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The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of standard quantum-based particle swarm optimization (QPSO) methods for solving electromagnetic inverse problems.

A modified QPSO algorithm is designed.

The modified QPSO algorithm is an efficient and robust global optimizer for optimizing electromagnetic inverse problems. More specially, the experimental results as reported on different case studies demonstrate that the proposed method can find better final optimal solution at an early stage of the iterating process (uses less iterations) as compared to other tested optimal algorithms.

The modifications include the design of a new position updating formula, the introduction of a new mutation strategy and a dynamic control parameter to intensify the convergence speed of the algorithm.

Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) are becoming increasingly popular as professional networking. These communities support and shape professional development, especially in countries with limited opportunities and constrain like time and distance. This study throws light on the role of VCoP and its impact on the continuous professional development (CPD) of librarians in Pakistan.

This study is carried out with qualitative research methods to understand effects of VCoP on CPD. With a thematic content analysis on the email conversations of a library and information science (LIS) Yahoo mailing group “plagpk”, the impact of virtual communities (VCs) on librarians' professional development in Pakistan over the past 20 years was analyzed.

This study demonstrates that VCs contribute to professional learning, problem-solving, knowledge creation, professional awareness and identity creation in the LIS field. Further, this study contributes a model to explain the formal and informal professional development for individuals and groups through VCoP engagement.

It is hoped that this study will help the librarian community create, get involved in the VCoP for personal, professional development consciously and create an impact in the profession. The finding of this study is generalizable to any social sciences or humanities professionals VCoPs.

This is one of the first studies in the LIS field to analysis the impact of VCs on the professional development of the librarians.

This paper is the part of PhD research of the principal researcher. This paper aims to describe current status of library software being used in the libraries of Pakistan, role of national and foreign agencies in the development of library software in Pakistan, problems faced by the libraries in implementation and to highlight the recommendations by the experts in the field to overcome the problems. It also attempts to provide a bibliography on the topic to researchers in the field of library and information science.

Available literature was reviewed. The articles were usually published in national and international journals of library and information science and contributed by Pakistani authors. Other sources consulted were books, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations and websites of libraries and professionals’ organisations.

The situation in Pakistan regarding library software cannot be compared with the that in advanced countries. Lack of standard library software, the multilingual nature of the library collections, poor budgets, computer illiteracy, software piracy and unavailability of support from local vendors are the main hindrances in the effective implementation of library software. In the available literature, experts have recommended the formulation of a consortium or a body under the umbrella of the Government of Pakistan which could provide standard library software, along with technical support, innovation and upgrades of the software, to meet the needs of Pakistani libraries.

This is the first paper that presents the current status of library software in Pakistan, problems faced by the libraries in implementation of library software and recommendations suggested by the experts to overcome the problems.

This study aims to find out the reasons of adopting Koha integrated library software, discovers the problems faced by librarians during its implementation, and gets the perceptions of librarians about the performances of Koha in Punjab, a province of Pakistan.

Survey method was used to collect the data through questionnaire from the purposefully selected sample (N = 66) of university librarians of Punjab, a province of Pakistan.

The librarians adopted Koha due to the availability of Web online public access catalog (OPAC), provision of MARC21 standards for cataloging and its free availability. During implementation, the librarians were faced with the problems of lack of technical skills, lack of knowledge about the Linux operating system, shortage of skilled manpower, slow internet speeds and approval from their organization. They highly rated the performance of the cataloguing, circulation, patron and OPAC modules of Koha.

This research provides a brief picture of librarians’ perceptions about Koha adoption and satisfaction levels. The findings highlighted the issues and problems faced during the implementation of Koha. This study will be helpful for librarians in the selection, implementation and usage of the Koha software in their libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships among organizational justice, innovative organization culture, perceived organizational support (POS), affective commitment and innovative behavior (IB). The mediating role of POS is tested within the relationship of justice dimensions, affective commitment and IB.

Data for this research were collected from 367 managerial and executive employees working in manufacturing and IT sector firms in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test hypothesized relationships.

Results indicate that organizational justice (distributive, procedural and interactional justice), innovative organization culture and POS are significantly related to affective commitment and employees’ IB. The findings also showed that organizational justice stimulates employees’ affective commitment and IB through mediating POS as well as directly.

The main limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design and self-reported questionnaire data. This study is also limited to manufacturing and IT sector in Pakistan. Therefore, other sectors and geographical locations could be chosen for future research using a bigger sample size.

This study makes important theoretical contributions using social exchange theory. It also expands the research in the area of organizational justice dimensions, organizational culture and POS as antecedents of affective commitment and IB. This study is an exceptional investigation of justice, organization culture, POS, commitment and IB in the Pakistan cultural context.

Deeni Madaris of Pakistan and their libraries are playing an important role in educating the large fraction of society. They have always been engaged in the development of social and cultural values of the Pakistani society. This study aims to investigate the organization of information resources and their utilization at Deeni Madaris libraries in the central Punjab, Pakistan.

Quantitative research approach was adopted for this study. A questionnaire was developed on the bases of related literature and discussions with experts of librarianship as well as Islamic studies in Pakistan. The questionnaire was sent to 49 Deeni Madaris, of which five did not have libraries and four did not respond. Forty (81.6 per cent) Deeni Madaris responded and provided the relevant data about their libraries. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 22. Mostly descriptive statistics were applied to calculate the frequencies, percentage, means and standard deviations. A two-tailed t-test was applied to check the impact of cataloguing and automation on the use of information resources.

It was found that majority of the respondents developed their own classification and cataloguing methods for the organization of information resources and did not have a proper retrieval system. Majority of the respondents were providing lending services to readers. Teachers and final-year students were the key users of the libraries. They mostly referred to books, theses and serials written in Urdu and Arabic language. The situation of library computerization was very weak; only 19 libraries had computers and 11 of them have partially automated the library activities. Library automation and catalogue put positive effects on the use of library resources.

The exploration of the literature showed that libraries of Madaris in Pakistan have always been a priority, but these libraries did not get a position in the library literature as they deserve. This study will fill this gap.

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of software for the automation of academic libraries in Sialkot. This study consisted of three objectives, including recognizing the reasons to adopt the software for library automation, investigating the problems faced by librarians while using library software and identifying the satisfaction level with the attributes of library software.

A quantitative research approach was used to achieve the objectives of this study. A survey was conducted to collect data from the library information science professionals working in the academic libraries of Sialkot. The data was collected from 46 library professionals through a structured questionnaire.

The findings showed that the economic cost of implementation, maintenance and the software providing multilingual support were the major reasons for adoption of software for the purpose of automation. In this study, compliance with the internet, noncooperation in library automation by university/institution, availability of training facilities, insufficient library budget, a lack of financial/economic resources, staff transfer and a lack of consultancy and technical service were identified as major issues when using library automation software. However, the respondents were quite satisfied with the performance of software attributes including circulation modules, easy to use cataloguing modules, reports’ modules, software attributes of administration modules and multilingual facility.

This study persuades library and information science professionals to automate their libraries through the adoption of library software.

The authors examine the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the stock market, forex market and gold market of Pakistan.

By using the daily data of COVID-19 confirmed cases, stock index, foreign currency rates and gold prices for the period 10 March 2020 to 16 October 2020, the authors explore that the stock index negatively responds to the corona pandemic.

Additionally, the authors observe the price hikes in gold and foreign currency corresponding to the number of COVID-19 positive cases.

The study analysis unveils that the stock market adversely responds to a pandemic, whereas, forex and gold markets serve as a safe haven for investors at the time of financial distress.

This study complements the literature and provides empirical evidence of the stock market, the gold market and foreign currency market, in the perspective of Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the key features of information management systems (IMSs) for automation in university libraries. This study also highlights the use of library information management systems in university libraries and the satisfaction of university librarians in using various IMS.

This study is quantitative in nature. A survey research method has been applied to achieve the research objectives. Purposive sampling has been used to select the targeted population which consisted of 157 librarians working in university libraries. Data were collected through a web-based questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze the collected data by using SPSS software.

Free and open source software are widely used in university libraries to manage the bibliographic information of library material. KOHA is the most used software for library automation in university libraries of Pakistan. The key features of library information management system (IMS) include reliability and security of the software, user-friendly interface, advance searching options, use of library standards (MARC, Uni MARC, RDA), online upgradation, technical support of developing company, shared cataloging, multilingual features of software, etc (See Figure 4). The study recommends that the above-mentioned features must be considered by university librarians when selecting any software for library automation. Results showed that apart from the use of KOHA software, there are also some other software which are being used for library automation in university libraries of Pakistan. These systems include; Virtua, Library Management System (LMS), and Library Information Management Systems (LIMSs).

This study has practical implications for university librarians in Pakistan as well as in other countries. Librarians can use the results of this study as a blueprint before selecting any information management system to automate the library record.

This study identifies the core features of IMS for automation in libraries. These features have been recommended by informational professionals who have been working in automated libraries and possess adequate professional experience in using library automation software.

The discourse aimed to investigate green finance practices under the assumptions of several notable climate advisors and speculators in Asia and particularly in Southeast Asia. The study intrigues by considering financial specialists to vent government spending on green restoration plans leading toward green bankable venture openings for the public and private sector. This section distinguishes a few of the green fund components and approaches that can be joined by national and neighborhood governments, essentially in Southeast Asia, into their post-COVID-19 techniques, but are too valuable inputs for domestic commercial banks and private corporates.

It can be defined as a functional type for Cobb Douglas development. ARDL technology is a way of calculating complex forces at the classification level at long-term and short-term stages. This ARDL approach has many advantages and can be implemented when incorporated in level I (0) and level I first (1) with the original variable. Still, it offers robust ability to the outcomes and standardizes the lag, considering the number and sample size used. Pooled mean group (PMG) method is becoming a convenient technique for monitoring data over the period and a good approach for energy impact panels – growth ties for creating links between energy emissions and environmental sustainability and businesses in the nation.

There is a positive partnership between creativity and a sustainable world. Corporations are recommended to uphold the principles of CSR in the development process by introducing environmentally friendly advanced technologies. The main objectives of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are economic growth, environmental sustainability and social justice. Several programs have been established to expand businesses' responsibilities to improve their confessions in sustainable growth. SMEs are a primary source of production of innovative products and technologies. The key concerns of stakeholders and politicians in the new competitive business climate are the protection of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, recognizing factors driving economic development for SMEs.

During the COVID-19 era, the prime responsibility of pandemic confronting governments is to spend on help activities (that have been started in earlier phase) and recovery endeavors (yet to start in the situation). Therefore, the governments may devise policies to pool resources from commercial, private, public-private partnerships and other capital market sources. With rising hazard recognitions particularly emerging from at-threat income projections, governments ought to make the correct mechanisms and instruments that can perform this catalytic part of derisking and drawing in such capital. This too can be an opportunity for governments to enhance and execute such financial instruments that offer assistance, quicken their commitments to climate alter beneath the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and thus “build back better” is being progressively voiced over the world.