CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS NON-LOCAL PRODUCTS: A CASE OF PAKISTAN

This study investigated the attitudes of Pakistani consumers towards non local (imported) products. Country of Origin (COO) effect was the main thing to find out. A survey questionnaire was distributed among 200 respondents in the twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The questionnaire contained the measure of, quality of the products, social status, and unavailability of local substitutes; admiration for EDCs life style, consumers’ ethnocentrism and attitudes towards non local products. Nine hypotheses were designed and tested by Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis by using SPSS 15 version. Analysis of the data showed that consumers in the developing countries like Pakistan considered the imported products as of high value and they feel a pride when having the products of the developed countries. The moderating impact of admiration for EDCs life style and consumers’ ethnocentrism was also confirmed by this study. The research findings suggest for the MNCs to go for a joint venture with a local firm or set up a foreign subsidiary to control the effect of ethnocentricity which is extremely important to cope with. Local producers and marketers should focus on the quality of their products to compete with multinational corporations in their domestic markets and survive with a rising head. This research showed that if the imported products are of high quality, more reliable and of reasonable price then ethnocentrism can not become hostile to them

Computational Seismic Analysis of Dry-Stack Block Masonry Wall

In this research the computational modeling of Dry-Stack Block Masonry (DSM) walls subjected to cyclic monotonic loading testing is done. The analytical results were compared with experimental test results of the unreinforced and unconfined DSM cantilever walls subjected to lateral loading along with a constant axial load. ABAQUS has been used for Finite Element Modeling and analysis of the wall. Various material properties are defined for the wall in the software and modeled as a homogeneous material. The proposed numerical models had a good correlation with the experimental data. The test results discussion includes failure moods, load displacement curves, and stress/strain profile. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091668 Full Text: PD

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

The combined effect of perceived organizational injustice and perceived politics on deviant behaviors

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine the catalytic impact of perceptions of politics in organizations on the relationship between perceived unfairness and deviant behavior at work. Design/methodology/approach: To test the proposed research model, the authors collected field data in a public sector university located in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan. A two-wave questionnaire was distributed to 400 employees. In the first wave, the questionnaire was used to collect data on participants’ perceptions of perceived injustice and organizational politics. After two weeks, the second wave of data collection was conducted by sending another questionnaire to the same respondents to collect data on their organizational and interpersonal deviance. Findings: Empirical findings revealed that perceived interactional injustice results in interpersonal deviance, and perceived distributive and procedural injustice results in organizational deviance. Moreover, the direct relationship between perceived injustice and deviant behaviors was stronger when the perception of politics factor was high. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to test the detrimental effect of perception of politics on deviance in a public organization in Pakistan.</p

The buffering role of servant leadership on the relationship between organizational politics and employee task performance and citizenship behaviors

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether servant leadership (SL) buffers the negative relationship between perceived organizational politics (POP) and employee performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: Time-lagged multi source data were collected from 236 supervisor-subordinate dyads in a public sector university in Pakistan. SL, POP and several control variables were measured in subordinates at time 1, and supervisor ratings of organization citizenship behaviors and task performance were measured at time 2. The authors performed moderated multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses underpinning the study. Findings: Findings revealed that POP was negatively related to employee task performance and two types of organization citizenship behavior (individual and organizational). Findings also revealed that SL attenuated the negative effect of POP on employee task performance and the two types of organization citizenship behavior. Practical implications: SL is particularly important in organizational cultures characterized by high politics; therefore, managers seeking to enhance task performance and citizenship behavior in employees should adopt this style of leadership if possible. Originality/value: This is the first study conducted in the South Asian context that has examined whether, and how, SL buffers the negative effects of POP on employee task performance and organization citizenship behavior.</p

Multiaccess Edge Computing Empowered Flying Ad Hoc Networks with Secure Deployment Using Identity-Based Generalized Signcryption

A group of small UAVs can synergize to form a flying ad hoc network (FANET). The small UAVs are, typically, prone to security lapses because of limited onboard power, restricted computing ability, insufficient bandwidth, etc. Such limitations hinder the applicability of standard cryptographic techniques. Thus, assuring confidentiality and authentication on part of small UAV remains a far-fetched goal. We aim to address such an issue by proposing an identity-based generalized signcryption scheme. The lightweight security scheme employs multiaccess edge computing (MEC) whereby the primary UAV, as a MEC node, provides offloading to the computationally fragile member UAVs. The scheme is based on the concept of the hyperelliptic curve (HEC), which is characterized by a smaller key size and is, therefore, suitable for small UAVs. The scheme is robust since it offers confidentiality and authentication simultaneously as well as singly. Formal as well as informal security analyses and the validation results, using the Automated Validation for Internet Security Validation and Application (AVISPA) tool, second such notion. Comparative analysis with the existing schemes further authenticates the sturdiness of the proposed scheme. As a case study, the scheme is applied for monitoring crops in an agricultural field. It has been found out that the scheme promises higher security and incurs lower computational and communication costs

Cosmopolitan orientation, consumer consciousness, and green purchase intentions: mediating role of green trust

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Synthesis and Characterizations of PdNi Carbon Supported Nanomaterials: Studies of Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction in Alkaline Medium

Electrocatalytic materials offer numerous benefits due to their wide range of applications. In this study, a polyol technique was used to synthesize PdNi nanoparticles (NPs) with different percent atomic compositions (Pd = 50 to 90%) to explore their catalytic efficiency. The produced nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical investigations. According to XRD measurements, the synthesized NPs were crystalline in nature, with crystallite sizes of about 2 nm. The electrochemical properties of the synthesized NPs were studied in alkaline solution through a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) technique of cyclic voltammetry. The PdNi nanoparticles supported on carbon (PdNi/C) were used as electrocatalysts and their activity and stability were compared with the homemade Pd/C and Pt/C. In alkaline solution, PdNi/C electrocatalysts showed improved oxygen reduction catalytic activity over benchmark Pd/C and Pt/C electrocatalysts in all composition ratios. Furthermore, stability experiments revealed that PdNi 50:50 is more stable in alkaline solution than pure Pd and other PdNi compositions