Search results
1 – 10 of 14Fatemeh Khozaei, Claus-Christian Carbon, Mi Jeong Kim, Qamar Ul Islam, Wesam Beitelmal and Israr Ul Hassan
This research aims to investigate the impact of missing visual information on tourists’ decision-making processes and visit intention. Drawing on perception completion law and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to investigate the impact of missing visual information on tourists’ decision-making processes and visit intention. Drawing on perception completion law and signaling theory, the study hypothesized that tourists might use visual information to infer about a destination, even if the information is incomplete or ambiguous.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess the impact of missing visual information, the authors asked a group of 392 participants who had no prior familiarity with a specific garden museum to envision the interior environment of the museum garden and provide feedback on their emotional responses and aesthetic evaluations. To aid in their imagination, they were presented with a video showcasing the surrounding landscape and exterior of the museum.
Findings
The study found that participants could anticipate their overall experience of the location by inferring the resemblance of unseen areas to the images they had viewed, even without prior exposure or information. This study provides valuable insights into the cognitive processes underlying tourism decision-making and advances our understanding of how people form expectations of new and unfamiliar places.
Originality/value
The originality of this research relies on the mediating role of missing aesthetics and emotion on the relationship between available aesthetics and visit intention using a structural model. This study highlights the significant role of visual information in influencing tourist decision-making, even with incomplete or ambiguous data.
Details
Keywords
Qamar Ul Islam, Haidi Ibrahim, Pan Kok Chin, Kevin Lim and Mohd Zaid Abdullah
Many popular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques have low accuracy, especially when localizing environments containing dynamically moving objects since their…
Abstract
Purpose
Many popular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques have low accuracy, especially when localizing environments containing dynamically moving objects since their presence can potentially cause inaccurate data associations. To address this issue, the proposed FADM-SLAM system aims to improve the accuracy of SLAM techniques in environments containing dynamically moving objects. It uses a pipeline of feature-based approaches accompanied by sparse optical flow and multi-view geometry as constraints to achieve this goal.
Design/methodology/approach
FADM-SLAM, which works with monocular, stereo and RGB-D sensors, combines an instance segmentation network incorporating an intelligent motion detection strategy (iM) with an optical flow technique to improve location accuracy. The proposed AS-SLAM system comprises four principal modules, which are the optical flow mask and iM, the ego motion estimation, dynamic point detection and the feature-based extraction framework.
Findings
Experiment results using the publicly available RGBD-Bonn data set indicate that FADM-SLAM outperforms established visual SLAM systems in highly dynamic conditions.
Originality/value
In summary, the first module generates the indication of dynamic objects by using the optical flow and iM with geometric-wise segmentation, which is then used by the second module to compute the starting point of a posture. The third module, meanwhile, first searches for the dynamic feature points in the environment, and second, eliminates them from further processing. An algorithm based on epipolar constraints is implemented to do this. In this way, only the static feature points are retained, which are then fed to the fourth module for extracting important features.
Details
Keywords
Zahra Khozaei Ravari, Qamar Ul Islam, Fatemeh Khozaei and Sara Betlem Choupan Zarvijani
Developing graduate students' academic writing has been a major concern for many scholars over the past few years. Existing literature on the challenges of thesis writing has not…
Abstract
Purpose
Developing graduate students' academic writing has been a major concern for many scholars over the past few years. Existing literature on the challenges of thesis writing has not focused on master's students in English language teaching (ELT). Data on the challenges have been mainly gathered from the theses and focused on the structure and genre requirements. Few available studies have investigated such challenges through the lens of supervisors in an international context. Knowledge about the factors hindering the thesis writing process of non-native MA students in English from the supervisors' perspectives is scarce. This study attempts to fill these gaps by answering this question: From supervisors' perspectives, what factors hinder the thesis writing process of non-native MA students?
Design/methodology/approach
Thirty supervisors from state and private universities across Iran voluntarily participated in this qualitative study. Drawing upon teachers' diaries and semi-structured interviews, the authors identified major factors negatively influencing the thesis work of master's students. Data were transferred into NVivo 10 and analyzed thematically following Colaizzi's method.
Findings
The study found that factors constraining students' writing were (1) students' lack of effort, (2) students' lack of a strategy for writing, (3) students' lack of autonomy and (4) students' absence of voice.
Originality/value
The authors discuss the practical implications of these factors for different stakeholders. There is a growing interest in postgraduate students' thesis writing processes. Surprisingly, no research exists on supervisors' perceptions of factors that constrain the thesis writing process of non-native English master's students.
Details
Keywords
Javeria Waseem, Rutaba Muneer, Syeda Hoor-Ul-Ain, Rutaba Tariq and Anam Minhas
This study aims to review the psychosocial determinants of divorce and their effects on women for a social reform in Pakistan. Enigmatic societal standards vandalize social status…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the psychosocial determinants of divorce and their effects on women for a social reform in Pakistan. Enigmatic societal standards vandalize social status of divorced women and stress them to experience psychological trauma that triggers psychosocial disorders.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is categorized into three major determinants: the human emotional, the formal legal and societal aspect(s) in association with the deferential social status of divorced women. Rapid evidence assessment methodology was used to search the all-inclusive literature, collate the available descriptive evidences, critically analyze and evaluate it, sieve out studies of penurious quality and provide an aperçu of the evidence.
Findings
The research evinces domestic violence and abuse as an endemic cause of divorce in Pakistan; emotional and psychological consequences of domestic abuse damage women’s self-worth and well-being. Literature reported that all these determinants impacted the mental health stability of the divorced women. Divorce rates are climbing at a faster pace in the country and Punjab has been identified as a province of rocketing divorce rate. Lamentably, in various villages of other provinces, women risk face mutilation if they show courage to seek divorce.
Practical implications
More research needs to be carried out on the issue nationwide. Fundamentally, cultural norms around women’s roles in society need to be addressed and challenged where this research may become an impetus for further research.
Originality/value
The paper contributes towards the redressal of the domestic abuse, social exclusion, marginalization and vilification of divorced women in Pakistan. The rising rates indicate an urgent need for social reforms to curtail offending behaviors toward them, to safeguard their mental health and well-being and to empower them with their legal rights to enjoy deferential social status in life.
Details
Keywords
The Pakistan military's influence on domestic politics.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB250499
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Kinza Aish, M. Kabir Hassan, Qamar Uz Zaman, Sadaf Ehsan, Khurram Abbas and Ijaz Hussain Shah
This paper aims to examine the impact of corruption and money laundering (ML) on the profitability and stability of Islamic banks.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of corruption and money laundering (ML) on the profitability and stability of Islamic banks.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the data of 53 conventional and 19 Islamic banks of Pakistan and Malaysia to have comparative insights. The empirical methods include the fixed effect and random effect regression and generalized methods of moment for robust results.
Findings
The results indicate that Islamic banks gain from corruption and ML. Corruption and ML affect bank profitability and stability positively in a less corrupt environment, i.e. Malaysia; however, corruption hurts Islamic banks’ performance, and ML favours Islamic banking profitability and stability in a more corrupt environment, i.e. Pakistan.
Originality/value
The present study pioneers the debate on corruption and ML related to Islamic banking profitability and stability. This study provides important insights to regulators and Shariah advisors to build a real model of Islamic banking.
Details
Keywords
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) combined with multi-user massive MIMO has been a well-known approach for high spectral efficiency in wideband systems, and it was targeted to…
Abstract
Purpose
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) combined with multi-user massive MIMO has been a well-known approach for high spectral efficiency in wideband systems, and it was targeted to detect the MIMO signals. The increasing data rates with multiple antennas and multiple users that share the communication channel simultaneously lead to higher capacity requirements and increased complexity. Thus, different detection algorithms were developed for the Massive MIMO.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on the various literature analyzes on various detection algorithms and techniques for MIMO detectors. Here, it reviews several research papers and exhibits the significance of each detection method.
Findings
This paper provides the details of the performance analysis of the MIMO detectors and reveals the best value in the case of each performance measure. Finally, it widens the research issues that can be useful for future researchers to be accomplished in MIMO massive detectors
Originality/value
This paper has presented a detailed review of the detection of massive MIMO on different algorithms and techniques. The survey mainly focuses on different types of channels used in MIMO detections, the number of antennas used in transmitting signals from the source to destination, and vice-versa. The performance measures and the best performance of each of the detectors are described.
Details
Keywords
Anglo-centric scholarship understands authenticity of online mediated performance for acquiring fame as a context-dependent claim, requiring labor in displaying a vulnerable self…
Abstract
Anglo-centric scholarship understands authenticity of online mediated performance for acquiring fame as a context-dependent claim, requiring labor in displaying a vulnerable self that is evaluated and validated by a relevant audience. This book chapter examines this concept in a non-Western context through a case study of a Pakistani microcelebrity, Qandeel Baloch. By explaining how Pakistani broadcast celebrity performances continue to be evaluated by religious and moral standards, this analysis finds how a transgressive performance shapes an authentic microcelebrity claim on social media.
Details
Keywords
Muhammad Hussnain Siddique, Muhammad Usman Qamar, Sumreen Hayat, Bilal Aslam, Habibullah Nadeem, Sabir Hussain, Muhammad Saqalein, Javeria Saeed and Saima Muzammil
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and antibiograms of bacteria isolated from various fresh fruit juices at a local market in Faisalabad.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and antibiograms of bacteria isolated from various fresh fruit juices at a local market in Faisalabad.
Design/methodology/approach
Fresh fruit juice samples (n=125) were randomly collected using aseptic technique. Each sample (10 mL) was serially diluted with 90 mL of sterile peptone water, from 1×10−1 to 1×10−5. Each dilution was then used to inoculate nutrient agar by surface spread plating. Aerobic colony counts (ACCs) were determined by colony counting. The isolates were sub-cultured on blood and MacConkey agar. Preliminary identification was achieved on the basis of colony morphology and culture characteristic, and confirmed by API® 20E, 20NE, and API® Staph testing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay, per CLSI 2015 guidelines.
Findings
The mean ACC ranged from 2.0×106 CFU/mL to 4.93×106 CFU/mL, with the highest ACC determined for orange juice. Overall, 153 polymicrobial were identified in 125 samples; 103 of these were Gram-negative rods (GNR) and 28 were Gram-positive cocci (GPC). Escherichia coli (n=38), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=32) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=24) were the predominant GNR; Staphylococcus aureus (n=28) was the predominant GPC. Antibiogram analysis revealed that all GNR were resistant to ampicillin. However, most E. coli isolates were resistant to ceftazidime (72.4 percent of isolates), and ceftriaxone and cefepime (68.9 percent), while most K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to cefepime (72 percent) and ceftriaxone (64 percent). All S. aureus isolates were resistant to penicillin, while most (64 percent) were resistant to piperacillin; the most effective drugs against bacteria were vancomycin and imipenem.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the local government regulatory food and public health authorities should take immediate emergency measures. Appropriate surveillance studies and periodic monitoring of food items should be regularly performed to safeguard public health.
Originality/value
The current study revealed the prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in freshly prepared fruit juices sold by local street vendors.
Details