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We theoretically demonstrated a class of plasmonic coupled elliptical nanostructure for achieving a spaser or a nanolaser with high intensity. The plasmonic ellipse is made up of gold film substrate. The proposed structure is then trialed for various light polarizations, moreover, a simple elliptical nanostructure has been chosen primarily from which different cases have been formed by geometry alteration. The structure supports strong coupled resonance mode i.e. localized surface plasmon (LSP). The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the investigated system is numerically examined using the finite-element method (FEM). The calculations showed that the LSPR peaks and the local field intensity or near field enhancement (NFE) of the active nanosystem can be amplified to higher values by introducing symmetry-breaking techniques in the proposed ellipse and its variants. The coupled nanostructure having different stages of wavelengths can be excited with different plasmonic resonance modes by the selection of suitable gain media. In addition, a small-sized nanolaser with high tunability range can be developed using this nanostructure. The spaser phenomena are achieved at several wavelengths by changing light polarization and structure alteration methods. Giant localized field enhancement and high LSPR values enable the proposed model to be highly appealing for sensing applications, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and much more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports numerical modeling of perovskite solar cell which has been knotted with Distributed Bragg Reflector pairs to extract high energy efficiency. The geometry of the proposed cells is simulated with three different kinds of perovskite materials including CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbBr3, and CH3NH3SnI3. The toxic perovskite material based on Lead iodide and lead bromide appears to be more efficient as compared to non-toxic perovskite material. The executed simulated photovoltaic parameters with the highest efficient structure are open circuit voltage = 1.409 (V), short circuit current density = 24.09 mA/cm2, fill factor = 86.18%, and efficiency = 24.38%. Moreover, a comparison of the current study with different kinds of structures has been made and surprisingly our novel geometry holds enhanced performance parameters that are featured with back reflector pairs (Si/SiO2). The applied numerical approach and presented designing effort of geometry are beneficial to obtain results that have the potential to address problems with less efficient thin-film solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have reviewed laser technology and its applications in different areas. Overview of different kinds of lasers used for number of applications in real world have been presented. Moreover, this review paper covers technology advancement from the last decades along with providing a detailed transition from simple lasers to nano-sized lasers, also known as spasers, which are based on plasmonic nanoparticles. The main focus of this review study is to provide deep insights of nanolasers, structures, materials, techniques and provides a bright path for future researchers to study the contribution of different workgroups with the ease of using this single platform. We have also provided the details of different materials used and analyzed by different researchers and upto what extent they were stood successful in designing efficient spaser design that led toward optimal features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees’ work engagement (EWE) has emerged as one of the important drivers of organizational success in today’s competitive business environment. The aim of the current study was to examine, the association between Islamic Human Resource Management practices (IHRM), with EWE. The data was collected from 380 employees, working in the education and health sector of Lahore Pakistan. The findings indicate IHRM practices: Recruitment/ Selection, and Training and Development have a positive impact on EWE. Managerial implications, limitations and future directions have also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water conservation technologies especially, High Efficiency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) remained unpopular due to absence of service sector for these technologies despite of the efforts being carried out since long. Therefore, a training component to prepare a cadre was included in the USDA funded 'Watershed Rehabilitation' project being implemented in collaboration with ICARDA and other NARS partners. The prime objective of these training programmes was to impart training based skills on water conservation technologies. To help in improving the effectiveness, the socioeconomic backup for assessment of these trainings was included as part of the activity. The information for paper is collected from opinions of the participants before and after the training. Descriptive analysis alongwith paired 't' test was used to measure the effectiveness of training. Results indicated higher satisfactory level as majority of the participants were strongly agreed (73%) and agreed (23%) that trainings were participatory and skill development oriented and as 96% agreed or strongly agreed that these were helpful in starting the business as assessment of agriculture service providers (ASPs). It can be concluded that the necessary condition has been fulfilled for water conservation. However, for assessing the impact of these skills towards water conservation technologies needs to be investigated in short and long term scenarios. Therefore, for fulfilling the sufficient condition realizing the real benefits from these trained ASPs further follow up by the concerned technical institutes is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Material optimization for CIGS solar cell is performed. • DBR pairs found to be beneficial with CIGS solar cell and results in the enhancement of performance parameter. • Thermal Stability with different operating temperatures is performed. • Highest efficiency of 23.29% is achieved. Reflection losses in solar cells lead towards thermalization losses which greatly affect the performance of the cell. This paper aims to report and explore a novel architecture to reduce the reflection losses by utilizing distributed braggs reflector (DBR) technique which is used to enhance the absorption of light in the active region. Theoretically, thickness optimization for different materials including Window, Buffer and Back Surface Field (BSF) was performed with different operating temperature with the objective to extract high performance parameters. After optimizing the materials for the effective layer, DBR pairs was introduced which delivers the highest efficiency (ղ) of 23.29 % with the correlated parameters such as, Shot circuit current density, J sc = 27.83 mA/cm2, Open circuit voltage, V oc = 1.02 V and Fill factor, FF = 87.76 %. The results signify that the structure with BSF and DBR pairs shows enhanced performance parameters as compared to those structure without these layers. In addition, it has been observed that the increased number of DBR pairs result in the enhancement of ղ by 0.91 % under 1.5 AM. The results strongly convinced that the introduction of DBR pairs significantly improves the performance parameters. Moreover, the optimized structure was tested with various operating temperature to examine its thermal stability towards high temperature. The proposed design with rigorously optimized layers can be a good choice for solar cell technology (STC) and can be employed as a substitute to less efficient solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have significantly reduced the overall cost of solar energy system, making solar oriented devices universally clean and green energy source. However, to make OSCs more competitive in diverse photovoltaic (PV) technologies, it is essential to attain high efficiencies by analyzing novel materials and realizing optimal arrangements of donor–acceptor materials. In this paper, we attempt to show a terse depth insight of OSCs by investigating three novel architecture schemes with special emphasis on improving the power conversion efficiency. The materials include include i) poly (3-hexylthiophene):[(6,6)]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM), ii) thieno [3,4-b] thiophene-alt-benzodithiophene [6,6]:-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PCBM), and iii) poly{4,4′-bis(2-ethylhexyl) dithieno [3,2-b:2′,3′-d] silole-alt-5,6-difluoro-4,7-bis (4-hexylthiophen-2-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazle): [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PDTS-DTffBT:PCBM), respectively. Results show that the extracted performance parameters including short circuit current (J SC) = 10.88 mA/m2, open circuit voltage (V oc) = 0.82 V, fill factor (FF) = 83.52 %, and efficiency (ƞ) = 7.49 % is highest for the second scheme among others. Different intermediate layers have also been analyzed with the objective to reduce the recombination losses and enhance the power conversion efficiency of the proposed cell. The impact of temperature on the overall ղ is also presented and it is discovered that high temperature reduces the performance of the solar cell. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed structure is compared with various kinds of OSCs and it is found that our design exhibit highest efficiency. The achievement of high efficiencies in this work may accelerate the practical applications of OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shariah governance practice is a vital component of the organizational arrangement of IBIs through which the business affairs of IBIs are examined, certified and monitored. It plays a crucial role to legitimize the business of IBIs. In Pakistan, SBP regulates the practice of Shariah governance through a dedicated department with the aid of its SAC and executes it through Shariah boards of IBIs. Applying descriptive analytical approach, the study has described the current state of Shariah governance practice of IBIs. It is the outcome of the regulatory arrangements in the form of regulatory guidelines, directives, standards and frameworks which have been issued during the last two decades by SBP to standardize the practice of Shariah governance for IBIs in Pakistan. The study highlights the formation of the regulatory arrangement which not only depicts the role of SBP, but it also illustrates the functions of SAC and the responsibilities of Shariah boards at IBIs. The study also attempts to confine the regulatory, advisory and supervisory roles of the SBP, the SAC and the Shariah board of IBIs respectively. An analytical review of the roles of these bodies which are defined through the regulatory arrangements facilitates to discover the loopholes in the current regulatory arrangement for Shariah governance of IBIs. Although, attempts have been made to address the issues in this regard by some writers but in case of Pakistan, the issues are yet to be identified. The study has found that the regulatory arrangement of Shariah governance practice has been constituted significantly by the SBP. However, composition, affiliation and independence of Shariah bodies at central bank and the institutional level are the aspects which pose regulatory issues in the current arrangement. Therefore, the study has discovered some possible solutions for these issues and proposes them for regulatory enhancements. It suggests that the SBP as central regulatory authority should specify regulations over the composition of SAC at SBP level to augment the regulatory and advisory process for Shariah governance practice of IBIs. It recommends that the number of the members at SAC as well as at the Shariah boards of IBIs should be maximized. The two bodies should have additional qualified members especially the number of Shariah qualified members need to be increased. It also proposes that the nomenclature of each body should be defined separately because referring with various names for each body or using their names interchangeably could cause confusion. In addition, the members of SAC and the institutional Shariah boards should be barred from having multiple Shariah boards affiliations through specific regulations. It also recommends that the Shariah boards member must play their supervisory roles independently without any undue influence from the executives. So, a specific set of regulations is required which could guarantee the independence of Shariah boards of IBIs. The proposed recommendations of the study will not only facilitate the regulatory authority to revisit its arrangement and include conclusive measures, but they will also assist the industry to enhance the productivity of their Shariah board members. It will also assist the industry to establish an environment where contribution of the Shariah qualified members and their effective role would strengthen the marketability and credibility of the Shariah governance practice in the Islamic banking industry. Ultimately, a balanced, conclusive and enhanced regulatory arrangement for Shariah governance practice of IBIs would standardize the practice of Shariah governance at the domestic level as well as it could be harmonized with the international best practices of the Islamic banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use computational methods to investigate the plasmonic properties of multi-layered dimers. These dimers are composed of layers of gold–silica–gold and gold–silica–silver, with shifts in their core and middle layers. This asymmetry breaks the geometrical symmetry, revealing plasmon resonances that are typically invisible in concentric geometries. This study explains the origin of these resonances using plasmon hybridization theory, highlighting the interaction between primitive and multipolar modes in the core and shell of the investigated proposed structure. These interactions improve the coupling of the higher order modes to light by inducing a dipole moment. The asymmetry is attributed to the uneven distribution of surface charges, leading to a transition from multipolar to dipolar characteristics in the higher order modes. Through visual examination of the dipolar component in surface charge distributions, we qualitatively establish the relative amplitudes of the modes. Our results demonstrate the red-shifting of resonant wavelengths with increased core offset, resulted in the enhanced absorption rather than scattering. This computational study provide a terse depth for the deeper understanding towards the plasmonic behavior in multilayered dimers with core and middle layer shifts, uncovering the underlying mechanisms of symmetry breaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system presented in this paper can change the energy storage landscape by having the advantages of a compressed air storage system and pump storage, as well as minimizing the disadvantages of these two systems. One of the advantages of this system compared to similar systems is the lack of combustion of natural gas. Correspondingly, for construction, it does not require specific specifications for the executive site, and control of the energy and heat of the system (due to the use of water as an operational fluid) is easier than similar systems. In addition, this system is very scalable and can be designed in low capacities to high capacities, energy analysis of this research to identify the basic and effective parameters of the system and determine the limitations and relationships between them. The amount of energy saved in the current research system compared to previous research is significant, and 92% efficiency can be achieved. The energy analysis of this research determined the effect of the parameters on each other and their limitations so that the path of its feasibility design was paved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to get insight about farmers' intention towards adoption of micro catchments as a useful tool for rainwater harvesting. The assessment of acceptability and compatibility of the intervention through farmers' perceptions, feed-back, practices and intentions regarding up-scaling the technology would develop the up-scaling and sustainability options for wider area. Under Watershed Rehabilitation and Irrigation Improvement Project besides other technologies, rainwater harvesting through micro catch-ments were demonstrated by Soil and Water Conservation Research Institute (SWCRI) in Pothwar area, Pakistan. The results highlight that the technology is not only suitable for in situ water conservation for fruit plants but also cost effective, water, labor and resource saving along with farmer friendly under rainfed condition with scare supplemental water availability. The cost of adoption of technology including labor charges for its preparation and maintenance was recovered from irrigation cost saved from single rainfall at the demonstration site. One of the important implications drawn in this regard was the need of a shift from site development to skill development. The same was derived as an important recommendation during assessment and evaluation of different demonstration and dissemination activities being conducted under Watershed Project. This shift could catalyze the technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically demonstrated a kind of plasmon coupled elliptical/crescent nanostructure to achieve a vast range of applications based on nanolaser or spaser with high intensity. To overcome the ohmic losses, the plasmon ellipse is composed of the gold film substrate with a gain media. A simple ellipse has been chosen from which a variety of dimer configurations have been formed by the symmetry alteration technique which is then tested for different light polarizations and gap variations. The proposed model supports localized surface plasmon resonance mode (LSPR). Moreover, the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property of the proposed nanostructure is numerically analysed by the finite-element method (FEM), and the results show that the electric field intensity (EFI) can be amplified to a large value by symmetry breaking in the elliptical nanostructure. Various plasmon modes can be excited by selecting the appropriate gain media. In addition to this, a compact tuneable multi-wavelength nanolaser (spaser) can be developed by using this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to investigate a hybrid model of Islamic piety, by merging exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and an artificial neural network (ANN). The present research was divided into three phases. The first phase applied the Delphi method to identify the dimensions of Islamic piety. In the second, the dimensions established using the Delphi method were used in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to uncover the underlying structure of Islamic Piety construct. In the last phase, an artificial neural network (ANN) was used to rank the factors discovered to establish their significance. The EFA results offers a new model of Islamic Piety comprising of five factors: Rituals, Belief, integrity, love of family and justice. An ANN model was formed and enhanced using the determination of model variables. The results revealed that the main variables in the Islamic piety are Rituals, integrity, belief, love of family and justice. The implication of this study is useful for educational, academic, organizational management including leadership, training and human development, and policy making initiatives. Management can use the model developed to satisfy the needs of their employees and hence enhance to increase the productivity. This study is one of the pioneering studies in the field of Islamic management and the first to employ ANN. The results of the present research affirm that Islamic Piety is one of the key fundamentals of Islamic faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees constitute an integral part of every organization, and their behaviours cultivate success or failure for the entire industry. Each organization should be cognizant of its employees' behaviours that can be translated through their behavioural outcomes. One of such outcomes is the level of gratitude (Shukr in Islamic perspective) that can be conceptualized further by establishing its link with employees' social or pro-social behaviours using lens of Islamic philosophy. The literature from the perspective of Holy Quran and Sunnah (Prophet's practices) suggests that a good number of employees working in different industries have an element of dissatisfaction reflected through various factors including lack of Shukr (gratitude). This calls for a conceptual undertaking along with its subsequent empirical assessment as the former needs a robust and holistic understanding before proceeding to the latter. The study begins with a strong conceptualization by comparing conventional and Islamic perspective of Shukr and to synthesize key factors which can later help in scale development of Shukr. After a careful comparison between conventional and Islamic viewpoints, three components (dimensions) of Shukr were conceptualized such as Shukr bi'l-qalb (gratitude expressed by inner feelings), Shukr bi'l-lisan (gratitude expressed by tongue) and Shukr bi'l-badan wa'l-arkan (gratitude expressed by body and limbs). This conceptualization can potentially serve as a tool to examine the level of contentment, employees exhibit at workplace which eventually leads to life and job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modifications in the physical properties of photovoltaic materials lead to enhanced conversion efficiency of a solar cell. This paper focuses on the suitable material selection for the cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell with special emphasis on improving the electrical parameters such as open-circuit voltage Voc, short-circuit current density Jsc, fill factor FF, and efficiency ƞ. Simulation results showed that materials having wide bandgap are more appropriate for each layer in the proposed cell compared to small-bandgap materials. Moreover, the back metal contact, which acts as electrode and also used as light reflector, usually suffers from high intrinsic absorption losses. To reduce such losses, we replaced the metal contact by a highly reflective one-dimensional distributed Bragg reflector, which increases the optical path length in greater amount over a broad span of incident angles and frequencies, and subsequently enhances the performance of the cell. The measured electrical parameters of the proposed cell under global AM 1.5G conditions are JSC = 25.036 mA/cm2, Voc = 1.065 V, FF = 87.56%, and ƞ = 23.94%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among developing countries Pakistan has highest demand of sugar i.e., 25 kg per capita per annum. Cane and beet are two major sources of sugar production in Pakistan. Sugarcane production in the country could meet only 75% demand of existing sugar mills. Present study looks into the prospects of sugar beet production especially in water scarce areas to bridge the demand gap and scrutinize the issues and constraints in commercial production of sugar beet. Trends were analyzed using existing published statistics. Water requirement of sugarcane is almost three-fold of the sugar beet. Sugar beet will not put pressure on water resources if cultivated on commercial scale. The government is in favor of beet sugar but sugarcane mill owners are reluctant to encourage sugar beet cultivation due to some technical barrier. Beet growing experiment at different sites of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Sindh have revealed encouraging results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]