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School mapping being a form of local planning is dealt as a local subject but has national and international impacts. This is a dynamic process which initiates with detailed diagnoses of the local situation, and on the basis of national objectives and international norms, provides for future educational needs at the local level and to indicates the obligatory measure required to achieve these needs. Ironically, local and national planners in Kyhber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan still show reluctance in using School Mapping Techniques. As a result the resources are misused, supervision becomes difficult and ghost and un-operational schools are not uncommon. This qualitative study focuses to address the customary conditions of school mapping in twenty four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for diagnosis of the major factors that make the educational planners reluctant and in addition to determine the causes of not realizing its importance in Educational Management Information System (EMIS). This makes the study unique as no such effort has ever made before in the area to probe the matter and suggest remedies. Data were collected by means of interview schedule with dealing EMIS managers at provincial level of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Executive District Officers of Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Kohat, Karak, Charsadda, Abbottabad and Mansehra districts while from the rest of sixteen districts telephonic conversation was focused as a major tool for collecting data. The results show that respondents both at Provincial and District level are well aware of the importance of school mapping but were reluctant to implement it practically due to very minor or no reasons.

Pakistan hosts over 1.4 million Afghan refugees and is facing extreme challenges in accomplishing the UN's refugee pacts and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The inflow and longer stay of refugees in the host country may affect the local population's socio-economic conditions. However, not all refugees are a "burden" to the host economy. Some refugees can contribute positively to the local economy given the opportunity. This study investigates the leading hurdles to establishing businesses for refugees to provide a different perspective to policymakers and scholars in achieving refugee integration. Through a thematic analysis of interviews conducted with Afghan entrepreneurial refugees, this study identifies ten hurdles and five opportunities they face while conducting business in Pakistan. Fuzzy Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (FSWARA) prioritizes the central theme, i.e., a lack of policies, among other hurdles, by allocating weights. Hypotheses on hurdles and opportunities are built and tested through multiple regression analysis (MRA). All the hypotheses on hurdles and three on opportunities are accepted. This study highlights the importance of a comprehensive framework for entrepreneurial refugees for their smooth integration into Pakistani society. This study helps policymakers and scholars identify the main barriers for refugee entrepreneurs in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice between organic and inorganic farming is an exciting debate in scholarly literature. A large number of studies has enriched the discussion. However, this particular study adds to this debate in unique ways. This study uses a hybrid model based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a methodological contribution to the debate of organic and inorganic farming by using multicriteria decision analysis. Also, this study uses several conflicting criteria (such as health benefits, environmental benefits, soil fertility, consumer awareness, etc.) that have not been combined in a single research study earlier to consider the choice of organic and inorganic farming. The study is based on a questionnaire survey undertaken by consumers, farmers and agriculture experts. After the application of the AHP-TOPSIS based hybrid model, several interesting results have been founded that have important policy implications for farming in Pakistan and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions and its possible determinants and their direction of causality for Pakistan over the period of 1972 to 2017. The survey of literature guides us that the most frequently discussed factors are real GDP per capita, energy consumption, urbanization, trade openness, and financial development. Testing of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is the most common in environment literature so we also incorporated the real GDP per capita squared term in the model. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to cointegration with structural break and error correction method (ECM) are applied to the selected time series to investigate the long-run relationship between CO2 emissions and real GDP per capita, real GDP per capita squared term, energy consumption, urbanization, trade openness, and financial development. The empirical evidence confirms the cointegration among the variables and EKC holds for Pakistan support H1 of the study, which though contradictory to the previous studies conducted on Pakistan but all of previous work faces the exclusion bias and their findings were skewed. The findings also suggest that energy consumption and urbanization have a positive effect on CO2 emissions, supporting H2 and H3. However, H4 and H5 rejected as trade openness and financial development found positively significant. Moreover, bidirectional Granger causality was exists only between CO2 emissions and trade openness. The findings suggests that Pakistan need to settle the economic agenda of the nation through the resolution of economic controversies, energy mix need to tilt toward clean and renewable energy, and rural-urban migration need to manage for better air, water, and living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hazara Basin lies within lesser Himalayan region and has undergone complex depositional and tectonic episodes responsible for accumulation of different economic minerals. Phosphate, ironstone, manganese, coal and china clay deposits reported from the area indicate different sedimentary environments including deep marine to carbonate and clastic shallow marine, glaciogenic and fluvial systems. These variable environments were mainly a result of different tectonic events, which were caused by formation and rifting of Rodina, Gondwana, Pangaea, India, Madagascar and collision of India with Eurasia. Phosphate was formed in anoxic shallow marine environments during Cambrian in Sirban Member and Hazira Formation, whereas, ironstone deposits were formed in oxygenated shelf and/or residual mechanisms during nondepositional periods, e.g., at the base of Jurassic and Tertiary successions. China clay was also formed at unconformable surface at the base of Shinwari Formation of Jurassic age. Coal within Chichali Formation was formed in anoxic, organic-rich deltaic shelf conditions. Basin evolution combined with stratigraphic set up of the region has played very important role in formation and exploration of these economic mineral deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study aims to examine whether digital transactions can be increased by improved digital literacy of the customers. • The novelty of this research lies in the fact that research about digital literacy and the digital economy, especially in association with one another, is rare worldwide. • The study uses multiple linear regression models. • The findings suggest that digital literacy and digital media usage enablers influence digital sales and transactions. • The results are also discussed in the local context using digital firms Careem, Foodpanda, and TikTok. The digital economy in Pakistan holds abundant potential, yet its existence is far from commonplace for ordinary Pakistani citizens. Understanding and implementing strategies to expedite the onboarding of masses onto digital platforms is paramount for Pakistan's digital economy. This study aims to examine and confirm whether digital transactions can be increased by improved digital literacy of customers. The idea is to find whether companies that invest in digital literacy can reap benefits in the form of increased transactions. The novelty of this research topic lies in the fact that research about digital literacy and the digital economy, especially in association with one another, is scarce worldwide. The subject provides a theoretical foundation for developing countries like Pakistan, where digital technologies, unsatisfactory literacy rates, and low internet penetration exist. The study uses multiple linear regression models and found that digital literacy and digital media usage enablers influence digital sales and transactions in Pakistan. The practical implication of the finding can be linked with digital economy development in Pakistan in the form of the establishment of various new apps and businesses in transportation (Careem, Bykea), food (Foodpanda) and social media (TikTok). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, experimental apparatus of desiccant dehumidification was developed at lab-scale, using silica gel as a desiccant material. Experimental data were obtained at various ambient air conditions, while focusing the climatic conditions of Multan (Pakistan). A steady-state analysis approach for the desiccant dehumidification process was used, and thereby the slope of desiccant dehumidification line on psychrometric chart (ϕ*) was determined. It has been found that ϕ* = 0.22 in case of silica gel which is lower than the hydrophilic polymeric sorbent, i.e., ϕ* = 0.31. The study proposed two kinds of systems, i.e., (i) standalone desiccant air-conditioning (DAC) and (ii) Maisotsenko-cycle-assisted desiccant air-conditioning (M-DAC) systems. In addition, two kinds of desiccant material (i.e., silica gel and hydrophilic polymeric sorbent) were investigated from the thermodynamic point of view for both system types, using the experimental data and associated results. The study aimed to determine the optimum air-conditioning (AC) system type, as well as adsorbent material for building AC application. In this regard, perspectives of dehumidification capacity, cooling capacity, and thermal coefficient of performance (COP) are taken into consideration. According to the results, hydrophilic polymeric sorbent gave a higher performance, as compared to silica gel. In case of both systems, the performance was improved with the addition of Maisotsenko cycle evaporative cooling unit. The maximum thermal COP was achieved by using a polymer-based M-DAC system, i.e., 0.47 at 70 °C regeneration temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]