Consumer response to road pricing: Operational and demographic effects

The High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Atlanta, Georgia’s radial I-85 had long been providing sub-optimal throughput in the peak traffic hours, as the two-person occupancy requirement allowed the lanes to become heavily congested. The Georgia Department of Transportation converted 15.5 miles of HOV 2+ lanes to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, one in each direction on I-85. The lanes use dynamic value pricing to set toll levels based on the volume and average speed of traffic in the lanes. The goal of this research was to investigate the responses to toll lane pricing and the factors that appear to inform lane choice decisions, as well as examining values of travel time savings and toll price elasticity for users of the Express Lanes. This study of the metropolitan Atlanta I-85 Express Lanes operates at the microscopic level to examine the impact of demographic characteristics, congestion levels, and pricing on users’ decisions to use or not use the I-85 Express Lanes. The dissertation examined the value of travel time savings distributions across income segments. The differences in these distributions among lower, medium, and higher income households were marginal at best. The results did not indicate that higher income households had the highest value of travel time savings results, as may have been expected. The modeling work performed here provided a number of insights into toll lane use. The determinants of lane choice decision-making in the morning peak had notable differences from the determinants of the afternoon peak. The initial analysis involved models which were estimated across three different income segments to examine differences in decision making between low, medium, and higher income households. The results indicated that the parameters were largely consistent across the three segments. Further segmenting the households showed that lane choice determinants varied more within the ‘Higher’ income segment than across the original three-segment structure. In particular, the five-segment models illustrated lower elasticities with regard to corridor segment counts and toll levels for the highest-income households in the sample, as well as higher household income level elasticities for afternoon trips by that same cohort. The research was among the first in the available literature to use revealed preference lane use data for both the toll lane users and the unpriced general purpose lane users. The use of household level marketing data, rather than census or survey data, was another unique characteristic of this research. The analysis of value of travel time savings with a demographic component that looks at household income has not yet been seen in the literature; similarly, the findings regarding differing behavior among very high income households appear to be unseen in the existing literature. The results from this analysis, such as willingness-to-pay values for different population segments, will be useful inputs to the decisions surrounding future HOT implementations in the Atlanta region. The use of new data sources, the evaluation of those types of data sources, and the application of methods that have previously been unused in this field make up the primary contributions of this dissertation.Ph.D

Iran, Persian Gulf and Relations with the United States: The Myth of Hegemony (1968-75)

Abstract A host of negative perceptions about Western interests in keeping the Shah of Iran on throne and encouraging his aggressive posture during 1968-79 abound the anti-Imperialist narrative across the Persian Gulf. Negative references to the Shah’s stance against his Gulf and Westerly neighbours, such as claims on Bahrain, Abu Musa and the Tunbs Islands; instigating the Iraqi Kurdish rebellion and threatening to detach Pakistani Baluchistan during 1972-75 notwithstanding, his otherwise hostile behaviour in the OPEC threatening oil embargos against the West, as well actions in Dhofari rebellion during 1970-75, can only be explained as positive contributions towards the Arab cause and acting against Western interests. In addition, while the Shah acted against various Soviet protégés in the Gulf and western Asia during 1969-78, the Soviet countenance to his regional policies after his demanding American withdrawal from Bahrain in 1968 contradicts his acting on behalf of US interests or keeping the conservative Arabs incheck, or harbour expansionist ambitions. Analysing “Top-Secret” diplomatic correspondence detailing the Shah-US undertakings on these controversies, this study instead claims that the Shah wanted closer relations with all the conservative Arabs and revolutionary Iraq to protect the region from the US “bargains” with the Soviets. He actually protected his Sheikhly Arab neighbours from the Western military threat during 1968-71; extended direct security guarantees to Saudi Kingdom and Pakistan during 1972-75; and never harboured ambitions to take a security role under Nixon Doctrine thrgouh an aircraft Carrier navy well after 1971. The work discovers that the Shah had actually become resistant to President Johnson and Nixon’s advice on Iran’s security and relations with the Soviet Union, after refusals to provide necessary defensive weapons; threatening the Shah with arms embargoes and refusing any security guarantee to Iran from the Soviet, Nasserite or the Marxist threats during 1967-72. In fact, the study suggests that contrary to the stated objectives for US stationingthe MIDEASTFOR in Bahrain as security presence, Nixon intended to increase his bargaining position viz-a-viz the Soivet vulnerability along the southern borders; seek Soviet restraint against Europe and agree to Strategic Arms Limitations. The Shah was assured supplies of high-tech arms as a “recompense” for quiescence over US presence and Détente, and act as a conduit for arms to Pakistan after the 1971 War. The Shah’s interest in containing revolutionary Iraq after 1972 through the Kurds is also demonstrated as contradictory to Kissinger’s motives for Shah to act along Soviet borders and “neutralize” Iraq from the anti-Israeli quation. This study uncovers that the Shah did not act unilaterally against Saddam during 1972-75, but received support from King Faisal, Hussein and Kuwait, whereas, Nixon and Kissinger were duly warned by the CIA about the Shah’s “heavy-handed” tendencies against Arab neighbours; the dangers of triggering an arms race - without commensurate Iraqi threat -and which could elicit Soviet counter-actions should Iran threatened its southern borders or regional clients

Scheduling Security Model for a Cloud Environment

Context: Scheduling in the cloud is a complex task due to the number and variety of resources available and the volatility of usage-patterns of resources considering that the resource setting is on the service provider. This is compounded further when security issues and Quality of Service (QoS) are also factored in. Aim: The aim of this research is to address limitations and gaps in current approaches of resource scheduling in cloud computing by developing a Scheduling Security Model (SSM). Method: Considering security as a key element that cloud services rely on which affects the services performance, cost and time concerns within the security constraints of the cloud service. Furthermore, this research will investigate and define the considerable challenges facing trusted and cost-effective resource scheduling in cloud computing environments. The SSM analyses the customer requirements for a service then works to schedule all tasks submitted to run over available resources depending on the security level. It then uses the SSM Algorithm and the Fast-Track technique to reduce the cost and the overall waiting time. Results: The worked examples of the SSM with different scenarios and comparing the SSM against other approaches in the same field show that the SSM can meet the customer requirements for cost effective and the QoS required. Conclusions: The advantages from the results show that the SSM can reduce the overall service cost compared to other approaches

Guide for studying in Austria for Pakistani students

This document contains information on admission and visa process for Austria, for students from Pakistan. The reason to write this document is the lack of information about Austria, as very few Pakistani students come here. Also, Austrian embassy (in Islamabad) does not clarify much about any matters related to the visa process and the residence permit application for students. Apparently, the authorities at the Embassy do not even know about the procedure for proving your financial status to the authorities in Austria. At least, they don’t clarify this enough.  This makes the visa process more difficult. That is why we decided to write this document and categorically elaborate each step for admission and visa, for Austria.Â

Current Perspectives on Percutaneous Vertebroplasty: Current Evidence/Controversies, Patient Selection and Assessment, and Technique and Complications

Osteoporotic-associated vertebral compression fractures are a major public health concern, dwarfing even hip fractures in incidence in the United States. These fractures carry a significant morbidity and mortality burden and also represent a major growing source of consumption of scarce heath resources. Percutaneous vertebroplasty remains a commonly used and safe technique for the symptomatic treatment of vertebral compression fractures, both osteoporotic- and neoplastic-induced. By carefully selecting appropriate patients who are referred promptly, vertebroplasty can provide significant and durable pain relief over traditional conservative therapy. Recent controversies surrounding the evidence for vertebroplasty in osteoporotic-associated vertebral compression fractures are reviewed. A comprehensive step-by-step practical guide to performing vertebroplasty is then described. A brief description of patient selection, workup, as well as complications is also provided

The mechanism of action of the scorpion toxin, chlorotoxin, a bioinformatics approach

Glioblastoma is a very invasive and metastatic cancer with low patient survival-rate and high resistance to current treatment. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) is upregulated in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and its high expression is directly correlated with invasion and metastasis of GBM cells. Annexin A2 is involved in angiogenesis, and it is overexpressed in GBM. MMP2 and annexin A2 are potential targets for effective glioma therapy. Chlorotoxin is a promising toxin peptide for glioma targeted therapy. Chlorotoxin decreased migration and metastasis of GBM cells, although mechanism of action of the toxin is unclear due to the complicated nature of GBM, slow and costly experiments and challenging techniques. The relationship of chlorotoxin binding to both MMP2 and annexin A2 is controversial and further work is needed to clarify a complex situation. Chlorotoxin-like short toxins are homologous peptides that may also have potential therapeutic effects for glioma. In this study homology modelling was used to predict 3D models of chlorotoxin-like short toxins. Stereochemical quality estimation of 3D models was performed with QMEAN, Z-Score and Procheck server. ClusPro docking programme was used to dock 3D structures of chlorotoxin and chlorotoxin homologues with their putative binding partners MMP2 and annexin A2 to provide a first step to understand the mechanism of action of the toxin. Chlorotoxin shows binding interaction with both MMP2 and annexin A2. Chlorotoxin-like short toxins also showed stronger binding interaction with activated MMP2 than annexin A2. The positively charged surface of chlorotoxin is mainly involved in interaction with MMP2. All three chlorotoxin-like short toxins bind to a similar site on MMP2 but on separate sites on annexin A2 hence suggesting the significance of observed interaction between chlorotoxin and MMP2

Molecular Characterization of Wheat Genotypes Using SSR Markers

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rusts are the most destructive and widespread among all other diseases of wheat because of their wide distribution, and their capacity to form new races that can attack previously resistant cultivars which result in serious yield losses. The molecular characterization and genetic diversity of 20 wheat genotypes was investigated using 34 polymorphic Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) screened primers. About thirty-one loci were found. Lr-19 gene was present in all 20 wheat genotypes that cause resistance against wheat rust. Shalimar-86 and Chakwal-86 showed the highest genetic diversity with SH-02 and Ufaq respectively, giving a 98.94% genetic similarity and a minimum genetic diversity was observed between Chakwal-50 and Bhakar which showed that they are 74% similar. The current research found that SSR makers could distinguish and characterize all of the genotypes, more screened primers could be used for study and for saturation of different regions in further research. The identification of rust resistant genes in Pakistani wheat germplasm will help in accelerating the breeding program in future, including pyramiding of different wheat resistant genes in wheat genotypes and varieties

Impact of technological, organizational, environmental, use of E-marketing, technological opportunism on performance of Pakistan textile sector

Today, the effective use of technological revolution and innovations arc arguably one of the key challenges confronted by the textile industry in Pakistan. Therefore to understand diverse perspectives of technology diffusion and textile sector performance, the study examines the effect of technological factors which are relative advantage (RA), technology orientation (TO). organizational factors which are market orientation (MO), organization resources (OR), top management support (TMS) and environmental factors which are competitive pressure (CP), pressure from trading partners (TP) and government support (GS) on the textile firms performance (FP) in Pakistan through the mediating role of use of e-marketing (UFM) and moderating effect of technological opportunism (TOP) between UEM and FP. The study framework was established from theories, namely the Resource Based View, the Diffusion of Innovation and the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. Data was collected from general manager marketing working in textile manufacturing firms of Pakistan. Out or the 480 distributed questionnaires, 257 were returned. The cluster proportionate sampling technique was used. Hypotheses tests were performed on SmartPLS SEM 3.0. The results show that RA, TO. TMS, CP and TP have significant direct relationship with UEM and FP. Whereas, OR, MO found insignificant with UEM and FP but GS found significant with FP only. The use of e-marketing as a mediating variable played a significant role between TO, RA, MO, TMS, TP, CP and FP. except OR and GS. The findings also confirmed that technological opportunism (TOP) moderated the relationship between UEM and FP. However, the outcomes of this study have key contribution for the marketing field, as it strain the vital role of marketing persons in the effective implementation of e-marketing and its antecedents and also by filling the gap in the literature to enhance overall textile sector performance. Lastly, future research should include other innovative variables and theories to check the validity of model in different industries and countries

The growth of e-marketing in business-to-business industry and its effect on the performance of businesses in Pakistan: marketing success

E-marketing has emerged as one of the significant drivers in sustaining the firms competitive advantage. So far, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the marketing activities which are drastically affected by the use of e-marketing in small and large firms of Pakistan and their consequent performance outcomes. However, the objective of this study is to examine the technological, organizational and environmental factors on the performance of small and large firms in Pakistan with mediating role of E-Marketing uses and its generlizibality on countries with similar economic situation. Cross sectional data were collected from 257 manufacturing companies in Pakistan; general manager marketing were selected as the data collection sources. Additionally, SmartPLS 3.0, two step path-modeling has been used to examine the direct as well as indirect hypothesis of the current study. However, the results generated from SmartPLS (SEM) path-modeling found that, with regard to direct relationships, three variables (technology orientation, top management support, use of e-marketing) out of five including mediation variable have found significant positively associated with firm performance, however, only one (competitive pressure) has found negatively significant with firm performance. Finally, in terms of use of e-marketing as mediating variable between the relationships of technological, organizational, environmental factors and firm performance, three out of four (independent variables) indicate partial mediation including technological factors (technology orientation), organizational factors (top management support) and environmental factors (competitive pressure). However, market orientation had shown insignificant results both in the direct relationship as well as by including E-Marketing uses

The Growth of E-Marketing in Business-to-Business Industry and its effect on the Performance of Businesses in Pakistan: Marketing Success

E-marketing has emerged as one of the significant drivers in sustaining the firms competitive advantage. So far, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the marketing activities which are drastically affected by the use of e-marketing in small and large firms of Pakistan and their consequent performance outcomes. However, the objective of this study is to examine the technological, organizational and environmental factors on the performance of small and large firms in Pakistan with mediating role of E-Marketing uses and its generlizibality on countries with similar economic situation. Cross sectional data were collected from 257 manufacturing companies in Pakistan; general manager marketing were selected as the data collection sources. Additionally, SmartPLS 3.0, two step path-modeling has been used to examine the direct as well as indirect hypothesis of the current study. However, the results generated from SmartPLS (SEM) path-modeling found that, with regard to direct relationships, three variables (technology orientation, top management support, use of e-marketing) out of five including mediation variable have found significant positively associated with firm performance, however, only one (competitive pressure) has found negatively significant with firm performance. Finally, in terms of use of e-marketing as mediating variable between the relationships of technological, organizational, environmental factors and firm performance, three out of four (independent variables) indicate partial mediation including technological factors (technology orientation), organizational factors (top management support) and environmental factors (competitive pressure). However, market orientation had shown insignificant results both in the direct relationship as well as by including E-Marketing uses.