Manan Aslam, Muhammad Ahsin Ayub, Mudassar Yasin, Qumer Iqbal, Bilal Atta

Vegetable production is concentrated in peri-urban areas as related to the rural production areas because of increasing people preferences towards the ingestion of fresh vegetables and nutritious diet. Vegetables are good source of proteins, minerals and vitamins, which are essential for human health. Agricultural commercialization provides different opportunities for better income and sustainable livelihood for farmers having small land holdings. Nearly 63 different kinds of vegetables are grown in all provinces of Pakistan, but potatoes, cauliflower, brinjal, onions and tomatoes are frequently grown vegetables. These are vended by traditional marketing e.g. through farmer, wholesaler, pharia and retailer to consumers. In this perspective, this study was designed to explore marketing systems of three selected kharif vegetables including, ladyfinger, bitter gourd and brinjal. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 45 farmers. Questionnaires were developed and pretested to collect data from selected respondents. A regression model was estimated to analyze effect of major factors, affecting marketed surplus of vegetables. The results showed that peri- urban farmers sold high proportions of their vegetables. Better prices and market information are the main incentives for increased sales of the vegetables.

Daniel Jones

The paper analyses the significant elements of information technology in the supermarket chain Tesco. The overall purpose of information systems in an organisation will be identified and explained. In the paper, it talks about how Tesco revolutionises the supermarket sector with innovative ideas to stay ahead of the competition. Tesco innovates on current systems and makes them personal to the company. The paper highlights the role of information systems to keep Tesco working efficiently and effectively. They are the key to automating manual processes to aid productivity, development and enable real-time data to make decisions — Tesco uses systems such as a software package called ‘GOLD’ to maintain a competitive advantage. As the leader of the supermarket sector, the business must continue to innovate ideas to remain competitive. Network systems that are associated with Tesco are analysed to highlight the importance of communication between all the stores, depots and head office. Tesco has a system that is centralised and consolidated into a single infrastructure.

Michael James Wood

This paper discusses the management and development of information systems in a small to medium sized cash and carry organization based in the United Kingdom. The paper discusses development for IT requirements, maintenance and the Input/outputs of operations for employees working in data processing or an IT department. Social and ethical issues are also discussed as well as how data base management systems can be useful to produce reports for middle to higher management.

Muhammad Adeel

Classroom management has a critical impact on effective teaching and learning. Classroom disruptions are the pattern of repeated behaviour that significantly interrupts the teaching and learning process. It, therefore, becomes vital to handle these disruptions and the ability of a teacher to handle classroom discipline is given key priority in observation of teaching and learning conducted by the regulators. In this paper, we will focus on evaluating the importance of communicating behaviour expectations to the students in the very first session and its impact on effective teaching and learning. The analysis is based on the review of the literature, interviews, and a survey questionnaire completed by the teachers.

Jin Mao, Colin Turcotte, Arjun Brar

In this paper we aim at discussing various strategies adopted by teachers in order to help child with dyslexia cope up with class. The time spent in attaining the education plays a significant part of child’s development. For a teacher, aiding a dyslexic child is a wonderful as well as challenging task. Dyslexic students have learning differences due to which they can’t hold information for long and may not be able to grasp the information at all. It is important to understand that dyslexic learner neither lacks in intelligence nor willfulness, only constant support provided by mentors can help them in learning. However, with the guidance of professional tutors, well equipped and tested strategies- students are able to learn and achieve a lot.

Aaqil Al Rashid, Safwa Al Jafri, Iyaad Al Molla

Classroom settings and disruptive behaviour are critical topics in society today because of the growing concerns of bullying related suicides, enhancement of electronic and social media use, and mental health and cultural issues. While disruptive behaviour may seem insignificant for some, many times there are serious underlying issues that need to be addressed. In this paper we will discuss different types of disruptive behaviours in the classroom setting and explore key reasons behind such behaviours.

Safi Ullah, Um-e-Kulsoom, Mamriz Khan

It is an established fact that the teachers are the catalysts for improving the quality of the teaching-learning process. This research is aimed at understanding the perception of teachers on the contribution of principal’s instructional supervision towards the performance of teachers. The principal is supposed to procure teaching materials to the schools for teachers to work with in order to improve classroom instruction. Principals may always be ready to assist the teachers and interact with them in a cordial manner. This study is aimed to explore the “Relationship between Principal’s Instructional Supervision and its Influence on Teacher's Performance at Secondary School Level in Peshawar”. For this purpose data was collected from 25 girls’ high & higher secondary schools. Eight teachers from each school were randomly selected, thus 200 teachers constituted the sample for the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondent teachers. The reliability test of the test items was carried out. The questionnaire was administered among 20 teachers other than the sample. Cronbach’s Alpha was carried out that has yielded results within the acceptable range. Data analysis was carried out by using statistical tools such as Descriptive Statistics, One-Sample t-test, Pearson Correlation-test, and Regression Analysis. The management may provide latest instructional technology to the educational institution for effective teaching-learning process. Finally, recommendations were put forward that could facilitate other researchers to carry out their research on the use of instructional technology at secondary school level.

Asghar Hussain, Muhammad Adeel

This paper focuses on the issues of creativity in teaching, motivation, and the ways in which various strategies can be implemented to promote inclusive teaching practice. Furthermore, through the use of these strategies, and, a selection of relevant learning theories, we will attempt to come to logical and reasoned conclusions on how best to tackle the critical incidents presented in this case study.

Safi Ullah, Muhammad Yunas, Muhammad Iqbal, Hina Gul

School’s outputs are graduates of the school who completed a given cycle of education in stipulated time. They have the requisite knowledge and skills induced by school. It may be in the form of different capacities created in students by schools such as competence in utilizing language, math, social and natural science and citizenship. Poor performance of output indicators may reflect various problems in programme design and implementation or adverse changes in external factors. Output indicators can be categorized into academic/cognitive and non-academic/non-cognitive. Academic/ cognitive outputs include learning skills, writing skills, knowledge of arithmetic, special knowledge of skills and specialization. In order to measure the cognitive outputs, the objectives of any particular age-group can be set, common curriculum can be devised and standardized tests can be formulated. Most parents expect that school will induce basic moral and ethical values in their wards as well as achievement in terminal examination. The school will also prepare students for their place in the wider society, not only in terms of cognitive skills but in social skills and interpersonal relationships, as well. Output indicators includes number of graduates at a particular level and their test scores; the information about dropout rate; completion rate, survival rate, examination pass rate, enhancing enrolment and minimizing dropout rate, increasing graduation rate are related to the efficiency of schools.

Asghar Hussain

Using a short revision course as a test case, this paper will look at the wider issues revolving around developing a curriculum; it will look closely at the process and praxis of the educational journey to attain the product with a deeper understanding of what is being studied. The paper will also discuss how the managing of product and process, amidst a lecturer/teacher’s knowledge of their students is increasingly important. In addition, recognizing the student’s objectives and pushing them to search out (with a certain degree of autonomy) their own objectives through reflection and contextualization of learning.

Enzo Gomes Faria, Limoncho Tatoyoz, Muhammad Juman

In this paper we aim at understanding the various problems encountered by a preschool teacher. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate root problems which are faced by teachers of all spectrums in kindergarten schools. We will also discuss different scenarios these super humans encounter in their day to day routine. It is often thought that teaching kids is fun, which is not always true. The toddlers have sudden mood swings and this can be very irritating for teachers when they have to handle a big class full kids who can’t even handle themselves and find every solution in crying. Patience and engaging activities planned by teachers is the only way which helps them in class control. The other problems faced by them are related to curriculum planning, hectic paperwork, handling administration, working in alliance with parents, low pays, and most of all handling toddler’s behavior.

Ajay Sangha, Dilmaya Khadka, Karim Tasneem

This paper provides an insight into the operations management of Primark in the context of queuing problem at the tills. We analyse this problem in light of various queuing theories to determine the most optimal theory. We provide a wide range of recommendations to handle this problem at Primark. This case study and the recommendations will not only help the company in question, but could be used by the retailers in other sectors to improve their operations, consequently achieving efficiency and higher degrees of customer satisfaction.

Bernd Sanger, Emine Beyza Arikan, Mehul Mehta, Asma Hosseini

Market efficiency refers to the accuracy and quickness with which prices reflect market related information. Decisions of investment by an investor in a market is influenced by many factors, one of the most important is the market efficiency. Research reveals that if a market is efficient, it is extremely difficult to make excessive returns. In an efficient market there exist next to none undervalued securities. With the first stock exchange started functioning in 1875 Indian stock markets have been lucrative for the traders from around the world. This paper attempts to analyse the efficiency of the Indian capital markets. Research from the literature and the interviews of the renowned investors have been used to reach a conclusion. Some tips in context of investment strategy have also been provided.

Muhammad Adeel, Asghar Hussain

Disruptive behaviour is the most critical and persistent challenge a teacher faces throughout his career. Pedagogists term disruptive behaviour as the behaviour that stops the process of learning to take place. Disruptive behaviour has a catastrophically demoralising effect on the teachers. Study of the literature reveals that the instances of classroom disruptions date back to the 13th century Rome. An active research in this domain has enabled researchers to devise effective strategies to cope with disruptions of various natures. This case study analyses classroom disruptions caused by students indulged in making excessive noise, and use of mobile phones. We assess physical, emotional, and environmental factors behind these disruptions, and discuss strategies to effectively tackle them.

Asghar Hussain

This paper will focus on elucidating what it means to be a modern professional in the teaching sector. It will discuss the notion of professionalism in light of changes in education and educational reform. Furthermore, it will highlight the importance of reflective practice, and as a consequence, the teachers will develop a clear understanding of their position within the educational sector as professional practitioners.

Andrew Hlongwane, Hassan Hadad, Festus Kemi

Operational management lies at the core of a company’s management. It ensures that the business processes, finance, and the technology in the company is managed affectively to help realise the company’s vision and mission. This paper provides an overview of the financial management, the human resource management aspects of operational management, and information system management of Tesco, a UK retailer.

Emine Beyza Arikan, Bernd Sanger, Mehul Mehta

The efficient market hypothesis suggests that at any given time in a capital market, the prices of stock reflect all available information. Hypothesis implies that it is impossible to beat the market because the market price always incorporates all the relevant information that may influence the price of a stock. Some researchers, based on the historic evidence, contradict with this hypothesis and challenge the presence of a perfect rationale behind the hypothesis. Behavioural finance on the other hand combines behavioural and cognitive psychological theory with economics and finance to provide explanations behind the irrational financial decisions investors make. Using these theories, behavioural finance explains stock market anomalies such as severe rises or falls in stock price. Behavioural finance assumes that both information structure and the characteristics of market investors influence investment decision of the individuals. This paper provides a thorough analysis of efficient market hypothesis and behavioural finance by taking into account the literature and market statistics.

Braydon Guascoine, Surintan Binti, Zhang Yongtan, Panagiotis Lekakos

This paper is aimed at evaluation of the supply chain of Sainsbury’s, one of the leading UK retailers in context of delivery of fruits and vegetables. We will assess supply chain of Sainsbury’s in context of key components such as inventory, facilities, transportation, and warehousing technologies. We attempt to analyse how Sainsbury’s manages their supply chain function to ensure the effective and efficient flow of fresh fruit and vegetable into operation, so as to better serve customer and reduce costs. We will explore their practices and discuss how recent improvements in their supply chain have helped Sainsbury’s become a more efficient and cost-effective.

Assem Bin Bandar, Qusai Farouq Almeqdadi, Jiangling Liu

Over the past two decade the importance of the employee retention has grown. Most of the organisations understand that human resources are one of the primary factors for the organisational success and their growth. In the globalised world the competition between the organisations has increased and they are not going back to pay the price to acquire and retain the best talents in the market. Efficient and dedicated employees will drive the organisation towards goals. In the Human resource management the employee retention is one of the top most priorities for the organisation’s performance.

Munir Hussain, Khalid Khan

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) technology is still immature and thus faces a variety of problems due to limited memory, CPU and battery power resources. WSNs are prone to active and passive attacks. While the former is capable of affecting minimal resources, the latter type of attack is difficult to launch but very powerful in terms of affecting critical resources. Most shared key security protocols used in WSNs are not scalable as they depend upon third party or KDC. Although in some situations this concept works well, besides reducing scalability, finding a trustworthy third party is also very difficult in KDC concept of key sharing. This paper gives a brief overview of WSNs, posed security threats to these networks and relevant security issues. This paper also brings in a novel key sharing model for traversing secret key in WSNs that does not depend on third party concept and hence it is a more scalable and secure.        

Munir Hussain

The fast spreading of wireless technology services are more focusing on businesses area rather than targeting customers. Even now, this advancement in the mobile technology continues to bang the international business market intensely, modern mobile technologies and their applications are more focusing the mobile business area. Today, the world of electronic transactions is switching from E-commerce to M-commerce. In order to solve critical issues in M-commerce it becomes vital to understand different concepts and technologies associated with M-commerce. The first part of this paper gives overview of M-commerce in terms of their characteristics, applications, and issues pertaining to it, including many critical issue such battery power consumption in M-commerce transactions. Battery is one of the most important and scarce resources in mobile devices thus to extend the mobile devices battery lifetime, it becomes important to save the battery resource as much as possible. The second part of this paper focuses on exploring various aspects of enabling mobile payment systems, mobile payment modes and characteristics and the payments system requirements.

Adnan Ashraf, Yousaf Raheel, Muhammad Adeel, Asghar Hussain

Soft drinks market is the third largest revenue participant of Central Board of Revenue in terms of sales tax and excise duties. Pakistani beverage market has been growing since its inception. With several local and international companies interested in this lucrative business, this paper attempts to provide a much sought-after insight into various aspects of Pakistani consumer market by providing a consumer engagement and segment multimedia strategy for a future beverage product as a case study. The theories on consumer engagement and their application in perspective of Pakistani society, and a detailed analysis of considerable factors in consumer engagement in context of segment multimedia strategy are the highlights of this work. Although focused on Pakistani market, this case study is perfectly applicable in context of other Asian and African countries with similar socio-culture environment.

Assem Bin Bandar, Ahmed Alhoqail, Jiangling Liu

The study describes the relationship between the Human Resource Management practices and the employee retention. It has become essential to retain the best employees to the organisations performance. The research reviews relevant literature to identify HR practices that influence the employee retention and also the effect on the overall organisational performance by retaining the right and efficient employees. Therefore, it is important to have a productive and efficient workforce to collectively focus on the organisation’s success. In this paper we provide highlight the importance of employee retention in HRM, discuss the critical process and best practices in employee retention, briefly summarise the myths in the context, and provide a detailed discussion on the factors affecting employee retention.

M Adeel, L N Tokarchuk, M A Azam, S K A Khan

Communication between mobiles using technologies like Bluetooth, MMS, SMS, Mobile and Home Broadband can increases their susceptibility to mobile security threats. In the past few years, mobile malware has emerged as one of the major threats for modern-day mobile devices. Since the first malware outbreak in 2004, hundreds of mobile viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware and over thousands of their variants have been discovered. With such a large number of ever-evolving malware, it is challenging to develop an electronic system capable of detecting such malware. In this work, the statistical data generated as a consequence of interactions on mobile devices and the mechanism of recording this data against statistical parameters on mobile devices is discussed. We also provide a detailed taxonomy of the low and high-order statistical parameters, and discuss how these parameters (besides utilisation in other scenarios) can be affectively utilised in the detection of a variety of security attacks and malware types.

M Adeel, L N Tokarchuk, M A Azam, S K A Khan

MPeersim is a simulation environment for mobile and mobile P2P networks. It simulates different types of mobile nodes and communication technologies such as Bluetooth, MMS, and SMS. With a primary emphasis of evaluation of MPeersim in terms of simulation statistics, this paper will elaborate on various MPeersim functionalities in context of availability of generic, node, and network-specific simulation parameters, node and network-specific statistics available for various types of analyses, and on the capabilities of MPeersim in terms of presenting empirical data in different formats including graphs and visualisations for monitoring purposes. Providing a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between parameters and statistics will assist researchers in planning for developing simulation environments.