32 research outputs found
Alternative Resources of Rare Earth Elements in Pakistan
No full textRare earth elements (REEs) have emerged as strategic elements. Due to their unique electronic and magnetic properties, REEs have extensive applications in modern-day technologies. Two aspects make the supply chain of REEs very critical: first, more than ~85% of the global rare earth elements are processed by China alone; second, presently, hardly any substitute materials exist for these elements. The supply chain of these elements is vulnerable because of the Chinese monopoly on rare earth resources. These circumstances drove researchers to explore alternative resources for these elements. This article reviews the prospective alternative resources of REEs. Based on the available resources and technical experience, a road map has also been suggested
Project Integration, Confl ict Management and Project Success: The Moderating Role of Management Support
No full textThe aim of this study is to measure the eff ect of project integration and confl ict management on project success. In addition, this study also examines the moderating roles of management support on the relationship between (a) project integration and project success; (b) confl ict management and project success. The questionnaire used in the study was adapted from the previous literature. The sample size used in the study was 217 with a response rate of 87%. The results suggest that project integration has an insignifi cant effect on project success. In addition, we fi nd that confl ict management has a weak positive effect on project success. It was also found that management support moderates the relationship between (a) project integration and project success; (b) confl ict management and project success. This study has several limitations. This study was restricted to Karachi and a limited number of respondents were surveyed. Moreover, selected variables were used.Keywords: Project integration, confl ict management, management support, project success
The validation of Granger causality through formulation and use of finance-growth-energy indexes
No full textAdapting authoritarianism: institutions and co-optation in Egypt and Syria
No full textThis PhD thesis compares Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian political systems. While the tendency in social science political research treats Egypt and Syria as similarly authoritarian, this research emphasizes differences between the two systems with special reference to institutions and co-optation. Rather than reducibly understanding Egypt and Syria as sharing similar histories, institutional arrangements, or ascribing to the oft-repeated convention that “Syria is Egypt but 10 years behind,” this thesis focuses on how events and individual histories shaped each states current institutional strengthens and weaknesses. Specifically, it explains the how varying institutional politicization or de-politicization affects each state’s capabilities for co-opting elite and non-elite individuals.
Beginning with a theoretical framework that considers the limited utility of democratization and transition theoretical approaches, the work underscores the persistence and durability of authoritarianism. Chapter two details the politicized institutional divergence between Egypt and Syria that began in the 1970s. Chapter three and four examines how institutional politicization or de-politicization affects elite and non-elite individual co-optation in Egypt and Syria. Chapter five discusses the study’s general conclusions and theoretical implications.
This thesis’s argument is that Egypt and Syria co-opt elites and non-elites differently because of the varying degrees of institutional politicization in each governance system. Rather than view one country as more politically developed than the other, this work argues that Syria’s political institutions are more politicized than their Egyptian counterparts. Syria’s political arena is, thus, described as politicized-patrimonialism. Syria’s politicized-patrimonial arena produces uneven co-optation of elites and non-elites as they are diffused through competing institutions. Conversely, the Egyptian political arena remains highly personalized as weak institutions and individuals are manipulated and molded according to the president’s ruling clique. This is referred to as personalized-patrimonialism. As a consequence, Egypt’s political establishment demonstrates more flexibility in ad hoc altering and adapting its arena depending on the emergence of crises.
This study’s theoretical implications suggest that, contrary to modernization and democratization theory’s adage that institutions lead to a political development, politicized institutions within a patrimonial order actually hinder regime adaptation because consensus is harder to achieve and maintain. It is within this context that Egypt’s de-politicized institutional framework advantages its top political elite. In this reading of Egyptian and Syrian politics, Egypt’s personalized political arena is more adaptable than Syria’s. These conclusions do not indicate that political reform is a process underway in either state
De-mystifying the Muslimah: Exploring Different Perceptions of Selected Young Muslim Women in Britain
No full textIn this research I argue that although Islam as a faith is inherently emancipatory, Muslim
women are doubly marginalised: by patriarchal interpretations of their faith within Muslim
communities and by pluralist society that often does not understand the faith-based values
and practices of Muslim women. The empowerment of Muslim women is crucial not just for
the women themselves but also for socio-political dynamics within the Muslim community
and its relationships in pluralist society. It is from this context, and acknowledging the paucity
of academic literature written by Muslim women, that I set out to give voice to them, so that
their opinions may be heard in discourses that they think are relevant to their lives. By
encouraging Muslim women to take voice and by facilitating mechanisms for these voices to
be heard, this research presents alternate narratives of Muslim women that challenge
dominant media imagery of the oppressed and subjugated Muslim woman. These narratives,
which are by and for Muslim women, portray instead the inherent diversity in the category
'Muslim woman' and thus add more facets to the category 'woman'.
I used an ethnographic methodology that involved participants as contributors in the creation
of new knowledge. Semi-structured interviews with 45 young university-educated Muslim
women and 7 group discussions were used as initial data-gathering tools. The penultimate
ethnographic stage involved Muslim women creating 3-minute long self-representational
digital stories (DSTs), which consist of an autobiographical narrative accompanied by still
pictures. This was a process of self-reflection for the women and an opportunity to take voice
and to be heard. The subsequent screening of these DSTs to audiences who were not
Muslim resulted in discussion and active debate about the reasons for prevalent
(mis)understandings of Muslim women and stereotypes were challenged. In its initiation of
more balanced representations of Muslim women this research empowers Muslim women,
and by contributing to dialogue and cohesion it also empowers pluralist society as a whole.
This research clarifies the overlapping priorities and identities of young British Muslim
women and initiates new discourses, as narrated by the women, on subjects including
religious interpretation and practice, feminism, media representation and social cohesion. In
the research findings I propose an evolving British-Muslim identity among Muslim youth (in
this case young women) which is distinct from that of their parents; a theological articulation
of a 'feminist' struggle for women's rights; and the need to engage with the media and others
to create positive representations of Muslim women. Experiences with DSTs indicate the
potential of personal narratives and interaction for the purposes of inter-community dialogue
Mythologizing the transition : a comparative study of Bahram Beyzaee and Wolfe Soyinka
No full textBahram Beyzaee, the Iranian playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian poet, playwright, and novelist have produced artistic works that transcend the limitations of time and locality to become powerful comments on human life and socio-political and cultural institutions. This research study examines the major themes and dramatic techniques of these two writers to demonstrate how, in two very different cultural settings, traditional modes and themes appear in modem art forms to renegotiate cultural identity. I argue that both writers place themselves in a post postcolonial position which rather than being concerned about 'writing back against the centre' reflects on the cultural shortcomings that leaves their people at the mercy of vicious internal and external forces. I also demonstrate how they demythologize the traditional superstitious beliefs that haunt the present, foreground the inauthenticity of the modern hybrid obsessions that distort everyday life in their countries and mythologize and glorify the positive aspects of history and contemporary life to redefine cultural identity in terms of the best their cultures can offer. The first two chapters give an account of the history of Iranian and Nigerian performance forms in the context of socio-political, cultural, literary and artistic movements and traditions. The third chapter proceeds to present a short discussion of the theatrical vision and themes of Beyzaee and Soyinka and embarks on a general comparison of the two writers. Chapter four is focused on Beyzaee and Soyinka's depiction of the intellectuals as sacrificial heroes whose death may initiate social purgation and cultural regeneration and liberation. Chapter five is less mythical and more sociopolitical. It is a reflection on the writers' portrayal of women in their works and their success or failure in transcending literary and cultural stereotypes in a world where the means of production and socio-economic facts and the cultural developments associated with them demand a rapid movement away from patriarchal values. Chapter six is devoted to the study of another major issue in the process of cultural transition, namely, redefining the position of ethnic minorities in the myth of nationhood. This last chapter is followed by a brief conclusion, discussing the results and the future possibilities of drama in the context of rapid transition
Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults
No full textAcuin, Cecilia (IRRI author
Violence and Fragility: A Study of Violent Young Offending in Yemen and Other Fragile States
No full textThis thesis examines the relationship between violent young offending that has no clear political motive and state fragility. It does so by conducting an in-depth evaluation of crime, underdevelopment and crime control systems in Yemen, using existing theories of criminology and international development to suggest new ways of understanding and responding to violent criminal behaviour in that country and elsewhere. While one of the stated goals of this thesis is to generate new theoretical understandings of criminal violence in Yemen, its main contribution to knowledge is that it brings criminological theory into the discourse on international socio-economic underdevelopment in order to open up a new conduit for the academic analysis of fragility. In so doing, it merges criminological theory with the study of international development and state fragility, where the two academic disciplines have previously remained quite separate.
The above aims are achieved through an extensive study of the Yemeni development context, based upon a combination of field research interviews conducted with prominent stakeholders in Yemen, distance research by phone and online conducted with Yemeni stakeholders, and expert consultations conducted with important analysts working either on Yemen directly or more broadly in the area of security and justice reform. The research itself, meanwhile, also provides a detailed overview of relevant theory and literature on criminology, justice reform and state fragility, while being supported by Yemeni criminal justice statistics.
In light of the theoretical emphasis of this investigation, the findings of this thesis are suggestive rather than empirical. The author argues that the absence of state services, legitimate opportunities and socialising activities for young people, along with their exposure to significant levels of violence, produces extreme economic, psychological and socio-cultural stresses that lead to their increased aggression and rejection of state legitimacy, all of which combine to raise the likelihood of violent young offending in Yemen. It is argued that these trends yield a coherent analytical framework with relevant lessons for other fragile states, notwithstanding that Yemen's cultural specificities and tribal communities have produced unique influences that distinguish it from other fragile settings
Characterising acute and chronic care needs: insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
No full textChronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care addresses short-term conditions. Chronic conditions increasingly strain health systems, which are often unprepared for these demands. This study examines the burden of conditions requiring acute versus chronic care, including sequelae. Conditions and sequelae from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019 were classified into acute or chronic care categories. Data were analysed by age, sex, and socio-demographic index, presenting total numbers and contributions to burden metrics such as Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), Years Lived with Disability (YLD), and Years of Life Lost (YLL). Approximately 68% of DALYs were attributed to chronic care, while 27% were due to acute care. Chronic care needs increased with age, representing 86% of YLDs and 71% of YLLs, and accounting for 93% of YLDs from sequelae. These findings highlight that chronic care needs far exceed acute care needs globally, necessitating health systems to adapt accordingly.
© 2025. The Author(s)
Metodología para el análisis del comportamiento y el desempeño de los estudiantes en un curso en línea
No full textAlthough many researchers have studied student performance prediction in online courses, they have primarily focused on courses with a linear structure, where students complete lessons and assessments sequentially. However, non-linear courses allow students to take lessons and assessments in any order, making performance prediction more challenging due to varying cumulative assessment percentages among students at any given time. This master's thesis aims to develop a data-driven method for early student performance prediction in non-linear courses.
We created a feature extractor and evaluated three types of features: engagement, behavior, and performance. The data comes from Moodle courses designed to prepare high school students for a public university entrance exam. Our method achieved early predictions at 20% of cumulative weight assessment with an F1-score of 0.73 for binary classification and an R² of 0.40 for regression. We also conducted a feature importance analysis, showing that performance and behavior features are the most significant predictors, with engagement features, such as time spent on educational resources, also contributing significantly.
In addition to predicting student performance, we performed a clustering analysis and identified four patterns that consistently appear across various cumulative weight assessments. These patterns significantly impact performance and can help educators provide better feedback and more personalized attention to students' needs.Aunque muchos investigadores han estudiado la predicción del rendimiento de los estudiantes en cursos en línea, se han centrado principalmente en cursos con una estructura lineal, en los que los estudiantes completan las lecciones y las evaluaciones de forma secuencial. Sin embargo, los cursos no lineales permiten a los estudiantes realizar las lecciones y evaluaciones en cualquier orden, lo que hace que la predicción del rendimiento sea más difícil debido a la variación de los porcentajes de evaluación acumulada entre los estudiantes en un momento dado. Esta tesis de máster tiene como objetivo desarrollar un método basado en datos para la predicción temprana del rendimiento de los estudiantes en cursos no lineales.
Creamos un extractor de características y evaluamos tres tipos de características: compromiso, comportamiento y rendimiento. Los datos proceden de cursos de Moodle diseñados para preparar a estudiantes de secundaria para un examen de acceso a una universidad pública. Nuestro método logró predicciones tempranas al 20% de la evaluación del peso acumulado con una puntuación F1 de 0.73 para la clasificación binaria y un R² de 0.40 para la regresión. También llevamos a cabo un análisis de la importancia de las características, mostrando que las características de rendimiento y comportamiento son los predictores más significativos, con características de compromiso, como el tiempo dedicado a los recursos educativos, que también contribuyen significativamente.
Además de predecir el rendimiento de los alumnos, realizamos un análisis de agrupación e identificamos cuatro patrones que aparecen de forma consistente en varias evaluaciones de peso acumulativo. Estos patrones influyen significativamente en el rendimiento y pueden ayudar a los educadores a proporcionar mejores comentarios y una atención más personalizada a los estudiantes.ModelamientoCOL0044448MaestríaMagíster en Ingeniería de Telecomunicacione
