Search results

The paper aims to explore the long-term prospects of mobile broadband adoption in a developing country. The supply-side and demand-side policy measures are recommended to counter the challenges to broadband adoption.

Methodologically, this study uses document analysis to explain secondary data including growth statistics, trade literature and previous scholarly research. Based on the growth statistics of broadband and the informed market insights, the research discusses the prevailing market threats and recommends counter measures to improve the long-term prospects of broadband propagation.

The growth of mobile broadband is settling down in Pakistan due to various barriers like cost, literacy, security and unavailability of local content. Collaborative efforts are required by the government, the service providers and the people to enhance the adoption of broadband service and secure economic benefits of the broadband.

The research offers useful implications for managers and policymakers in Asian and African developing countries; the policy measures discussed here may serve as guidelines for them in the design of their own policies regarding broadband supply and demand.

The study makes an effort to examine the broadband growth in a developing country on the basis of both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The research endeavors to fill the gap on the particular scholarship of research covering potential uptake of broadband services and the effects of constraining elements to broadband adoption in a developing country.

Gridded management in the public service supply is still in the experience exploratory stage, and this paper aims to analyze the inherent logic and operation mode of the gridding mechanism of the public supply based on the existing theory study and practices, and verify its efficiency so as to come to the conclusion whether it could be promoted to a wider range.

The methodology applied in this paper was case study/deductive induction.

The grid model in the public service supply needs to be demonstrated completely in theoretical logic and operation principles before it is promoted across the country. Meanwhile, full support of the government is required in terms of service concept, function distribution, technical parameters and infrastructure.

The inherent logic and operation mode of the gridding mechanism of the public service supply needs enough practice tests. The practical test of efficiency analysis of the gridding mechanism of the public service supply is not enough.

This paper validated whether the gridding mechanism that originated from China’s urban management can be promoted to all over the country in the public service supply. It provides references for government policy.

This paper constructs a gridded management model for public service provision in urban and rural areas on the basis of an analysis of the plight of traditional model of public service provision, thus delivering the same standard of public service for both urban and rural areas through optimization of resource allocation without requiring more supply and fundamental change to the content of service.

Acceptance and use of mobile shopping as the preferred shopping medium is becoming the new normal today. The proliferation of mobile shopping practices follows unsteady growth patterns in different countries. Despite challenges of price, quality and privacy matters, young consumers still lead the race to engage in mobile shopping activity in developing countries. This research investigates the determinants that either support or hinder the mobile shopping intentions of aspirant young consumers in Pakistan.

The present research applies a consumer-centric approach to the technology adoption framework to unearth the behavioral patterns of these young consumers in Pakistan. Employing the structural equation modeling technique, this research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping.

This research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various UTAUT model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping. Results also demonstrate a significant moderating effect of structural assurance and prior shopping experience on the relationship between perceived risk, trust and mobile shopping intentions. Further, the mobile shopping patterns for the male and female segment indicate a significant difference for perceived risk, trust structural assurance and social influence. The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge which advocates the application of consumer-centric customized model approach to explore various factors that either facilitate or impede the adoption of mobile shopping in a developing economy.

The study validates the need to enforce structural assurance mechanism for facilitating mobile shopping in a developing country. It also offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

The study offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

This study offers fresh insights about driving elements and impediments of mobile shopping behavioral intentions. Structural assurance and prior shopping experience appear to influence the mobile shopping behavior through direct and indirect effect.

Risk analysis plays a vital role in controlling and managing cost overruns in complex construction projects, particularly where uncertainty is high. This study attempts to address an important issue of cost overrun that encountered by metropolitan rapid transit projects in relation to the significance of risk involved under high uncertainty.

In order to solve cost overrun problems in metropolitan transit projects and facilitate the decision-makers for effective future budgeting, a cost-risk contingency framework has been designed using fuzzy logic, analytical hierarchy process and Monte Carlo simulation.

Initially, a hierarchical breakdown structure of important complexity-driven risk factors has been conceptualized herein using relative importance index. Later, a proposed cost-risk contingency framework has investigated the expected total construction cost in order to consider the additional budgeted cost required to mitigate the risk consequences for particular project activity. The results of cost-risk analysis imply that poor design issues, an increase in material prices and delays in relocating facilities show higher dependency and increase the risk of cost overrun in metropolitan transit projects.

The findings and implication for project managers could possibly be achieved by assuming the proposed cost-risk contingency framework under high uncertainty of cost found in this research. Furthermore, this procedure may be used by experts from other engineering domains by replacing and considering the complex relationship between complexity-risk factors.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a practical contingency model to identify and evaluate the additional risk cost required to compute total construction cost for getting stability in future budgeting.

The study was designed to examine the predictors of information literacy self-efficacy skills (IL skills) of medical students.

The study was quantitative in nature and was carried out by using survey research method. Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) and Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale for medical students (ILSES-M) were used to collect the data. Data was collected randomly from 223 out of 526 undergraduate medical students on proportionally random basis according to the number of students available in each year. PLS-SEM analysis was run with the help of SmartPLS 3.2.

The findings of the study revealed that three subconstructs for emotional intelligence (EI), that is, self-emotions appraisal, others-emotion appraisal, use of emotions, had a statistically significant positive impact (p < 0.05) on information literacy (IL) self-efficacy of the medical students. The findings further confirm that English language proficiency and frequency of attended IL instruction sessions also have a significant positive impact on IL self-efficacy of medical students.

The exploration of EI in relation to IL is comparatively a novel area. The study observed the influence of EI level on IL self-efficacy of medical students. The study will be a significant contribution to the IL literature. The results may help the information professionals/librarians, particularly those who are engaged in teaching and designing IL programs.

Cost estimation is a major concern while planning projects on public–private partnership (PPP) terms in developing countries. To bridge the gap of the right approximation of cost of capital, this study aims to sermon a significant role of investor’s risk perception as unsystematic risk in PPP-based energy projects.

To investigate the effective mechanism of determining cost of capital and valuing the capital budgeting, a pure-play method has been acquired to measure systematic risk. In addition, dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models have been applied to calculate weighted average cost of capital.

Initially, a joint cost of capital of energy-related projects has been calculated using DCC-GARCH and pure-play method. Investors risk perception has been discussed through market point of view using country risk premium modeling. Latter yearly betas have been calculated using DCC signifying the final outcomes that applying a dynamic model can provide a better cost estimation in emerging economies.

The findings are implicating that due to the involvement of international investors, domestic risk is linked with country risk. In such situations, market-related information is a key factor to find out the market performance, helping in the estimation of cost of capital through capital asset pricing model (CAPM). High dynamic nature of emerging economies causes an impediment in the estimation of cost of capital. Consequently, to calculate risk in dynamic markets, this study has acquired DCC model that can predict the value of beta factor.

Study contributes to the body of knowledge by addressing an important issue of investor’s risk perception and effective implication of CAPM using pure-play and DCC-GARCH when data is not promptly available in dynamic situations.

This study aims to provide guidelines for exploring the research landscape in developing countries by gauging the prospects of growth, research impact and innovation. This study interrogates, analyses and visualizes the impact, nuances and evolution of stated research themes. For this purpose, this study presents an in-depth analysis of publications and citations indexed in Pakistani journals as a case study.

A bibliometric analysis of 46,034 publications published in Pakistan-based journals uncovers the research landscape of Scopus-indexed scientific literature – using various statistical and network-based approaches. Using VOSviewer and SPSS tools, the publication data has been analysed in relation to the open access status of papers, the number of authors, discipline, research theme and international co-authorship.

This study’s analyses reveal that while Pakistani journals are attracting international contributions from several countries, including India, Malaysia and Indonesia, no journal falls into the Scopus-defined top Quartile, i.e. the Q1 category. The analyses also highlight that only half (47%) of the publications received citations, whereas the other half remained uncited. Furthermore, open access publications received significantly higher citations than subscribed/traditional publications (print/online subject to toll access).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first impact study of its kind that critically analyses the research landscape of Pakistani journals, especially in the context of the efforts of the higher education commission of Pakistan to promote research culture in the country. This study also provides analytical insights and policy guidelines for improving the quality of research published in Pakistani journals. This study can be replicated for other developing nations to provide guidelines and sustainable pathways for scientific growth in pursuit of uplifting nations by allocating resources for developing science and technology.

The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the existing literature by examining the nexus and the connectedness between classes S&P Green Bond Index, S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index, S&P GSCI Gold, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI World Index and Bitcoin, during the pre-and post-Covid period beginning from August 2011 to July 2021 (10 years).

The study employs time-varying parameter vector autoregression and Quantile regression methods to understand the impact of events on traditional and upcoming asset classes. To further understand the connectedness of assets under consideration, the study used Geo-Political Risk Index (GPR) and Global Economic Policy and Uncertainty index (GPEU).

Findings show that these markets are strongly linked, which will only expand in the post-pandemic future. Before the pandemic, the MSCI World and Emerging Markets indices contributed the most shocks to the remaining market variables. Green bond index shows a greater correlation and shock transmission with gold. Bitcoin can no longer be used as a good hedging instrument, validating the fact that the 21st-century technology assets. The results further opine that under extreme economic consequences with high GPR and GPEU, even gold cannot be considered a safe investment asset.

Financial markets and the players who administer and communicate their investment logics are heavily reliant on conventional asset classes such as oil, gas, coal, nuclear and allied groupings, but these emerging asset classes are attempting to diversify.

The purpose of the study is to analyse the occurrence and distribution of different tree species in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, as a baseline for further inventories, and estimate the biomass per species and plot. Furthermore, it aims to measure forest biodiversity using established formulae for tree species diversity index, richness, evenness and accumulative curve.

Field data were collected, including stratification of forest sample plots. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out, and locally appropriate allometric equations were applied for biomass estimation.

Representative circular 556 forest sample plots of 1,000 m² contained 13,135 trees belonging to nine tree species with a total aboveground biomass of 12,887 tonnes. Sixty-eight per cent of the trees were found between 2,600 and 3,400 masl; approximately 63 per cent had a diameter at breast height equal to 30 cm, and 45 per cent were less than 12 m in height. The Shannon diversity index was 1.82, and Simpson’s index of diversity was 0.813.

Rough terrain, long distances, harsh weather conditions and location of forest in steep narrow valleys presented challenges for the field crews, and meant that fieldwork took longer than planned.

Estimating biomass in Gilgit-Baltistan’s forests using locally developed allometric equations will provide transparency in estimates of forest reference levels, National Forest Monitoring System in Pakistan and devising Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation national strategies and for effective implementation.

This paper presents the first detailed forest inventory carried out for the dry temperate and semi-arid cold region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

Hybrid nanofluids are of significant engrossment for their considerable heat transport rate. The steady flow of an incompressible viscous electrically conducted hybrid nanofluid is considered over a rotating disk under a magnetic field. Titanium oxide (TiO₂) and ferrous (CoFe₂O₄) nanoparticles are used with their physical properties and water is considered as host liquid. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how hydrothermal integrity varies for hybrid nanosuspension over a spinning disk in the presence of magnetic orientation.

Governing equations with boundary conditions are transformed by similarity transformations and then solved numerically with RK-4 method. A comparison of linear and nonlinear thermal radiation for the above-mentioned parameters is taken and the efficiency of nonlinear radiation is established, the same over nanofluid and hybrid nanofluid is also discussed. Heat lines are observed and discussed for various parameters like magnetic field, concentration, suction and injection parameter, radiation effect and Prandtl number.

Suction and increasing nanoparticle concentration foster the radial and cross-radial velocities, whereas magnetization and injection confirm the reverse trend. The rate of increment of radial friction is quite higher for the usual nanosuspension. The calculated data demonstrate that the rate for hybrid nanofluid is 8.97 percent, whereas for nanofluid it is 15.06 percent. Double-particle suspension amplifies the thermal efficiency than that of a single particle. Magnetic and radiation parameters aid the heat transfer, but nanoparticle concentration and suction explore the opposite syndrome. The magnetic parameter increases the heat transport at 36.58 and 42.71 percent for nonlinear radiation and hybrid nanosuspension, respectively.

Nonlinear radiation gives a higher heat transport rate and for the radiation parameter it is almost double. This result is very significant for comparison between linear and nonlinear radiation. Heat lines may be observed by taking different nanoparticle materials to get some diverse result. Hydrothermal study of such hybrid liquid is noteworthy because outcomes of this study will aid nanoscience and nanotechnology in an efficient way.