Skill Shortage versus Subject Choice, Case of Pakistan

Higher Education is believed to be a very important determinant of economic growth. The growth can be optimized with a suitable combination of skills in various subjects. A mismatch between required combination of skills and available combination of skills carries heavy costs for developing economies since import of skill from foreign is much more in expensive for such economies. We compare skill shortage in Pakistan with the subjects choice of students recently enrolled in institutes of higher learning. We found that there is a mismatch between skill shortage and the enrollment trend. We propose that the Government should regulate recruitment of students into various subjects in order to create greater harmony between national needs and students enrollment.Subject Choice, Skill Shortage, National Needs

An Empirical Study on the Preferred Leadership Style of Saudi Women Entrepreneurs

The last decade has seen increased contribution of Saudi women in senior management roles and organizational decision- making. There is also a steady progress in the number of Saudi women entrepreneurs. Women Entrepreneurs are the leaders, idea generator and the sole owner of the available resources. Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs have similar job responsibility as they both work as per the available limited resources and manage their tasks in the presence of these constraints.The principal objective of this research is to study the different leadership styles being practiced by Saudi women entrepreneurs or managers, as well as to study the effectiveness of these leadership styles. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire which consists of questions designed to collect data about the leadership style being practiced by the Saudi women entrepreneurs or managers. Data was collected from 210 women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. The survey data was analyzed using various analytical softwares. The result shows that authoritarian leadership style is highly practiced by women entrepreneurs followed by democratic leadership style in Hail and Riyadh region. This study can be used to acquire knowledge about the various leadership styles being practiced by women entrepreneurs or managers in Saudi Arabia. It will also be useful to the Saudi women entrepreneurs / managers in identifying the most effective leadership style. This study aims to add to the limited research by offering fresh understanding into the leadership styles embraced by Saudi female entrepreneurs

Impact of Hydropower Projects on Economic Growth of AJK.

According to official estimates, territory of Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a potential to generate about 4600 MW of hydroelectricity, the cheapest source of energy. Total deficit in energy Pakistan is facing these days is about 5000 MW. So, only AJK can fulfill more than 90% of deficit of now demanded energy for entire country. Beside this direct and explicit advantage of hydropower projects to power sector, these projects may be extremely useful in improving many economic and social indicators at local and national level. Many socioeconomic indicators reveal that Azad Kashmir is there is huge gap in development level of AJK and National level. Development of power sector is extremely important to fill this gap. In this paper, we analyze effect of possible implementation of these projects on various economic and social sectors at local and national level. We discuss the obstacles in implementation of projects and recommendations are given at the end

Impact of Hydropower Projects on Economic Growth of AJK.

According to official estimates, territory of Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a potential to generate about 4600 MW of hydroelectricity, the cheapest source of energy. Total deficit in energy Pakistan is facing these days is about 5000 MW. So, only AJK can fulfill more than 90% of deficit of now demanded energy for entire country. Beside this direct and explicit advantage of hydropower projects to power sector, these projects may be extremely useful in improving many economic and social indicators at local and national level. Many socioeconomic indicators reveal that Azad Kashmir is there is huge gap in development level of AJK and National level. Development of power sector is extremely important to fill this gap. In this paper, we analyze effect of possible implementation of these projects on various economic and social sectors at local and national level. We discuss the obstacles in implementation of projects and recommendations are given at the end

Effect of Synthesis methods on the Properties of Magnetic Material

Ba1-xPbxFe12O19 composition (x=0.0 to 1.0) synthesized by Co-precipitation and Sol-Gel methods. In Coprecipitation method BaCO3, PbO and Fe (NO3)3 .9H2O were used as basic ingredients. Acids and Di-H2O were used as solvents. Molar ratio of cations was 12. pH of solution kept constant at 13. All samples sintered at 965±5oC for three hours. Lead own properties, synthesis at room temperature and substitution in R-block of structure were the reasons for decrease of phase purity from ?x? =0.0 to 70% for ?x?=1.0. Decrease in phase purity and heterogeneity of material caused the properties to decrease. In Sol gel method, Nitrates (salts) and Ethylene glycol (liquid) were the basic material used. The mixed solutions dried out on a hot plate whose temperature was maintained constant at 200±2oC. Pellets formed by applying suitable hydraulic pressure and then sintered at same temperature written above i.e. 965±5oC for three hours. 100% phase purity achieved. All properties modified. Temperature and frequency dependent electrical properties investigated and reported here. DC and AC obtained properties were useful for different electronics and computer devices like capacitors, smart storage devices and multilayer chip inductors. Overall, both these properties improved through solgelmethod as compared to co-precipitation method. It was because of improvement in phase purity and change inmorphology of synthesized material

IDENTIFYING TRAVEL MOTIVATIONS OF SAUDI DOMESTIC TOURISTS: CASE OF HAIL PROVINCE IN SAUDI ARABIA

This study focuses on Saudi domestic tourists visiting Hail province. The objectives of this study are to explore the perception of tourists regarding Hail province and to identify the main motivational factors that attracts them to travel to Hail. This study was conducted in Hail region located in north of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Visitors over 18 years of age in attraction sites in the destination were potential respondents for the present study. Convenient sampling technique was applied to gather data from respondents. Over 650 questionnaires were distributed among visitors in Hail region, out of which 380 were used for analysis as the remaining questionnaires were not fit for use due to their incomplete responses. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were undertaken to identify travel motives or intentions of tourists. The identified motivational factors illustrated that “taking part in new adventures”, “relaxation”, “increasing tourism knowledge”, and “escaping routine” were the most important reasons of Saudi tourist to visit Hail region. The cluster analysis result shows that “relaxation” is the top motivational factor for tourists who visit Hail followed by “increasing tourism knowledge”. This study gives important recommendations for planners in the Saudi Tourism Commission and National Heritage and Entertainment Authority to take development of Hail destination as priority for domestic and international tourism travelers. The decision and policy makers should create tourism packages, products and programs based on push and pull factors which impact the motivation factors of the travelers to make Hail as the major tourist destination

Performance of blended cement concrete exposed to marine environment

Reinforced concrete exposed to the marine environment deteriorates more rapidly. Structures constructed at or near the sea shore have to be repaired more often than comparable structures located elsewhere. This study was carried out to develop an understanding of the performance of concrete made up of cements blended by pozzolanic materials. Several mix designs were formulated, incorporating the pozzolans like slag, fly ash and silica fume and calcium nitrate as the corrosion inhibitor. Mix designs were in accordance with ACI 211-1 and pozzolanic materials were added in accordance with ACI 233 and ACI 234. A number of tests were carried out during the study to compare the performance of samples cast from concrete of different mix designs. Tests conducted during the study were Rapid Migration Test (NT Build 492), Half Cell Potential (ASTM C 876), Absorptivity of the oven-dried samples (ASTM C 642), Compressive Strength Test (ASTM C 39) and Flexural Strength Test (ASTM C 293). Results showed that in almost all cases, use of cements blended with pozzolanic materials resulted in an enhanced performance of the concrete. Use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) in concrete provides a sustainable and feasible solution to the durability problems in coastal areas. Replacements of OPC by the pozzolan will not only help in conservation of natural resources, but it will also contribute towards reducing pollution and energy