Impact of Religiosity on Cash Holdings: Case Study of Islam

The rationale behind the study is to scrutinize the impact and gauge the extent to which liquidity; cash flows, leverage, size, dividend payments, Islam, cash flow, variability and Market to Book ratio affect the cash holdings of corporate organizations. This study is important in the Islamic perspective which is going to check the impact of these variables on cash holdings when credit based financing is restricted to a specific extent and the main focus is on the cash based financing modes. 313 companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange have been selected to inspect the association. The financial data of 5 years have been taken into account i.e. 2006-2011.Panel data estimation models like common effect model, random effect model and Haussmann test is applied to conduct the analysis. The results showed the significant positive relationship of all variables with cash holdings in Islamic roles follower firms of Pakistan. Islamic roles which is taken in our paper for study is basically based on a two criteria issued for a firms to be Islamic, was that they must have the interest bearing ratio should be less than 37% and the Non compliance investment to assets ratio should be less than 33%.. The study will help the investors and financial analysts to understand the factors of liquidity contributing towards cash holdings in Pakistani firms

CroLSSim: Cross‐language software similarity detector using hybrid approach of LSA‐based AST‐MDrep features and CNN‐LSTM model

Software similarity in different programming codes is a rapidly evolving field because of its numerous applications in software development, software cloning, software plagiarism, and software forensics. Currently, software researchers and developers search cross-language open-source repositories for similar applications for a variety of reasons, such as reusing programming code, analyzing different implementations, and looking for a better application. However, it is a challenging task because each programming language has a unique syntax and semantic structure. In this paper, a novel tool called Cross-Language Software Similarity (CroLSSim) is designed to detect similar software applications written in different programming codes. First, the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) features are collected from different programming codes. These are high-quality features that can show the abstract view of each program. Then, Methods Description (MDrep) in combination with AST is used to examine the relationship among different method calls. Second, the Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency approach is used to retrieve the local and global weights from AST-MDrep features. Third, the Latent Semantic Analysis-based features extraction and selection method is proposed to extract the semantic anchors in reduced dimensional space. Fourth, the Convolution Neural Network (CNN)-based features extraction method is proposed to mine the deep features. Finally, a hybrid deep learning model of CNN-Long-Short-Term Memory is designed to detect semantically similar software applications from these latent variables. The data set contains approximately 9.5K Java, 8.8K C#, and 7.4K C++ software applications obtained from GitHub. The proposed approach outperforms as compared with the state-of-the-art methods

Microarchitecture of the Thymus Gland; Its Age and Disease-Associated Morphological Alterations, and Possible Means to Prolong Its Physiological Activity

Thymus is a ductless, highly organized, bilobed encapsulated gland of the lymphoid organs that contributes in thymopoiesis. Thymus plays an important function in the assortment, progress and profusion of T cells. The mature subsets of thymus dependent lymphocytes linked with the thymic epithelial and other cells developed the microstructure that protect the body from the harmful foreign micro-organism. Most of the thymic lobular areas experienced the parenchymal cells hypoplasia, undergone infiltration of stromal FCT and experienced thymic atrophy with age progression. As the host gets adult, the regression of the thymus and the thymopoiesis occurs, which ultimately boost the vulnerable situations of the host and open a gateway to autoimmune diseases. Since past decades, scientists are intensely investigated to develop some tactics for the improvements of the thymus performance including T-cell regeneration and maturation with age progression. This unique organ is continuously altered morphologically with age and disease; however, this microarchitectural alteration and its possible modulations is not yet clear. Therefore, the main purpose of this chapter is to highlight the microstructural compartments and physiological modification of the thymus with age. Also, the chapter is suggesting the possible alternative ways to improve its durable physio-morphology in vertebrates

WTO’s Implications on Agriculture Sector in Pakistan: Threats, Opportunities and Possible Strategies

The WTO trading system is a fact of life. This is only organization which can manage the challenges of globalization. There are both opportunities and threats for the member states in relation to different sectors of economy like agriculture.  This paper examines that Pakistan has a great potential to produce and export agricultural commodities in the international markets.  In order to achieve maximum benefits from the WTO, Pakistan has to take strong and immediate steps in the light of SPS and TBT Agreement that are germane with agriculture sector.  In this connection Pakistan has achieved GSP+ status by European Union which gives a great opportunity to Pakistan to improve its agricultural standards and enhance its export in European agricultural markets.  The paper also recommends some possible solutions to improve the agriculture standards in Pakistan. In all countries farming system play a very important role for increasing crop production and strengthen the economy of the country. Government sector should also play a vital role to educate the farmers with new planting techniques and strategic plans for the production of good quality disease free crops. Based on results and conclusion development of extension program, utilization of proper management techniques, utilization of high quality seed, government support, infrastructure and market opportunities are the dire need for farmers and agriculture of Pakistan. 

ISO Certifications: Trends & Scope in Pakistan

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the trends and scope of ISO Certifications awarded in Pakistan, based on survey and literature review during last decade from 2004-2014. This research is descriptive & exploratory in nature. Data source for the study is ISO Survey of Management System Standard Certifications – 2014 and literature review on ISO Certification from Pakistan’s context. Analysis of data is carried out using statistical tools i.e. SPSS, Excel. The analysis of data shows that the number of certifications awarded over a period of time represents continuous positive increasing trends & wide scope for adoption of ISO in Pakistan in most of industrial and business sectors not limited to exports only.  Increasing trends are predicting good future of ISO certification in Pakistan and a great business opportunity for certification bodies and career opportunities for professionals. It also depicts commitment to Quality Management Practices & organizational competitiveness. It could have long lasting effects on import and export sectors also and new investments in Pakistan. Negative impacts could be financial challenges for smaller firms as they could invest on these certifications to compete in market. This paper could be very useful for students and researchers to further investigate in this area and a knowledge sources. On the basis of ISO Survey (2014), it could be asserted that there is a strong potential for positive trends & scope of ISO certifications in Pakistan in coming years in different business sectors. Keywords: ISO, Certifications, Trends, Quality Management, Competitivenes

Investor Behavior: Does Tax Avoidance and Liquidity Preference Culture Drive Equity Prices in Pakistan

Research on investor behavior in Pakistan shows mixed results. One of the main reasons is that most emerging countries are plagued by market distortions and pricing incongruities. In Pakistan, studies have examined different asset pricing models without observing any acceptable explanations for anomalies. This study tries to fill this gap by studying investor behavior in Pakistan. The data sample is taken from the PSX (Pakistan Stock Exchange) 100 Index and we constructed eighteen portfolios to empirically analyze investor behavior evidenced through surplus returns of these portfolios in this market. The findings indicate that investor behavior digresses from that observed by Fama and French ( 2015 ), and we do not observe strong support for their contentions. In our study F&F 5 model explains the distribution of average excess returns only within selective portfolios; small weak - profitability stocks, big neutral - profitability stocks, and big conservative - investment stocks. While risk and size factors drive asset prices, value and profitability premium are less important. This could stem from a tax evasion culture and the need to avoid tax payments in emerging countries. The preference for liquidity and strong cash flow - investment sensitivity is apparent in the importance of the investment premium factor. Here larger investments would indicate cash-rich companies and influence investor decisions alike. The weak results of portfolio intercepts suggest there could be some omitted variables not considered in the F&F 5 model. Therefore, we recommend that in emerging countries, asset pricing models need to incorporate aspects of investor behavior and culture to realistically capture market dynamics. It would enable more accurate forecasting, reduce investor asymmetry, and mispricing by creditors and capital markets. This is one of the few studies to examine and explain investor behavior within the context of its own specific culture and environment. The study attempts to explain the anomalies through investor behavior characteristics, and is the first to suggest that tax avoidance culture and cash preferences may drive investor preferences and equity prices in these markets. It highlights the importance of investment considerations, and the lower importance of value and profitability in these equity markets stemming from cultural and behavioral perspectives

Cyber-threat detection system using a hybrid approach of transfer learning and multi-model image representation

Currently, Android apps are easily targeted by malicious network traffic because of their constant network access. These threats have the potential to steal vital information and disrupt the commerce, social system, and banking markets. In this paper, we present a malware detection system based on word2vec-based transfer learning and multi-model image representation. The proposed method combines the textual and texture features of network traffic to leverage the advantages of both types. Initially, the transfer learning method is used to extract trained vocab from network traffic. Then, the malware-to-image algorithm visualizes network bytes for visual analysis of data traffic. Next, the texture features are extracted from malware images using a combination of scale-invariant feature transforms (SIFTs) and oriented fast and rotated brief transforms (ORBs). Moreover, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is designed to extract deep features from a set of trained vocab and texture features. Finally, an ensemble model is designed to classify and detect malware based on the combination of textual and texture features. The proposed method is tested using two standard datasets, CIC-AAGM2017 and CICMalDroid 2020, which comprise a total of 10.2K malware and 3.2K benign samples. Furthermore, an explainable AI experiment is performed to interpret the proposed approach

Constitutional Manacles on Superior Court’s Jurisdiction and Recent Scenario on Public Interest Litigation in Pakistan

Good governance and Rule of Law are inter-connected phenomenon. Good governance is required at all levels. To uphold the good governance it is the collective duty of the state institutions to perform efficiently under the umbrella of the Supreme Law of the land. “The existence of massive corruption, institutional clashes, Constitutional crisis and lack of accountability, poor law and order conditions may harm the good governance in the country”. To strengthen the good governance is the prime responsibility of the Executive and when the Executive failed to take measures to uphold the governance, resultantly, the Rule of Law will be in danger. Ultimately the Judiciary has to come forward to take action for the promotion of “Good Governance”, “Rule of Law” and enforcement of the “Fundamental Rights” of the people like health and education, because the Judiciary is the custodian of the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the masses. A debate in country has aroused in these days, that whether the Courts are exercising their powers beyond their Constitutional domain or not? In the response of this debate, the recent case law study and Constitutional provisions depicts that in all recent suomoto cases the “Supreme Court of Pakistan” has exercised its power in Constitutional Jurisdiction as envisaged in “Article 184(3) of The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973”, Moreover, after the analysis of the Constitutional provisions the author is of the view that, in the current regime the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan has not transgressed his powers beyond the Constitutional provisions which are explained in this Article as Constitutional manacles on the jurisdiction of the superior Courts of Pakistan. Most of the recent suo-moto cases on health and education issues come under the preview of the matter of public importanc

a case of Pakistan

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Public Policy,2010masterpublishedby Naeem Ullah Tufail

Ethnomedicinal Importance of Family Lamiaceae and Family Rosaceae Among Local Communities of Dir Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to document the medicinal uses of Family Lamiaceae and Rosaceae in Dir Kohistan during the summer of 2016. Field visits were arranged to different resource-based areas of Dir Kohistan and plants were identified according to their phytogeographic locations. The study revealed that nine species of the family Lamiaceae and seven species of the family Rosaceae are used by the local community for the treatment of human ailments. They utilized these plants through personal experiences and ancestral prescriptions. The plants were used for different health disorders like kidney pain, lung infections, jaundice, as carminative, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, laxative, febrifuge, sedative and astringent agent. The study revealed that the medicinal flora of the area is under high pressure and was threatened locally due to population growth, habitat degradation, tourism, marketing pressure, over exploitation and unscientific methods of collection from their natural habitat