Brands support #blacklivesmatter on social media, but what’s missing?

Companies must make data public on the internal distribution of ethnic minorities by salary band, write Wasim Ahmed and Wasim Rehma

A structural VAR (SVAR) approach to cost channel of monetary policy

The study aims at investigating, whether or not the cost channel of monetary policy is effective in Pakistan. The cost channel is one of the theoretical justifications of Price Puzzle, a phenomenon that has been observed in a number of empirical studies. Using Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) and data from different industries of manufacturing sector of Pakistan over the period 2001:M07-2008:M04, we find strong evidence in favor of Price Puzzle in major industries. In industries like textile, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and fertilizers, cost channel dominates the traditional demand channel. Same behavior is observed for aggregate price level in the overall manufacturing sector. The main reason for the result is the dependency of the above mentioned industries on short-term borrowing to finance their operational liquidity.Cost Channel, Price Puzzle, Working Capital, Monetary Policy, Marginal Cost, Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR)

INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL PRACTICES AND FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY: A MEDIATING ROLE OF BANKS’ PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM THE BANKING SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

The study attempts to examine the impact of intellectual capital(IC) practices (i.e. human capital, structural capital and relationalcapital practices) on financial efficiency through mediating the roleof bank performance. We collected data for 518 banks’ professionalsthrough questionnaire and use the direct path way and multipleregression to examine the impact of IC practices on mediating variable(bank performance) and mediating variable on dependent variable(financial efficiency). The results reveal that the proposed hypothesesare statistically significant (p<0.01) and that banks’ performancepartially mediates the relationship between IC practices and banks’financial efficiency. This study provides valuable insights on theimpact of IC practices on financial efficiency of banks throughmediation of bank performance. The tested theoretical relationshipreveals that banks which are more involved in IC practices get betterresults than their competitors

Husimi dynamics generated by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians

The dynamics generated by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are often less intuitive than those of conventional Hermitian systems. Even for models as simple as a complexified harmonic oscillator, the dynamics for generic initial states shows surprising features. Here we analyse the dynamics of the Husimi distribution in a semiclassical limit, illuminating the foundations of the full quantum evolution. The classical Husimi evolution is composed of two factors, (i) the initial Husimi distribution evaluated along phase-space trajectories, and (ii) the final value of the norm corresponding to each phase-space point. Both factors conspire to lead to intriguing dynamical behaviours. We demonstrate how the full quantum dynamics unfolds on top of the classical Husimi dynamics for two instructive examples.Comment: 6 pages and 3 figure

Does Critical Success Factors of KM Mediate the KS-Driven Performance in the Software Sector of Pakistan?

This research tends to investigate role of KS practices on overall performance of software sector using critical success factors of KM (i.e. KM process and infrastructure capabilities) as intermediate measures. In this regard, a survey method using the adapted instrument to draw the inference from data collected from software developers.  The parallel multiple mediation model proposed and tested by using Process Macro. The findings of study reveal that KS practices have a significant and positive effect on the overall performance in terms of operational excellence, financial achievement, customer intimacy, product leadership. The results indicate that all the constructs of KM process and infrastructure capabilities partially mediates the relationship between KS practices and performance of software sector. Hence, findings of study support all the suggested hypotheses and draws the inference that KM process and infrastructure capabilities support the theoretical prisms of KBV initiatives

A structural VAR (SVAR) approach to cost channel of monetary policy

The study aims at investigating, whether or not the cost channel of monetary policy is effective in Pakistan. The cost channel is one of the theoretical justifications of Price Puzzle, a phenomenon that has been observed in a number of empirical studies. Using Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) and data from different industries of manufacturing sector of Pakistan over the period 2001:M07-2008:M04, we find strong evidence in favor of Price Puzzle in major industries. In industries like textile, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and fertilizers, cost channel dominates the traditional demand channel. Same behavior is observed for aggregate price level in the overall manufacturing sector. The main reason for the result is the dependency of the above mentioned industries on short-term borrowing to finance their operational liquidity

A structural VAR (SVAR) approach to cost channel of monetary policy

The study aims at investigating, whether or not the cost channel of monetary policy is effective in Pakistan. The cost channel is one of the theoretical justifications of Price Puzzle, a phenomenon that has been observed in a number of empirical studies. Using Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) and data from different industries of manufacturing sector of Pakistan over the period 2001:M07-2008:M04, we find strong evidence in favor of Price Puzzle in major industries. In industries like textile, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and fertilizers, cost channel dominates the traditional demand channel. Same behavior is observed for aggregate price level in the overall manufacturing sector. The main reason for the result is the dependency of the above mentioned industries on short-term borrowing to finance their operational liquidity

An Application of Fairclough’s Three Dimensional CDA Approach to Fraser Anning\u27s Speech in Australian Senate

The aim of this study was to highlight impression markers, identify key concerns, and describe cultural as well as social implications of a speech delivered by William Fraser Anning (an Australian Senator) in the Australian Senate on August 14, 2018. In this regard, Fairclough’s three-dimensional model was employed to interpret the data. The speaker was observed employing different impression markers (e.g. discourse and punctuation markers, cultural and historical references, personal pronouns, self and other markers, and expressive and rational values) to create coherence in the speech, emphasize the stance, and thereby grab the attention of the audience. Social problems, common man’s worries like joblessness, poor living standard, race, ethnicity and immigration were the concerns of the speech. Muslim immigrants were not treated as humans equal to Australians or other Europeans. They were labeled as ‘welfare-blunders’, ‘terrorists’, ‘gang-terrorists’, ‘criminals’, and ‘illegal occupants’. The speech was followed by an extremist attack on a Mosque in New Zealand. It might cause serious threat to peaceful coexistence, immigration process, and basic human rights

Stiff person syndrome: a diagnostic and management challenge

Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by progressive muscle stiffness and rigidity, mostly involving axial muscles, resulting in functional disability. It is associated with elevated anti- Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibody levels. Electromyography findings are often diagnostic. We present a case of a 48 years old male, who presented with progressive stiffness and rigidity of axial muscles and limbs. His EMG was consistent with SPS. Anti GAD antibodies were markedly elevated. He was treated with rituximab and has improved significantly. SPS is a difficult diagnosis, usually under diagnosed due to lack of awareness among medical community. There is a dire need to further study the disease and invent better treatment options for patients suffering from SPS

Accuracy of computed tomography in diagnosing malignancy in solitary pulmonary lesions

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate accuracy of Computed Tomography (CT) for diagnosing malignancy in solitary pulmonary lesions (SPLs). METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 20-01-2007 to 30-06-2008 at the Radiology department, Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi. Fifty-three patients with solitary pulmonary lesions (SPLs) seen in prior chest x-rays or chest CT scans were referred to radiology department for CT guided biopsy. CT scan was performed for each patient prior to biopsy and CT evaluation of the SPLs was performed followed by CT guided Biopsy. Histopathological diagnosis of the lesion was taken as the gold standard. RESULTS: CT was found to be 100% sensitive, 30% specific and 87% accurate for diagnosing malignancy in solitary pulmonary lesions while PPV and NPV were 86% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSION: CT scan is highly sensitive yet non-specific and cannot be used as the definitive diagnostic modality for diagnosing malignancy in solitary pulmonary lesions