Search results

The financial policies of the modern world corporations and their investment decisions are generally considered as interrelated because the agency problems, associated with the debt level and its maturity structure, give rise to incentives for overinvestment or underinvestment. The present study empirically investigates the linkage between debt maturity structure and firm investment in a financially constrained environment, using Pakistan as a case study, to determine how the institutional environment in which firms operate affect these decisions and their linkage.

The empirical analysis is carried in a panel data setting using panel regression models as the baseline methods. Moreover, generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimators are used, coupled with the instrumental variables approach, for robustness and improving the efficiency and consistency of estimates.

Results suggest that firms rely more on short financing in Pakistan. Thus, given the capital structure which is characterized by higher proportion of short-term financing, the higher level of leverage is less likely to cause underinvestment problem. However, the underinvestment problem do persists in the firms that have higher portion of long-term debt. These findings imply that the debt-overhang problem may persist even in the financially constrained environments where attractive investment opportunities are limited, and long-term financing is difficult to acquire.

This study contributes to the literature by revealing how corporate investment and financing decisions and their linkage is influenced by the institutional environment of the less developed countries which is characterized by underdeveloped financial markets, inefficient legal system and weak investor protection system.

The purpose of the present study is to identify the active and dead links of uniform resource locators (URLs) associated with web references and to compare the effectiveness of Chrome, Google and WayBack Machine in retrieving the dead URLs.

The web references of the Library Hi Tech from 2004 to 2008 were selected for analysis to fulfill the set objectives. The URLs were extracted from the articles to verify their accessibility in terms of persistence and decay. The URLs were then executed directly in the internet browser (Chrome), search engine (Google) and Internet Archive (WayBack Machine). The collected data were recorded in an excel file and presented in tables/diagrams for further analysis.

From the total of 1,083 web references, a maximum number was retrieved by the WayBack Machine (786; 72.6 per cent) followed by Google (501; 46.3 per cent) and the lowest by Chrome (402; 37.1 per cent). The study concludes that the WayBack Machine is more efficient, retrieves a maximum number of missing web citations and fulfills the mission of preservation of web sources to a larger extent.

A good number of studies have been conducted to analyze the persistence and decay of web-references; however, the present study is unique as it compared the dead URL retrieval effectiveness of internet explorer (Chrome), search engine giant (Google) and WayBack Machine of the Internet Archive.

The web references of a single journal, namely, Library Hi Tech, were analyzed for 5 years only. A major study across disciplines and sources may yield better results.

URL decay is becoming a major problem in the preservation and citation of web resources. The study has some healthy recommendations for authors, editors, publishers, librarians and web designers to improve the persistence of web references.

In present networked society, almost all the entities are present on Google Maps. Google Maps has become the first preference for the users for searching and retrieving information about any place. Google Maps provides an opportunity for a user to post ratings and reviews for an entity, including public libraries about their facilities and services, etc. This study explores how users of public libraries in Delhi (India) use Google Maps to share their opinions on library facilities and services and to assess whether Google Maps have the potential to act as an interactive feedback system between users and the authorities.

The Google Maps platform was used as a data source. To classify reviews into distinct categories, a content analysis was performed. Further Sentiment analysis of reviews was executed to highlight the positive, negative and neutral aspects of selected libraries. Moreover, reviews, endorsements and ratings of library products and services were also checked.

The research reveals that the culture of posting online reviews is increasing day by day and most of the reviews are posted in the English language, with Non Local Guides as the most prolific reviewers. In the reviews, the total number of topics discussed were 685, of which (70.51%) contained positive sentiments, (15.32%) were negative and (14.1%) were neutral reviews. The majority of the negative topics were discussed among the staff category, followed by facilities. Environment and children's areas received positive feedback with five-star ratings and most of them were marked helpful by other users. Users also loved technology, location and collection. The study concluded that Google Maps can be used as a new interactive feedback tool that library authorities can use to connect with users, replacing traditional suggestion boxes and online forms.

The research is limited to a single platform (Google Maps) and the capital city of India (Delhi) and cannot be generalized across platforms and regions. Moreover, such libraries were taken under the scanner of this study which possessed more than 50 reviews.

The study will help to identify the shortcomings of the Delhi public libraries through Google Maps platform and help them to devise effective strategies to improve their management in view of suggestions and complaints.

Data sharing is increasingly being recognized as an essential component of scholarly research and publishing. Sharing data improves results and propels research and discovery forward. Given the importance of data sharing, the purpose of the study is to unveil the present scenario of research data repositories (RDR) and sheds light on strategies and tactics followed by different countries for efficient organization and optimal use of scientific literature.

The data for the study is collected from registry of RDR (re3data registry) (re3data.org), which covers RDR from different academic disciplines and provides filtration options “Search” and “Browse” to access the repositories. Using these filtration options, the researchers collected metadata of repositories i.e. country wise contribution, content-type data, repository language interface, software usage, metadata standards and data access type. Furthermore, the data was exported to Google Sheets for analysis and visualization.

The re3data registry holds a rich and diverse collection of data repositories from the majority of countries all over the world. It is revealed that English is the dominant language, and the most widely used software for the creation of data repositories are “DataVerse”, followed by “Dspace” and “MySQL”. The most frequently used metadata standards are “Dublin Core” and “Datacite metadata schema”. The majority of repositories are open, with more than half of the repositories being “disciplinary” in nature, and the most significant data sources include “scientific and statistical data” followed by “standard office documents”.

The main limitation of the study is that the findings are based on the data collected through a single registry of repositories, and only a few characteristic features were investigated.

The study will benefit all countries with a small number of data repositories or no repositories at all, with tools and techniques used by the top repositories to ensure long-term storage and accessibility to research data. In addition to this, the study provides a global overview of RDR and its characteristic features.

The purpose of the study is to examine how far search engines have succeeded in retrieving electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) using different search techniques and approaches. This study also compared the search results of search engines to identify the most suitable search engine for searching and retrieving the ETDs.

Fifty ETDs have been selected using systematic random sampling techniques from Shodhganga (a reservoir of Indian theses). These ETDs have been searched through prominent search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, Yahoo and Open Access Theses and Dissertation (OATD) using different search approaches and techniques.

The overall performance of the search engines revealed that Google retrieved most of the ETDs (89%) followed by OATD (88.5%), Yahoo (78%) and Google Scholar (76%), respectively.

The results have brought into light interesting findings regarding search engines in retrieving grey literature.

This study has aimed to thoroughly assess user sentiments and perceptions regarding the National Library of India (NLI). It has attempted to provide significant insights into user satisfaction by examining its strengths and shortcomings across key categories including collection, environment, facilities, location, management and staff. The study has contributed to the understanding of the factors influencing the attributes of libraries, facilitating improvements in services and enhancing the overall user experience.

This study employed a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to assess user sentiments towards the NLI. Using Google Maps reviews, the study utilized web scraping, content analysis and sentiment analysis to categorize reviews as positive, negative or neutral, providing insights into user experiences and an in-depth analysis of the views and opinions of the NLI.

The study involved sentiment analysis and content analysis of 818 Google Maps reviews to assess user satisfaction with the NLI. The results demonstrate 624 reviews as positive sentiments, 70 instances pinpointed specific negative concerns, primarily related to staff behavior and certain facilities, and 124 neutral reviews suggested mixed viewpoints among users. This analysis highlights the critical role of attributes such as collection quality, environment and facilities in shaping user perceptions, emphasizing the need for focused improvements based on user feedback. The study revealed six attributes, namely collection, environment, facilities, location, management and staff that influence the user perception.

This study is focused solely on Google Maps reviews. Hence, the results cannot be generalized to all online platforms. Reliance on online reviews may not fully capture the views of all the library users. Additionally, the scope of the study is limited to English-language comments, potentially overlooking valuable insights from non-English-language reviews.

This study provides valuable insights for the NLI to enhance user satisfaction by addressing the specific concerns raised in online reviews. The findings offer actionable guidance for library management to refine services and maintain favorable public perceptions.

This study contributes to the field by providing a comprehensive analysis of user sentiment through sentiment and content analysis of online reviews, offering unique insights into the NLI’s public perception. The identification of key strengths and weaknesses adds practical value to library management for refining services. The originality of this study lies in its unique approach to evaluating user experiences, which guides future research and improvement efforts in library services.

Regarding the renewable energies, the cost of producing electricity and the remaining reserves from fossil fuels in Iran is compared with the same in other countries. Several advantages of renewable energies are studied in the present research with emphasis on solar energy; the Lut desert in Iran is introduced as a high potential for supplying the country’s energy. Various effects of such generation of energy on economy, environment, and public health are also studied.

This study aims to focus on the preparation and characterization of the silver nanowire (AgNWs), as well as their application as antimicrobial and antivirus activities either with incorporation on the waterborne coating formulation or on their own.

Prepared AgNWs are characterized by different analytical instruments, such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction spectrometer. All the paint formulation's physical and mechanical qualities were tested using American Society for Testing and Materials, a worldwide standard test procedure. The biological activities of the prepared AgNWs and the waterborne coating based on AgNWs were investigated. And, their effects on pathogenic bacteria, antioxidants, antiviral activity and cytotoxicity were also investigated.

The obtained results of the physical and mechanical characteristics of the paint formulation demonstrated the formulations' greatest performance, as well as giving good scrub resistance and film durability. In the antimicrobial activity, the paint did not have any activity against bacterial pathogen, whereas the AgNWs and AgNWs with paint have similar activity against bacterial pathogen with inhibition zone range from 10 to 14 mm. The development of antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of the paint incorporated with AgNWs were also observed. The cytopathic effects of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were reduced in all three investigated modes of action when compared to the positive control group (HSV-1-infected cells), suggesting that these compounds have promising antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses, including DNA and RNA viruses.

The new waterborne coating based on nanoparticles has the potential to be promising in the manufacturing and development of paints, allowing them to function to prevent the spread of microbial infection, which is exactly what the world requires at this time.

The paper seeks to document attitudes and patterns of behavior in Pakistan's criminal justice system over the past 30 years.

A conceptual discussion and approach are taken following extensive interviews, conducted in 1992‐1993, with members of the police, judges, civil service bureaucrats, torture victims, psychiatrists, political detainees, criminal lawyers and others.

The patterns of behavior are longstanding and deeply rooted despite periodical changes in political leadership. Cynicism about law enforcement is widespread throughout the country and much crime goes unreported as a result. There is a lack of faith and support for police officials and legal safeguards for criminal suspects are often ignored.

The conditions in Pakistan's criminal justice system are explained theoretically with reference to the concept of hegemony in Pakistan's prevailing political culture.