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Book part
Publication date: 13 October 2008

Manas Chatterji and B.M. Jain

Pakistan is quite often described as a failing state. Some scholars have described it as a “failed state.” Without indulging into its controversial part, let us see the state of…

Abstract

Pakistan is quite often described as a failing state. Some scholars have described it as a “failed state.” Without indulging into its controversial part, let us see the state of affairs in Pakistan first. Pakistan has been under a mixed spell of military rule and controlled democracy. President Pervez Musharraf has learnt from the legacy of military rule of his predecessors that the best bet to remain in power is to blame democratic leaders for their failure to govern the country in the interest of the people. Musharraf had grabbed power through a bloodless military coup by dislodging the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999 under a similar alibi. Even after the lapse of more than 8 years of his rule, there has been no change in terms of poverty eradication, economic development, living standards, or internal security. On the contrary, things have taken on a much uglier shape.

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Conflict and Peace in South Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-534-5

Book part
Publication date: 12 December 2012

Riaz Ahmed Shaikh

The question of civilian supremacy over managing state affairs has been revisiting Pakistan time and again; the case is the same these days. Assuming its strategic location at the…

Abstract

The question of civilian supremacy over managing state affairs has been revisiting Pakistan time and again; the case is the same these days. Assuming its strategic location at the crossroads of Middle East-Central South Asia, the country has a lot of potential not only to prosper and progress, but it can play a pivotal role in restoring peace and stability in the region.

Pakistan's civilian leadership has mostly supported the concept of peaceful coexistence with all neighboring countries, but the theory of animosity propagated by Pakistan's army with its neighbor, especially India, has kept the world's sixth most populous nation in a state of war ever since its inception. This chapter discuses the perpetual conflict between the civil-military approaches and how it is effecting regional peace.

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Cooperation for a Peaceful and Sustainable World Part 1
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-335-3

Book part
Publication date: 12 February 2024

Lerato Aghimien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa and Douglas Aghimien

The current era of the fourth industrial revolution has attracted significant research on the use of digital technologies in improving construction project delivery. However, less…

Abstract

The current era of the fourth industrial revolution has attracted significant research on the use of digital technologies in improving construction project delivery. However, less emphasis has been placed on how these digital tools will influence the management of the construction workforce. To this end, using a review of existing works, this chapter explores the fourth industrial revolution and its associated technologies that can positively impact the management of the construction workforce when implemented. Also, the possible challenges that might truncate the successful deployment of digital technologies for effective workforce management were explored. The chapter submitted that implementing workforce management-specific digital platforms and other digital technologies designed for project delivery can aid effective workforce management within construction organisations. Technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, robotics and automation, and artificial intelligence, among others, offer significant benefits to the effective workforce management of construction organisations. However, several challenges, such as resistance to change due to fear of job loss, cost of investment in digital tools, organisational structure and culture, must be carefully considered as they might affect the successful use of digital tools and by extension, impact the success of workforce management in the organisations.

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Construction Workforce Management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-019-3

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Book part
Publication date: 13 October 2008

Abstract

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Conflict and Peace in South Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-534-5

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2009

Sumita Kumar

Sanctions are normally used as an instrument by one country or an alliance of countries to affect change in the behaviour of another country. As Ian Anthony has noted, “Within the…

Abstract

Sanctions are normally used as an instrument by one country or an alliance of countries to affect change in the behaviour of another country. As Ian Anthony has noted, “Within the legal code of states, sanctions are that part of a law that inflicts a penalty for its violation. In common usage, international sanctions can be defined as any restriction or condition established for reasons of foreign policy or national security applied to a foreign country or entity by a group of states using substantially equivalent measures” (Anthony, 2002, p. 204). Most analysts would agree that clearly defined goals on the part of the initiator – and outlining a consistent set of policies with respect to such goals – are an important factor in gauging the effectiveness of sanctions at any given time.

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Putting Teeth in the Tiger: Improving the Effectiveness of Arms Embargoes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-202-9

Book part
Publication date: 17 August 2011

Riaz Ahmed Shaikh

Pakistan's present war against extremists has many folds and sheds. The country's initial participation in the Afghan War in 1979 later gave birth to different extremist trends in…

Abstract

Pakistan's present war against extremists has many folds and sheds. The country's initial participation in the Afghan War in 1979 later gave birth to different extremist trends in the country. State patronage of the extremist Wahabi Islamists during the Afghan jihad opened another conflict in Pakistan, and things became more complicated. The combination of external and internal factors gave birth to the worst kind of conflict, which now has not only become dangerous for the country's own existence but also a major threat for global peace. The Afghan jihad initially started as a war against Soviet occupation and later became the hub of global jihad-war against infidels.

This chapter analyzes how external factors promoted internal contradictions in Pakistan due to which the country became not only an exporter of jihadis for the world but also the worst kind of sectarian conflicts, including. Shia–Sunni, Deobandi–Wahabi clashes, entered into in the past two decades. Such a strong link exists with Pakistan's official support to global jihad. Draft sectarian groups now head to head with their opponents have killed thousands of members of rival sectors, have strong support from external sympathizers, and have spread in the country. The well planned terrorist activities of these groups reflect the fact that support to these groups in the past is now leading to a severe crisis in Pakistan. The nexuses of these indigenous extremists like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with external terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan of Tahir Yuldasher Chechen Guerilla War has led to several bloody clashes in the country and outside.

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Governance, Development and Conflict
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-896-1

Book part
Publication date: 13 October 2008

Kalim Bahadur

The term ‘fundamentalism’ has come of late into popular usage more than any other. It has been used for various Christian movements. During the twentieth century, the term came to…

Abstract

The term ‘fundamentalism’ has come of late into popular usage more than any other. It has been used for various Christian movements. During the twentieth century, the term came to be used in Christian–Protestant circles in an effort to define beliefs that are fundamental to Christian religion. The world that emerged after the Second World War saw the emergence of many former colonial and semi-colonial countries as independent nations. Their development caused ferment among the Muslim countries also. It took the form of a resurgence of fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalism. During the last several decades, the Islamic revival that is sweeping from Morocco in the West to Mindanao in the Philippines is considered with some reason as a response to the predatory policies of Western imperialism. This was the reassertion and the response of the Muslims to the challenge of the West. This was the promise of the fundamentalist Muslims: self assertive Islamic nationalism and simplicity of argument in the hope of recapturing the pristine purity and political glory of Islam (Ahmad, 1991). The first Muslim to react against the alien accretions to Islamic society, not necessarily the result of external or foreign influence, was Shah Waliullah (1703–1762) who was almost a contemporary of Abdul Wahab (1703–1787) in Arabia. Both evolved from attempting to purge the Islamic society of foreign accretions to protesting oppression and corruption of Westernisation (Jansen, 1979). The fundamentalism today is different from that of the eighteenth century. It is not of much use to trace historical continuity in the fundamentalist ideology; although, this does not negate some linkages between Islam's past history and modern day fundamentalist movements (Ahmed, 1994).

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Conflict and Peace in South Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-534-5

Book part
Publication date: 17 August 2011

Mohammed Badrul Alam

The peace process in the shape of confidence-building measures (CBMs) is recognizable as “arrangements designed to enhance … assurance of mind and belief in the trust-worthiness…

Abstract

The peace process in the shape of confidence-building measures (CBMs) is recognizable as “arrangements designed to enhance … assurance of mind and belief in the trust-worthiness of states … confidence is the product of much broader patterns of relations than those which relate to military strategy. In fact the latter have to be woven into a complex texture of economic, cultural, technical and social relationships” (Hoist, 1983; Indian Express (New Delhi), December 19, 2003.). This suggests military and non-military initiatives undertaken by antagonistic states to reduce tensions and enhance mutual confidence. This chapter examines and evaluates various CBMs, military as well as non-military, that were initiated between India and Pakistan. The chapter also addresses and delineates definition and conceptual notion as well as some of the pertinent aspects of ongoing peace process including Track-II diplomacy and nuclear risk reduction measures being undertaken by India and Pakistan.

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Governance, Development and Conflict
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-896-1

Book part
Publication date: 25 October 2023

Md Sakib Ullah Sourav, Huidong Wang, Mohammad Raziuddin Chowdhury and Rejwan Bin Sulaiman

One of the most neglected sources of energy loss is streetlights that generate too much light in areas where it is not required. Energy waste has enormous economic and…

Abstract

One of the most neglected sources of energy loss is streetlights that generate too much light in areas where it is not required. Energy waste has enormous economic and environmental effects. In addition, due to the conventional manual nature of operation, streetlights are frequently seen being turned ‘ON’ during the day and ‘OFF’ in the evening, which is regrettable even in the twenty-first century. These issues require automated streetlight control in order to be resolved. This study aims to develop a novel streetlight controlling method by combining a smart transport monitoring system powered by computer vision technology with a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera that allows the light-emitting diode (LED) streetlight to automatically light up with the appropriate brightness by detecting the presence of pedestrians or vehicles and dimming the streetlight in their absence using semantic image segmentation from the CCTV video streaming. Consequently, our model distinguishes daylight and nighttime, which made it feasible to automate the process of turning the streetlight ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ to save energy consumption costs. According to the aforementioned approach, geo-location sensor data could be utilised to make more informed streetlight management decisions. To complete the tasks, we consider training the U-net model with ResNet-34 as its backbone. Validity of the models is guaranteed with the use of assessment matrices. The suggested concept is straightforward, economical, energy-efficient, long-lasting and more resilient than conventional alternatives.

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Technology and Talent Strategies for Sustainable Smart Cities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-023-6

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Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Naveed R. Khan, Muhammad Rahies Khan, Wasim Ahmad and Rana Muhammad Sohail Jafar

The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus…

Abstract

The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus, green concepts have been put forward, but the implementation of green practices faces many barriers and challenges. These barriers require attention as organizational practices are negatively affecting the environment leading to global warming and climate change. Therefore, this chapter systematically identifies four internal barriers including inadequate management commitment and support, insufficient technology competence and infrastructure, financial constraints, the uncertainty of economic benefits, and eight sub barriers within an organization concerning green concepts implementation. Moreover, this chapter also identifies four external barriers including lack of stakeholder's interest, inadequate environmental administrative support, scarce academic research, and lack of green collaborative practices, and eight sub barriers outside an organizational context concerning green concept implementation. The barriers in this research were identified by reviewing the existing literature on the topic. This chapter advances the green literature by identifying multiple barriers and challenges to the successful implementation of green concepts in organizations. This is of significance as if these barriers are tackled strategically, it would reduce environmental degradation problems and help make financial gains. Moreover, this research can help managers understand the key barriers to green concept implementation and provide guidance to them when attempting to implement green practices in their organizations. This research would also motivate researchers to extend further investigation on how to overcome such barriers and find out strategies to mitigate the barriers to green concept implementation to effectively address environmental issues.

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Entrepreneurship and Green Finance Practices
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-679-5

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