Design and evaluation of a dynamic job search website for non-literate users of Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Among the many available online job searching solutions, very limited are proposed for non-literate users. The available solutions have tested the possibilities using static web pages which are not applicable in the real world for non-literate users because of the dynamism of the real world. In this research, a dynamic job search solution is presented for non-literate users of Pakistan. User Interface (UI) requirements were identified through an extensive literature review. The culturally specific content in the form of hand-drawn sketches, voice feedback, semi-illustrations was identified and incorporated in the job seekers (non-literate) module. The same module was evaluated by the non-literate and semi-literate participants in a field study as per the usability specification defined by ISO-9241-11. The results have shown that non-literate users could search for a job efficiently in the minimum task completion time as compared to the time reported in the previous literature. They were satisfied and motivated to use the website again to search for jobs. The results indicate a potential for designing ICT-based solutions to provide services to the non-literate users in developing countries.     

Seasonal Accuracy Assessments of Three Land Cover Datasets in Pakistan

Global land cover datasets play an important role in the fields of ecology, climate and resources. GlobeLand30-2010 (30 m), FROM-GLC-2010 (30 m) and GlobCover-2009 (300 m) are three global high-precision land cover datasets with a wide range of applications. In order to judge whether these data sets are sufficient to describe the real situation of land cover in different seasons, the inter-seasonal accuracy of the aforementioned three global land cover datasets using Pakistan as a representative study area was evaluated. A total of 1 000 land cover sample points were selected from 122 Landsat-5, Landsat-7 multi-spectral remote sensing images during 2009~2011 to generate summer and winter land cover classifications.The results show that the accuracies of summer and winter land cover classifications are different in Pakistan. The overall land cover classification accuracies of GlobeLand30-2010 (65.6% vs. 63.9%) and FROM-GLC-2010 (61.2% vs. 59.0%) in summer are slightly higher than those in winter. The overall accuracy of GlobCover-2009 (59.5% vs. 59.1%) in winter is slightly higher than that in summer. GlobeLand30-2010 performs best in classifying cropland, impervious surface, and water body, FROM-GLC-2010 performs best in classifying vegetation, glaciers, and snow, and GlobCover-2009 performs best in classifying bare land. The classification of cropland, bare land, glaciers, and snow in the three datasets is more in line with the real situation in winter than in summer; the classification of vegetation and water bodies is more in line with the real situation in summer; there is no obvious seasonal difference in impervious surface. There should be at least one sample point per 1 000 square kilometers.     

Pakistan psychology.

The background from which psychology is emerging in Pakistan as a separate discipline, its major trends as a continuation of the traditions of Indian psychology are discussed, and lines of research and problems currently being faced by Pakistan psychologists are also indicated. Major sections are: Background of Pakistan Psychology, Current Trends (Psychology Laboratory in Pakistan, Professional Organization, Professional Journals, Recent Trends), and Future Prospects. "With the present rate of growth of psychology, coupled with an unusual enthusiasm among the younger generation of psychologists, there is great hope that Pakistan psychology will soon catch up with the current developments in other countries." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

巴基斯坦真纳水电站施工测量控制网复测及加密技术

针对巴基斯坦真纳水电站施工中原有控制网不能满足施工测量放样的要求,着重介绍了巴基斯坦真纳水电站施工中控制网复测及加密的测量技术,为巴基斯坦真纳水电站施工提供了保证.     

Petroleum Geochemistry of Lower Indus Basin,Pakistan: II. Oil-oil and Oil-source Rock Correlation

Nine crude oils and eight source rock samples from Cretaceous sequences, Lower Indus Basin have been characterized by means of diagnostic biomarker parameters in order to establish genetic liaison among them. The biomarker geochemistry indicators such as relative distribution of C₂₇-C₂₈-C₂₉ ααα-20R steranes, C₁₉ and C₂₃ tricyclic terpanes (TT), C₂₄ tetracyclic terpanes (TeT), hopanes distribution, steranes/hopanes ratio, presence of unidentified compound X (C₃₀ pentacyclic triterpane), and pristane (Pr) to phytane (Ph) ratio suggest that the crude oils contain predominantly terrigenous organic matter (OM). Based on these data, the analyzed crude oils from the Lower Indus Basin are genetically associated and could be classified into a single group. Geochemical correlation studies of crude oils and source rock sediments indicate that Lower Goru shales and Sembar could be the probable source rocks for the petroleum generated from Cretaceous strata, Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan.     

Targeting sustainable development in Pakistan through planning of integrated energy resources for electricity generation

Three models for the projection of long-term electricity generation for Pakistan are developed in this paper. Baseline (BL), Coal and Renewable Energy (RE) scenarios are used to analyze current and future electricity generation. From an environmental perspective, both the BL and RE scenarios are found to be superior to the Coal scenario, but a cost-benefit analysis indicates that the RE scenario is most expensive though it brings the benefit of effectively reducing dependence on imports of primary fuel.     

Islamic home financing in Pakistan: a SEM-based approach using modified TPB model

The present study attempts to examine the Islamic home financing using the modified theory of planned behavior model (TPB). Sample data of 375 are conveniently drawn from walk-in customers of Islamic banks located in the biggest city Karachi. This study employed both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the validity and reliability of the measurement model. The modified theoretical framework was examined by applying the structural equation modeling using frequently reported goodness-of-fit indices. The findings indicate that the original constructs of TPB model, attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioral control has a positive and significant impact on the customer intention to use Islamic home financing. Furthermore, ATT is found to be the most influential factor in determining the customer intention toward Islamic home financing. On the other hand, we introduced two new factors, pricing on home financing (PHF) and religious belief (RB), which proved their presence in the TPB model by showing a significant impact on the customer intention to use the facility of home financing. In addition, PHF has a negative impact while religious belief has a positive relationship with the customer intention to use Islamic home financing in Pakistan. This study also suggests that the standard TPB model is successfully modified by introducing PHF and RB factors. Therefore, Islamic bank managers should consider this study to promote the Islamic home financing facility in Pakistan.     

Multi-Rectangular Diagram Concept in Groundwater Quality Assessment and Application in Pakistan

Abstract

The concept of multi-rectangular diagrams (MRD) is introduced to replace many classical and triangular coordinates (Piper diagrams) to examine the multi-variate association of chemical constituents present in groundwater. MRD eliminates the drawbacks of classical trilinear diagrams effectively. Comparison between MRD and the classical trilinear diagram is presented. MRD is used for the assessment of groundwater quality in Chaj Doab area of Pakistan. The differentiated dominant groundwater types in the study area are sodium bicarbonate, calcium bicarbonate and sodium sulfate. Sodium bicarbonate is the most abundant type of groundwater in the central part of the study area.     

开放为巴基斯坦电信业带来高增长

从移动通信、固定通信、其他电信服务、电信设备供货和电信全行业增长和贡献等5个方面描述了巴基斯坦电信业的高速增长.为了为新老运营商提供公平、公正和宽松的市场竞争环境,巴政府实施了改革措施.说明了PTCL的私有化进程.指出巴电信业有极大的发展潜力和空间.     

Planning of rural development centres in Pakistan

Rapid advances in technology and the multiplication of functional responsibilities demand proper planning and control of projects. In developing countries, in particular, managers and engineers cannot plan and control projects using only experience or conventional project management methods that demand their presence at critial moments. The problem of setting up rural development centres in the Punjab, Pakistan, is presented. The choice of method used to ensure that these centres were available in a specified time and that the system was adopted is discussed, together with the problems of impementation. The results of the methods used are presented and overall conclusions are drawn.