee and oil Industry in Pakistan

The aim of this study is to evaluate the different levels of organizational learning in Ghee and oil sector of Pakistan.  This study also examines the strengths and weaknesses of Ghee and oil firms. This comparative study is based on 10 different elements of organization learning which includes psychological safety, application of differences, openness of ideas, time for reflection, experimentation, information collection, analysis,  education and training, information transfer and leadership. To evaluate the level of learning in selected firms a survey developed by David A. Garvin is used. The data is collected through a questionnaire from 90 respondents of six Ghee and oil Mills. Reliability test and descriptive statistics are applied on data. The score obtained through questionnaire is compared with benchmark scores developed by David A. Garvin. The result is varied and no important dissimilarity is found in the scores obtained by firms when compared with benchmark score. Key words: Organizational learning, learning environment, Pakistan

Achieving Robust Self-Management for Large-Scale Distributed Applications

Autonomic managers are the main architectural building blocks for constructing self-management capabilities of computing systems and applications. One of the major challenges in developing self-managing applications is robustness of management elements which form autonomic managers. We believe that transparent handling of the effects of resource churn (joins/leaves/failures) on management should be an essential feature of a platform for self-managing large-scale dynamic distributed applications, because it facilitates the development of robust autonomic managers and hence improves robustness of self-managing applications. This feature can be achieved by providing a robust management element abstraction that hides churn from the programmer. In this paper, we present a generic approach to achieve robust services that is based on finite state machine replication with dynamic reconfiguration of replica sets. We contribute a decentralized algorithm that maintains the set of nodes hosting service replicas in the presence of churn. We use this approach to implement robust management elements as robust services that can operate despite of churn. Our proposed decentralized algorithm uses peer-to-peer replica placement schemes to automate replicated state machine migration in order to tolerate churn. Our algorithm exploits lookup and failure detection facilities of a structured overlay network for managing the set of active replicas. Using the proposed approach, we can achieve a long running and highly available service, without human intervention, in the presence of resource churn. In order to validate and evaluate our approach, we have implemented a prototype that includes the proposed algorithm

Evaluation and Improvement of students’ satisfaction in Online learning during COVID-19

With the closure of educational institutions due to COVID-19, the biggest challenge with the universities and the instructors was engaging students in virtual learning. This research aimed at supporting university students in Islamabad (Pakistan) for online learning through a collaborative approach. The university started online learning during COVID-19 and had no earlier experience of such mode of learning. The first phase was identifying the problems faced by students during online learning and seeking their suggestions for overcoming them. The next step was working on the students’ opinions with a team of instructors to modify existing instructional practices during online instruction. We measured students’ satisfaction level pre and post-modification to evaluate students’ adoption of online learning. The data for both the phases were collected through a Google Form. The post-modification data revealed students’ greater satisfaction in online learning. The findings offer useful insight related to students’ adoption of online learning and making it a more meaningful, organized, and productive medium for future learning

Developing Argumentation Skills among Undergraduate Students Using Inquiry Led Argument Framework

Teaching of science subjects in developing countries is still geared around traditional methods. This study aimed at teaching science students through scientific argumentation as a newer method for teacher instructors and students in Pakistan. The objectives were to develop argumentation skills in science students using Inquiry Led Argument Framework (ILAF), to explore the effectiveness of the new framework and to assess the quality of arguments generated by students using ILAF. The sample consists of two sections of bio-ethic course in a large public-sector university serving as experimental and control group. Before introducing ILAF in the experimental group, it was carefully designed, validated and pilot tested with the students. The progression in argumentation skill was monitored through written argumentation reports collected during the semester while, the effectiveness of ILAF was found through comparing the students’ academic performance with a control group at the end of semester. ILAF was found effective in developing argumentation skills and improving students’ academic performance as compared to students in the control group. The students’ quality of argument improved with practice. ILAF as a newer approach has the capacity to serve as a useful framework for teacher educators and science teachers in developing argumentation skills in students besides improving their academic performanc

Preferences for Developing Undergraduate Research in Pakistani Universities: Student Teachers’ Perspective

Undergraduate Research (UGR) is an important component in the curriculum of good ranking universities at present. It encompasses a continuous process of research engagements during undergraduate studies. Involving undergraduate students in research helps in linking theory to practice, understanding research processes and determining career choices. However, promoting UGR in universities in Pakistan requires proper consideration and planning. This study was aimed at identifying research preferences of undergraduate students and improving UGR in Pakistani universities. As students are the most important stakeholder in UGR, the data were collected from 2168 undergraduate students randomly selected from four large universities in Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The research instrument used was a questionnaire developed, pilot tested and validated before its use in this study. The data were converted into percentages and crosstabs using SPSS to analyze data. We found that undergraduate students expressed strong preference for research involvement and were willing to work any part of the week for gaining research experience. The students preferred field research as compared to research in lab or desk work. The students’ views and preferences on crosstabs helped in devising strategies for improving UGR in universities in Pakistan

Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy Vs Milligan-Morgan Hemorrhoidectomy

Background: To compare Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy (HSH) with classical Milligan Morgan Hemorrhoidectomy (MMH) in terms of operation time and post-operative pain to establish effectiveness of this novel procedure.Methods: A total of 62 patients planned for excision hemorrhoidecotmy were randomly selected into HSH and MMH groups. Mean operation time was calculated during surgery and pain at time of first defecation was recorded on visual analog scale (VAS).Results: Mean VAS after surgery at time of first defecation was 4.32 (SD 0.909) in HSH group and 6.97 (SD 1.426) in MMH group (p value <0.000). Mean Operation time in HSH group was 18.13 (SD 3.956) minutes and that of MMH group was 22.90 (SD 4.901) minutes (P value <0.000).Conclusion: Harmonic Scalpel Hemorrhoidectomy is better than Milligan Morgan hemorrhoidectom

Antecedent of Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: Evidence from Pakistan

The proposed present research study estimates the role of foreign direct investment in developing economies. This research study also determines the factors affecting foreign direct investment in developing countries. For this key purpose, we have collected time-series data from the official website of world development indicators, Pak economic survey & the state bank of Pakistan since 1981 to 2019. The autoregressive distributive lag model has been applied to evaluate the association among the variables. Afterward, the bond test has also been utilized to estimate the long-run relationships between dependent and predicted variables. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between gross domestic product growth and the trade deficit with foreign direct investment. Moreover, there has neither a positive nor negative association of the real rate of interest and tax rate with foreign direct investment. The current research study concludes that foreign direct investment inflows are significantly promoting developing economies

How Much Does the Recruitment Channel Really Matter: Recruiters’ and Applicants’ Behaviors in the South Asian Context

In this paper, we discern recruiters’ and applicants’ tendencies towards recruitment channels. By drawing on the contextual perspective of human resource management (HRM), we argue that the national institutional environment of a country greatly influences recruiters’ choices of recruitment channels and applicants’ level of attractiveness towards jobs. Using an experimental study (n = 200 graduate students) and in-depth interviews of 10 human resource managers, we find that a) although recruitment channels positively affect applicants’ perceptions of organizational attractiveness, they have no significant impact on applicants’ intentions to apply for the job and b) even though online recruitment channels are widely believed to have a greater impact on organizational attractiveness, recruiters in the south Asian context continue to prefer the paper-based recruitment channels. The study provides interesting insights for recruitment literature, by explicating that socio-cultural and economic context enormously shapes recruiters’ and applicants’ preferences of recruitment channels