Impact of Intangible Characteristics of Universities on Student Satisfaction

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the intangible qualities of the universities on student satisfaction. To do this, we have collected data from 7 different major public and private universities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We have used 170 data to proposed further analysis. The partial least square method (PLS) was used to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that career opportunities and a friendly atmosphere are the main two elements that foster the reputation of the universities. The second interesting result of this research is that social activities impact the reputation of universities but not the friendly atmosphere while social activities impact a friendly atmosphere but not the reputation significantly. Finally, we have suggested the implications to the practitioners in the region

On an Empirical Definition of Money for Pakistan

In the realm of monetary economics, the question of the appropriate definition of money is both crucial and controversial. Various definitions of money offered by monetary economists differ widely. While narrowly defined money consists of currency and demand deposits only. other broader definitions of money include a host of other assets as well. The choice of the most appropriate monetary aggregate is an empirical issue and needs to be settled empirically. In the literature a number of methods are available for defining money empirically. To mention only two of them, Meltzer (1963) and Laidler (1966) consider that definition o f money the most appropriate which gives the most stable demand function for money while Chetty (1969), Moroney and Wilberatte (1976), Boughton (1981) and Husted and Rush (1984) infer their definition of money on the basis of the degree of substitutability between narrowly defined money and other financial assets. Although the two methods are closely linked, the latter has the advantage of providing a direct measure of the degree of substitutability between various financial assets and also allows for defining money as a sort of weighted average of these assets based on this substitutability rather than a simple-sum aggregation

Bacteriological study of food in the Pakistan’s peri-urban areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad

In order to ascertain the food quality for human consumption the bacteriological analysis was carried out in a prospective study in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad. The surveillance work was conducted during the months of July to August peak summer season to evaluate the objective parameters for assessment of the bacteriological and hygienic status of food being consumed in the peri-urban area of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Out of a total of 91 samples, the various bacterial contaminants such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, fungal species were isolated and identified using standard cultural and biochemical methods. It was observed that in total food samples, 25.5% were positive for E. coli, 16.6% for S. aureus and 11.1% for Salmonella species. This study highlighted the poor hygienic conditions for the food quality standards in the area of investigation. It was concluded that the food related endemic health concerns can be checked by taking appropriate preventive measures to forestall the outbreaks of gastroenteritis and food poisoning in the future as a serious health problem.Keywords: Faecal coliforms, total viable count, total plate count

Design and analysis of a high-gain and robust multi-DOF electro-thermally actuated MEMS gyroscope

© 2018 by the authors. This paper presents the design and analysis of a multi degree of freedom (DOF) electro-thermally actuated non-resonant MEMS gyroscope with a 3-DOF drive mode and 1-DOF sense mode system. The 3-DOF drive mode system consists of three masses coupled together using suspension beams. The 1-DOF system consists of a single mass whose motion is decoupled from the drive mode using a decoupling frame. The gyroscope is designed to be operated in the flat region between the first two resonant peaks in drive mode, thus minimizing the effect of environmental and fabrication process variations on device performance. The high gain in the flat operational region is achieved by tuning the suspension beams stiffness. A detailed analytical model, considering the dynamics of both the electro-thermal actuator and multi-mass system, is developed. A parametric optimization is carried out, considering the microfabrication process constraints of the Metal Multi-User MEMS Processes (MetalMUMPs), to achieve high gain. The stiffness of suspension beams is optimized such that the sense mode resonant frequency lies in the flat region between the first two resonant peaks in the drive mode. The results acquired through the developed analytical model are verified with the help of 3D finite element method (FEM)-based simulations. The first three resonant frequencies in the drive mode are designed to be 2.51 kHz, 3.68 kHz, and 5.77 kHz, respectively. The sense mode resonant frequency is designed to be 3.13 kHz. At an actuation voltage of 0.2 V, the dynamically amplified drive mode gain in the sense mass is obtained to be 18.6 μm. With this gain, a capacitive change of 28.11 f F and 862.13 f F is achieved corresponding to the sense mode amplitude of 0.15 μm and 4.5 μm at atmospheric air pressure and in a vacuum, respectively

İki tarla bitkisinde Euphorbia hirta ve PEG 6000 ile oluşan engelleyici etkilerin karşılaştırması üzerine bir ön çalışma

Euphorbia hirta is commonly found in all tropical regions of the world, as invasive weed with an adverse effect on other plants. The current study features two important aspects: (i), Effects of E. hirta roots exudates (0, 50, 75 and 100% concentrations) (ii), Influence of PEG 6000 “Polyethylene glycol” (8, 16 and 40 g/l concentrations) on germination and growth criterion of Cicer arietinum (Chick pea) and Phaseolus vulgaris (French bean). In this regard osmotic potential of all the solutions have been balanced. It is observed that the root leachates of spurge weed significantly (p < 0.05) affected the germination rate while PEG has no positive or negative effect on growth activity. The growth parameters in both crops have altered by spurge weed and PEG solutions while highest inhibition was recorded in root length root exudates (3.5 cm) of C. arietinum which is in contrast to PEG (11.97 cm), this might be due to the presence of allelochemicals. The prescribed treatments also raised their pH values, where highest pH (7.9) obtained from 100% spurge weed induction which is relatively a stronger basic nature rather than neutral control samples. Comparative studies of both test crops shows that C. arietinum has appeared to be more influential than P. vulgaris. Two-way ANOVA has produced a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the effects of both treatments on germination and growth of test crops while within group (concentrations of each treatment) are weakly significant (p < 0.1) to each other. This would rather intimates that the inhibition has strongly emerged as an allelopathic response on Cicer arietinum and Phaseolus vulgaris plants by the induction of spurge weed (Euphorbia hirta) root exudates.Euphorbia hirta, diğer bitkiler üzerinde olumsuz etkiye sahip istilacı bir yabancı ot türü olarak dünyanın bütün tropikal bölgelerinde yaygın olarak bulunmaktadır. Yürütülen çalışmada, Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fasulye) ve Cicer arietinum L. (Nohut) çimlenme ve büyüme kriteri üzerine (i) E. hirta'nın kök salgılarının etkileri (0, 50, 75 ve %100 konsantrasyon), (ii) PEG 6000'nin (8, 16 ve 40 g/l konsantrasyon) “Polietilen glikol” etkisi olmak üzere iki önemli husus bulunmaktadır. Bu bakımdan bütün solüsyonların osmotik potansiyeli dengelenmiştir. Sütleğen bitkisinin kök salgılarının çimlenme oranını önemli ölçüde (p <0.05) etkilediği, PEG'in ise büyüme aktivitesi üzerinde olumlu veya olumsuz bir etkisinin olmadığı gözlemlenmiştir. PEG solüsyonları ve sütleğen bitkisi her iki üründeki büyüme parametrelerini değiştirmiş, C. arietinum'un kök uzunluğunda PEG (11.97 cm)'in aksine en yüksek oranda inhibisyon kök salgıları uygulamasında (3.5 cm) kaydedilmiştir. Bu durum alelokimyasalların varlığından kaynaklanmış olabilir. En yüksek pH (7.9) nötr kontrol örneklerine göre daha güçlü bir bazik yapısı olan %100 sütleğen otu indüksiyonundan elde edilmiş, yapılan uygulamalar ayrıca pH değerlerini de yükseltmiştir. Çalışmadaki her iki test bitkisi karşılaştırıldığında C. arietinum'un P. vulgaris'ten daha fazla etkilendiği görülmüştür. İki yönlü varyans analizine göre (Two-way ANOVA) her iki uygulamanın test bitkilerinin çimlenme ve büyümesi üzerindeki etkileri grup içerisinde (her bir uygulama konsantrasyonları) az oranda önemli olmasına rağmen (p <0.1) her iki uygulama arasında önemli bir fark (p <0.05) oluşturmuştur. Bu inhibisyonun sütleğen bitkisinin (Euphorbia hirta) kök salgılarının Cicer arietinum ve Phaseolus vulgaris bitkileri üzerine alelopatik etkisine karşı güçlü bir yanıt olarak ortaya çıktığı düşünülmektedir

Shunt Migration into Scrotum: A Case Report

Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) is a common procedure involved in the management of hydrocephalus. VP shunt has many inherent complications including obstruction, infection, breakage, and migration of the shunt. The incidence of scrotal shunt migration is around 14% VPS migration into the scrotum manifests as reducible trans-illuminant scrotal swelling, which is more like hydrocele. Mostly migration occurs into the right hemi-scrotum within the first 6 months of performing a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Bilateral herniotomy with repositioning of the distal shunt catheter is the&nbsp;treatment&nbsp;of choice

Association Of Vitamin D Status And Diabetes Mellitus

To evaluate the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD)inadequacyand hyperglycaemia in a Pakistani adult population.Study Design:Case control studyPlace &amp; Period of Study:Department of Pathology, PNS SHIFA Hospital, Karachi; Aug 2011 to Nov 2011.Method and Material:Plasma Glucose levels were measured in 86 patients divided on the basis of their 25-hydroxyvitamin D3(25OHD)levels in three groups, normal (&gt;31 ng/ml), insufficient (20-31ng/ml) and deficient (&lt;20ng/ml). Vitamin D insufficiency (VDI)and Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD) are collectively called Vitamin D inadequacy. 25OHD was measured by electrochemiluminescenceusing Roche Elecsys® Systems while glucose was estimated by routine methods on Roche Hitachi® Autoanalyser.Results:.Vitamin D levels were inversely correlated with plasma glucose levels(r=-0.38;p&lt;0.01) with an Odd Ratio of 3.59(95%confidence interval 1.29 to 8.70).Fasting plasma glucose was significantly higher in VDD patientsas compared to patients withnormal vitamin D status (p&lt;0.05).Conclusion:Higher glucose levels were found more frequent in patients with Vitamin D deficiency

The role of E-service quality in shaping online meeting platforms: a case study from higher education sector

Purpose – In this study, we have collected the response from 200 private university lecturers in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In order to test the hypotheses, we have proposed structural equations modeling (SEM). Design/methodology/approach – The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the direct and indirect effects of e-service quality on perceived value, satisfaction and willingness to pay for online meeting platforms in the education sector. This study also explores the effect of e-service quality on users’ perception and satisfaction. Findings – The results reveal that e-service quality directly affects the perceived value and satisfaction but has no direct effect on the willingness to pay. Secondly, perceived value and satisfaction mediated the relationships between service quality and willingness to pay. However, it is observed that perceived value has a more significant impact on the willingness to pay compared to satisfaction. It is further reported that perceived value is one of the antecedents of satisfaction. The study also explores the direct relationship between perceived value and willingness to pay, and introduces satisfaction as a mediating variable between perceived value and willingness to pay. Research limitations/implications – The sample is geographically limited as only online faculty and staff working at private universities participated in the study. This study has implications for administrators of higher educational institutions and companies providing IT solutions for online meetings. From a managerial standpoint, this study provides and IT companies a broad theoretical basis that designing a successful online meeting platform should specifically emphasize e-service quality, perceived value and customer satisfaction. Originality/value – There is no study that evaluated the links among e-service quality, value, satisfaction, and willingness to pay for the online meeting platform services. Therefore, this study is useful for the private university administration and online meeting platform developers and investors

Controlling the microstructure and associated magnetic properties of Ni0.2Mn3.2Ga0.6 melt-spun ribbons by annealing

Here we report on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.2Mn3.2Ga0.6 meltspun ribbons. The as-spun ribbons were found to exhibit mixed cubic phases that transform to non-cubic structure upon annealing. Additionally, an amorphous phase was found to co-exist in all ribbons. The SEM images show that minor grain formation occurs on the as-spun ribbons. However, the formation of extensive nano-grains was observed on the surfaces of the annealed ribbons. While the as-spun ribbons exhibit predominantly paramagnetic behavior, the ribbons annealed under various thermal conditions were found to be ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature of about 380 K. The ribbons annealed at 450 ◦C for 30 minutes exhibit a large coercive field of about 2500 Oe. The experimental results show that the microstructure and associated magnetic properties of the ribbons can be controlled by annealing techniques. The coercive fields and the shape of the magnetic hysteresis loops vary significantly with annealing conditions. Exchange bias effects have also been observed in the annealed ribbons

Controlling the microstructure and associated magnetic properties of Ni0.2Mn3.2Ga0.6 melt-spun ribbons by annealing

Here we report on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.2Mn3.2Ga0.6 melt- spun ribbons. The as-spun ribbons were found to exhibit mixed cubic phases that transform to non-cubic structure upon annealing. Additionally, an amorphous phase was found to co-exist in all ribbons. The SEM images show that minor grain forma- tion occurs on the as-spun ribbons. However, the formation of extensive nano-grains was observed on the surfaces of the annealed ribbons. While the as-spun ribbons exhibit predominantly paramagnetic behavior, the ribbons annealed under various thermal conditions were found to be ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature of about 380 K. The ribbons annealed at 450 ◦C for 30 minutes exhibit a large coercive field of about 2500 Oe. The experimental results show that the microstructure and associated magnetic properties of the ribbons can be controlled by annealing techniques. The coercive fields and the shape of the magnetic hysteresis loops vary significantly with annealing conditions. Exchange bias effects have also been observed in the annealed ribbons