The Impact of Crowdsourcing on Organisational Practices:The Case of Crowdmapping

In this paper, we investigate the possible impact of crowdsourcing on organisational practices. We answer the research question of whether and to what extent the practices of crowdmapping impact humanitarian organisations. To answer this question, we examine a crowdmapping initiative during a natural disaster. The data collection is based on forty interviews with different actors including crowdmappers, humanitarian organisations, government specialists and technology providers. Concepts from structuration theory are applied to conceptualise and make sense of the data. The findings reveal the process of change that took place in the practices of a humanitarian organisation. They also show that these changes recursively impacted the practices of crowdmapping. We then argue that there is a duality of change between the micro-practices of crowdmapping and the macro-practices of a humanitarian organisation. The implications of the study on research and practice are then discussed

Impact of Online Trade and Covid-19 on Consumer Behaviour in Covid-19: Evidence from Bank Employees

This research documented the influence of Covid-19 and Online Trade on consumer behaviour in Pakistan. COVID-19 significantly impacts communal health and creates rapid variations in lifestyle, social isolation, and household segregation, with societal and economic effects. This specifies that the country's economic growth in the country has declined. Data is collected through a questionnaire using Google forms from bank employees in Pakistan. SPSS is employed to analyse the data. Results showed a significant and positive relation between online trade and consumer behaviour. It is also revealed that Covid-19 has a negative but significant impact on consumer behaviour. The outcome displays that China is a major producer, and substantial industrial numbers are closed

Business Intelligence at Telenor Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan won two “best practices” awards from The Data Warehousing Institute for its business intelligence (BI) infrastructure in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, its Director of BI was promoted to Vice President of BI for the Telenor Group that had stakes in cellular network operations across thirteen countries. The new Director of BI, Rizwan Fazal, had been recruited from a major competitor. With past credentials, existing challenges and future ambitions in mind, his task was now to design a “roadmap” for BI that would satisfy all stakeholders that the unit would indeed progress ahead. The challenge – as he saw it – was, “How do you take what is already a de facto ‘centre-of-excellence’ even further?

MVD as the First Line Therapy after Failed Medical Treatment; for Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia

Objective: To analyze the outcome of MVD as a first choice therapy when medical treatment has failed for the definitive management of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia.Material and Methods:Study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery PGMI / Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. This was a prospective observational case series from January 2007 to December 2008, 50 selected patients of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia diagnosed after radiological and clinical exclusion of secondary causes of Neuralgia presenting in whom medical management had failed were offered MVD as the first Intervention. All the patients were followed for one year post-operatively.Results: Mean age was 59.2 years and minimum age 47 year and maximum 72 years. There was 16 males (32.0%) and females were 34 (68.0%). Male to female ratio was 1: 2.16. In 15 (30.0%) patients facial pain was on left side and 35 (70.0%) patients had right sided pain. V1 was found in 1 (2.0%) patient, V3 in 2 (4.0%) pati-ents, V1 and V2 in 2 (4.0%) patients, V1-3 in 17 (34.0%) patients, V2,3 in 28 (56.0%) patients. An Arterial loop was found in 37 (74.0%) patients as the compressing agent and a Vein only in 4 (8.0%) patients. Mixed artery and vein in 8 (16.0%) patients. Thick arachnoid was the compressing agent in 1 (2.0%) patient. Out of 50 patients 46 (92.0%) had Excellent outcome, 3 (6.0%) patients had Good outcome, 1 (2.0%) patient was in Fair outcome group. No patients were in Bad and Failure outcome groups.Conclusion: Microvascular Decompression of trigeminal nerve is a safe and first choice therapy when medical treatment has failed for the definitive management of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia in otherwise medically fit patients provided Surgeon has adequate experience of performing the procedure

A Comparative Study of Students' Perceptions about the Effectiveness of Teachers in English Language Classroom at College Level in Saudi Arabia

English is taught as a foreign language at school and university level in Saudi Arabia. The issue of teachers, who are better performer according to their effectiveness in a classroom, still remains unresolved. The present paper focuses on this issue of native and non-native speaker English teachers about their effectiveness. It reports the outcome of a study carried out in Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted with 120 Saudi male students. The object was to get a deeper insight into the students' perceptions about the Effectiveness of Native English speaker teachers and Non-Native English speaker teachers in English Language Teaching classroom. The effectiveness of the model study was based on enhancing the language proficiency level of the learners in the context of pedagogical behavior of teachers. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through the questionnaire surveys, interviews and end semester results of the participants. The learners involved in this model study were Preparatory Year students of (Level-1&2) taking Intensive English Language Course at Jazan University, KSA. The findings of the study statistically indicated the students' perceptions in favour of such Native English speaker teachers and Non-Native English speaker teachers (Arabs, Non-Arabs) both, who leave no stone unturned to maintain a serious learning environment. They apply varying strategies in order to enhance and improve the language proficiency level of the learners. The results will be beneficial for native and non‐native teachers in terms of realizing their deficiencies and raising awareness. Keywords: language proficiency, native, non-native, preference, students' perceptio

Parametric optimisation of friction stir welding on aluminium alloy (EN AW-1100) plates

Friction stir welding is a solid-state welding process used extensively for aluminium alloys. EN AW-1100 alloy is mostly used for its exceptional corrosion resistance, high ductility, high thermal and electrical conductivities, and cost-effectiveness. This study is focused on the optimisation of friction stir welding parameters to achieve enhanced mechanical properties of 5mm thick EN AW-1100 alloy plates welded with a single pass, using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array and ANOVA analysis. Experimental results revealed that maximum tensile strength of 79 MPa and percentage elongation of 38.87 % were achieved. The maximum Vickers hardness achieved in the stir zone was 34.15. These results were used for optimisation using Minitab and it was determined that 2000 RPM, 30 mm·min−1 traverse speed and square probe profile came out to be the best parameters for maximum tensile strength. 4000 RPM, 30 mm·min−1 traverse speed and square probe geometry were the best parameters for maximum hardness in the stir zone. ANOVA analysis showed that the most significant parameter for tensile strength was traverse speed. None of the considered parameters were influencing the hardness value in the stir zone at a 95 % confidence level

Phytochemical Profiling of the Ethanolic Extract of Zaleya pentandra L. Jaffery and Its Biological Activities by In-Vitro Assays and In-Silico Molecular Docking

Zaleya pentandra L. jaffery is the only species of the genus Zaleya that grows in the Cholistan desert, Pakistan. It is a Xero-halophyte plant with high phenolic and flavonoid content. The present research was designed to investigate the phytochemical composition, biological activities, and in silico molecular docking of the ethanolic extract of Z. pentandra. The phytochemical evaluation was done through preliminary phytochemical testing, estimation of total bioactive content, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis for the identification of volatile compounds. For the evaluation of biological activities, antioxidants, and enzyme inhibition (α-glucosidase, cholinesterase, and tyrosinase), antibacterial and antiviral assays were performed. GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of 29 tentative volatile compounds. The ethanolic extract of Z. pentandra contains high phenolic content (119.6 ± 0.12 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid content (45.5 ± 0.19 mg QE/g extract), which correlates with the strong DPPH, FRAP, and enzyme inhibition results. The ethanolic extract of Z. pentandra also showed dose-dependent antibacterial activity. Micrococcus luteus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found to be most susceptible, with 16 mm and 17 mm zone of inhibitions at a maximum dose of 20 mg/mL. Antiviral results showed that the ethanol extract has excellent activity against H9, IBV, and NDV viral strains. Additionally, in silico molecular docking was performed in order to determine the interaction and binding affinity between the enzymes and compounds identified by GC–MS. α-glucosidase, cholinesterase, and tyrosinase showed the highest binding affinity toward 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-n-(2-phenylethyl) benzamide, γ-sitosterol, and lactose. These findings can serve as a benchmark for anti-diabetic-, neuro-, and skin-protective uses of this plant and can be used for the isolation of pure bioactive compounds in the future

Cytotoxic and antioxidant potentials of ellagic acid derivatives from Conocarpus lancifolius (Combretaceae)

Purpose: Isolation, characterisation and structure elucidation of compounds obtained from Conocarpus lancifolius and screening of their pharmacological effects in vitro.Methods: After collection, authentication and extraction from whole C. lancifolius plants, screening for secondary metabolites, thin-layer  chromatography and subsequent open column chromatography were performed for phytochemical analysis and subsequent purification of the compounds. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic (UV-visible, infrared and mass) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR including BB, DEPT-135, 90 and two-dimensional correlation techniques, including HMBC and HSQC). The cytotoxic and antioxidant potentials of extracts and compounds obtained from C. lancifolius were evaluated using in vitro models.Results: Two ellagic acid derivatives, 2,3,8-tri-o-methylellagic acid (A) and 3-O-methylellagic acid 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (B), were isolated. Both compounds (A and B) were cytotoxic in a variety of cancer cell lines, including murine lymphocytic leukaemia (P-388, half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) =3.60 and 2.40 μg/mL, respectively), human colon cancer (Col-2, IC50 = 0.76 and 0.92 μg/mL, respectively) and human breast cancer (MCF-7, IC50 = 0.65 and 0.54 μg/mL, respectively). Moreover, both compounds showed significant antioxidant potential in vitro.Conclusion: C. lancifolius extract and isolated ellagic acid derivatives (compounds A and B) possess cytotoxic and antioxidant properties. These findings suggest that C. lancifolius contains bioactive compounds that can be potentially developed as natural cytotoxic and antioxidant compounds. Keywords: Conocarpus lancifolius, Ellagic acid, Combretaceae, Cytotoxic activity, Antioxidan

Comparison of solvent evaporation and ultrasonicassisted production methods in the development of nimesulide nanosponges and their characterization

Purpose: To compare solvent evaporation and ultrasonic assisted synthesis in preparation of nimesulide nanosponges using polyvinyl-alcohol and Eudragit L100 as a polymer/copolymer and dichloromethane as a cross linker.Methods: Twelve formulations of nimesulide were prepared, six with each method by varying the ratios of both polymer and co-polymer. The resulting nanosponges were evaluated characterized by preformulation studies, production yield (%), differential scanning calorimeter, x-ray diffraction, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, entrapment efficiency (%), actual drug content (%) and in-vitro dissolution studies.Results: The results revealed that the formulation with high amounts of co-polymer in both methods showed crystalline structures with enhanced dissolution rates in basic media. Drug entrapment was higher for products prepared by solvent evaporation method (74 %) than that prepared by ultrasonic assisted method (61 %). This correlates with the enhanced dissolution rates for products by solvent evaporation method and increased solubility due to drug-polymer complex formation.Conclusion: Formulations made by solvent evaporation method demonstrate higher production yield and drug entrapment. However, both methods exhibit enhanced dissolution rates in basic medium generally as well as other characteristics that are comparable to nanosponges reported in the literature with regard to their comb like structure