EFFECT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN BANKING INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

Corporate social responsibility is now one of the main areas of study in the realm of finance and is taken into consideration when making investment decisions. Investigating the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on financial performance in the Pakistani banking sector is the goal of this research study. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) official website and the annual reports of listed banks were the sources of the quantitative secondary data used in this study, which covered the years 2010 through 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, a fixed effect model (FEM) or random effect model (REM), together with other prerequisite diagnostic tests, had been used for the quantitative data analysis. The study used the five dimensions of CSR disclosure as an independent variable, while return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), which measure financial success, are used as dependent variables. These aspects are, in order, financial, environmental, legal, moral, and charitable. In the study, control variables including business size, debt ratio, and capital ratio were also included. The study's conclusions showed a strong correlation between financial performance in Pakistan's banking sector and averages across all categories of corporate social responsibility. The findings also show a substantial correlation between each chosen CSR disclosure factor, such as ethical, environmental, economic, and philanthropic, however only the legal factor significantly affects the financial performance of Pakistan's banking sector. This study aids businesses in realizing the value of CSR disclosure, which is crucial for improving the banking sector's financial performance. The results of this study should have beneficial practical ramifications for businesses, decision-makers in government, financial advisors, and Pakistan's banking sector

Usability Evaluation of Islamic Learning Mobile Applications

Abstract : The trend of using mobile devices for the purpose of learning is gaining momentum. Apart from traditional education, various applications are being developed for religious learning. Pakistan is inhabited by around 98% of Muslims.  Hence, the informal learning of Islam is essential for Muslim child development. This research presents a usability study of different Islamic learning mobile applications available on the android platform for children. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the usability of different Islamic learning mobile applications for children of diverse age groups in order to understand what design principles must be followed that increase the usability of the application. The main focus of this research is to observe and evaluate how easily children of different age groups respond to different applications, how effectively the children understand the core features of the applications and how easily they are able to use the application by themselves.

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Smart Learning Companion (SLAC)

Augmented Reality (AR) tends to merge the computing world with the real world, giving way to an incredible user experience. This field is not only limited to entertainment but has been utilized in various domains including healthcare, education and training. Realizing the potential of Augmented Reality in improving the learning experience, researchers have explored many ways of incorporating AR in the field education. Consequently, this research is focused on providing interactive and customized learning experience to book readers. We present a mobile application, Smart Learning Companion (SLAC), for physical books that provide a virtual content for a book. The virtual content include, 3D animations, Quizzes, explanation of content in native language and many other features. The virtual content is activated as soon as pages are scanned with a mobile phone or tablet. Smart Learning Companion explains animated educational content and provides an interactive user experience. The aim of SLAC is to encourage students to learn on their own by making books more interactive. Smart Learning Companion provides explanation in Urdu, solutions of exercises with animations, quizzes for each section, and overall result that shows the student progress. This will help to reduce the dependency of students on others for learning making them capable of self-learning. Smart Learning Companion applications are developed for four books to conduct the experiments. Experimental study is conducted to show the effectiveness of Smart Learning Companion application. The results show that our application helped students to understand the concepts more easily as explanation was provided in national language of Pakistan, that is, Urdu

Gene Networks and Pathways for Plasma Lipid Traits via Multi-tissue Multi-omics Systems Analysis.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated ~380 genetic loci for plasma lipid regulation. However, these loci only explain 17-27% of the trait variance and a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms has not been achieved. In this study, we utilized an integrative genomics approach leveraging diverse genomic data from human populations to investigate whether genetic variants associated with various plasma lipid traits, namely total cholesterol (TC), high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL and LDL), and triglycerides (TG), from GWAS were concentrated on specific parts of tissue-specific gene regulatory networks. In addition to the expected lipid metabolism pathways, gene subnetworks involved in 'interferon signaling', 'autoimmune/immune activation', 'visual transduction', and 'protein catabolism' were significantly associated with all lipid traits. Additionally, we detected trait-specific subnetworks, including cadherin-associated subnetworks for LDL, glutathione metabolism for HDL, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis for TC, and insulin signaling and complement pathways for TG. Finally, utilizing gene-gene relations revealed by tissue-specific gene regulatory networks, we detected both known (e.g. APOH, APOA4, and ABCA1) and novel (e.g. F2 in adipose tissue) key regulator genes in these lipid-associated subnetworks. Knockdown of the F2 gene (Coagulation Factor II, Thrombin) in 3T3-L1 and C3H10T1/2 adipocytes reduced gene expression of Abcb11, Apoa5, Apof, Fabp1, Lipc, and Cd36, reduced intracellular adipocyte lipid content, and increased extracellular lipid content, supporting a link between adipose thrombin and lipid regulation. Our results shed light on the complex mechanisms underlying lipid metabolism and highlight potential novel targets for lipid regulation and lipid-associated diseases