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The purpose of this study is to analyze the export competitiveness of Pakistan with border-sharing countries, i.e. Afghanistan, China, India and Iran for the year 2014.

The study uses revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) index to measure export competitiveness with border-sharing countries. The study has split the results into highest and marginal comparative advantage and disadvantage according to the rank.

Pakistan is exporting 160, 155, 133 and 60 commodities at three-digit level of Standard International Trade Code (Rev 3) classification to Afghanistan, China, India and Iran, respectively. The results suggest that Pakistan has highest and marginal comparative disadvantage in more than half of these commodities exported to border-sharing countries. Pakistan can improve its market share for rice in Afghanistan, China and Iran. Special measures and productive efforts are required to improve the export competitiveness of cotton, textile yarn and cotton fabric in border-sharing countries.

Pakistan has to adopt special strategies to improve the competitiveness of those commodities that fall in marginal comparative advantage and disadvantage. To increase the volume of cross-border trading, political and diplomatic channels are required among the countries especially the border-sharing countries.

Export competitiveness of Pakistan is analyzed for all the commodities exported to border-sharing countries and categorized into highest and marginal comparative advantage and disadvantage. To avoid the problem of asymmetry in Balassa index revealed comparative advantage, RSCA index is used.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of taxes on economic growth in the long run as well as in the short run.

The study uses simple time series model, where real GDP is dependent variable and different forms of taxes are explanatory variables under ARDL framework from 1976 to 2014 at annual frequency for Pakistan.

Direct taxes have positive relation with economic growth in the long run. Sales tax, tax on international trade (tariffs) and other indirect taxes have positive impact on economic growth of Pakistan in the long run as well as in the short run. However, sales tax and other indirect taxes impact negatively on economic growth in the short run after one year because people realize decline in their real income.

Government should increase direct taxes by increasing tax base. Indirect taxes usually indicate negative impact after one and two years; therefore, government should decrease its reliance on indirect taxes. Government should promote tax awareness among the people which increase the tax morale of people and increase the tax base.

Taxes are disaggregated into direct and indirect taxes, while indirect taxes have been further disaggregated into excise duty, sales tax, surcharges, tax on international trade and other indirect taxes. This study provides useful insight for policy makers in designing taxes and their effect on growth.

This cross-sectional online survey in Oman in April 2021 aimed to assess university students' resilience, stress levels and meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify characteristic profiles.

A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from full-time students at one University in Oman. Outcomes included sociodemographic information, the brief resilience scale, the perceived stress scale-4 and the meaning in life questionnaire to explore the students' profiles.

A total of 964 students participated (response rate = 34.8%), of which 35% had low resilience scores. The average perceived stress, presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life scores were 7.9 ± 2.3, 24.2 ± 6.9 and 24.9 ± 7.7, respectively. Cluster analysis identified three groups: low-risk and fewer impacts (cluster A, n = 503, 523%), moderate-risk and moderate impacts (cluster B, n = 160, 16.6%) and high-risk and more impacts (cluster C, n = 301, 31.2%). Cluster C students experienced more psychological problems and were at high risk during the pandemic.

The respondents' honesty is a possible error that could influence the results. Low response rates limit its generalizability, and cause-effect relationships among mental health outcomes cannot be discerned.

This study identified three distinct groups of students, each with different levels of severity in their health problems. There is an increased need for education and counseling to support students during this period, and university management should focus on implementing personal precautionary measures and providing high-tech, user-friendly platforms for students to enhance their learning.

These findings suggest that tailored strategies should be developed to address the unique psychological needs of each group. The study provides important information for university management to understand the pandemic's psychological impact on students and develop effective interventions to support their well-being.

Moor (1985) designated two major problem sources typifying the social and ethical implications of computer technologies, namely, “policy vacuum” and “conceptual muddles.” Motivated by Moor’s seminal definition and Floridi’s (2013) conceptualization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as re-ontologizing technologies, this study aims to explore Omani undergraduates’ cognition regarding ICT ethics.

Adopting a grounded theory approach for the constant comparative thematic analysis, the constituents of ICT ethics-related cognition among undergraduates and influencing factors were scrutinized. Qualitative data were gathered via focus group discussions with undergraduates and interviews with academics and information systems professionals at Sultan Qaboos University.

In total, 10 thematic categories revolving around a core category, constructing conceptual perceptions of and attitudes toward the realms constituting ICT ethics using an ontological, object-oriented approach, emerged from the comparative analysis. Undergraduates were found to adopt an applied approach when defining professional ICT ethics codes and policies, with a particular focus on information privacy and integrity.

This qualitative study was conducted at a single research site. This may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Postgraduates were not considered when designing this qualitative inquiry.

The findings of the study hold theoretical and methodological significance with regard to ICT ethics-related cognition in the era following the fourth industrial revolution by sustaining feminist ethics in this research. Ultimately, the study developed a substantive theory scrutinizing the constitutive elements of ICT ethics-related cognition among Generation Z.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development and validation of a self-report structured questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The questionnaire was used to investigate university undergraduate students’ cognition, behavioural intent, and behaviour concerning the ethical use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

A quantitative correlational cross-sectional approach to data collection was used by administering a self-report questionnaire to a sample of 327 undergraduate students. To establish the construct validity of the questionnaire, internal consistency reliability and factorial analyses were performed.

Significant but different correlations between the constructs were under study. The behavioural intention had the greatest and most significant correlation with behaviour pertaining to information ethics. Overall, the scales, which constitute the instrument, showed acceptable indices of measurement validity.

The research implications of this paper shed light on the applicability of the TPB to the specific context in which this study was conducted. The results imply that the TPB framework can be extended and employed to understand better the influence of comprehending information-ethics concepts on the intentions and practices related to the ethical use of ICTs.

The paper has methodological value for researchers who seek to develop empirical instruments for measuring the factors that bear upon the attitudes and the behaviours related to information ethics. Furthermore, the paper has pedagogical value for students, teachers, and developers of information-ethics educational programmes at the tertiary level.

This study aims to investigate the most effective enablers and tools for inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition in public policymaking organizations.

Based on a literature review, the study summarized 51 individual, organizational, technological and inhabitant-related enablers of inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition, as well as 36 technological and social tools. The study assessed the effectiveness of these enablers and tools based on two rounds of a Delphi study targeting 31 policymakers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was assessed to determine consensus among participating policymakers.

The findings indicate that the most effective enablers were inhabitants’ willingness to get involved, information technology (IT) infrastructure, IT staff support and inhabitants’ trust in policymakers. Additionally, the study found that the most effective tools for inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition included meetings, interviews, social media and field visits.

Inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition is an important social and economic force that will drive change in any society by enabling the implementation of innovative ideas and practices. A review of the relevant research shows that despite the usability of inhabitants’ knowledge, the degree to which inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition is integrated into the public policymaking system remains unclear. This study of inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition from the policymaker perspective provides a better understanding of the inhabitants’ knowledge acquisition process in policymaking organizations.

Smartphones play an integral part in many children's lives. Their constant presence in various contexts and the multitude of affordances they present have a tremendous effect on how childhoods are lived today. One important aspect is the way children's interaction with smartphones can affect relationships and particularly generational relations. In this explorative study, we investigated Azerbaijani children's interaction with smartphones in the family and at school using the sociomaterial and relational approaches. Thinking relationally, we followed children's stories to unravel how smartphones can mediate different types of behavior and assist children in negotiating their place in generational order with the adults in their lives. Analyses suggest that smartphones can both present children with bargaining power to negotiate pleasure and fun as well as means to reinforce the generational order by children themselves. The findings point out that children often transfer social norms and expectations placed on them to the ways they use smartphones.

This study aims to examine the financial literacy level among the Omani adults and investigate the determinants of financial literacy and its impact on savings and investment behavior.

The data were collected using a survey instrument adopted from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey for financial literacy and composed of 310 individuals' responses. The authors used a multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of the socio-demographics variables on the financial literacy level.

The findings are three-fold: first, financial literacy score of Omanis is 10.5 out of 21, which is lower than OECD average. Interestingly, the attitude and behavior scores are in line with the OECD average. However, the knowledge score is drastically lower. Second, financial literacy level is found to be affected by age, gender and the monthly income. Third, individuals with a higher level of financial knowledge are more likely to have monthly savings and investment in stock and bond.

The Gulf countries have started to modernize their economies. Governments that want to design effective economic reforms need to understand the financial skills of their citizens. The study may have implications for policymakers and financial educators in enhancing the financial knowledge programs for individuals.

The analysis reported in this study is unique because it provides the first systematic research on financial literacy in Oman. This paper contributes to the study of financial literacy from the perspective of emerging markets.

Using the notion of sustainable impactful strategies for waqf management, this study examines the governance and best practices on idle waqf management by the Malaysian States Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) in selected states like Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur. The waqf management of the SIRCs is also assessed based on the model framework countries such as Singapore, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings of this chapter indicate that ineffective administration and management on waqf have hindered its development and expansion in Malaysia. Also, an effective and robust governance framework based on Shariah could and should be implemented to ensure that waqf in Malaysia are managed effectively to gain socio-economic sustainability of Muslim communities. The findings of this chapter will fill the research gap on good governance and best practices in waqf administration and management as a way forward for Malaysia by providing a way forward for SIRCs and policymakers in Malaysia, to enhance the performance of waqf entity using selected other countries as model framework of good governance and best practices. Furthermore, an emphasis on good governance and best practices is important to attract waqf donors. It is imperative to note that to date, there is no qualitative study that compare the impact of good governance and best practices on the management of waqf by selected SIRCs in Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, Kuwait and UAE as model framework countries.

Through an examination of macro-historical studies on the governance of Iran, the purpose of this study is to identify the most significant and important events and trends in the rise and fall of Iranian governments and introduce alternative futures in a range of possible, plausible and preferable forms of future governance. To carry out a foresight study of alternative futures of Iranian governance, the authors used futures studies, based on the detection of the most critical driving forces, which are also the most important uncertainties. Futures studies as an interdisciplinary field of study help to identify the events and trends that affect political change and offer scenarios of four alternative futures for the governance of Iran: Smart and Stable Government, Authoritarian Development-oriented Government, Irrational Government and Irrational Breakable Government. The authors believe that Iran’s endeavors to promote democracy, taking the changing international trends into account, make a more trustworthy future for Iran both possible plausible.

Based on macro-history approach and by using “shared history”, future triangle and then scenario planning, the future of Governance in Iran has been analyzed.

Whenever the government has distanced itself from the public and has neglected the trend of international change, it has been faced with a period of collapse and annihilation. And whenever these two important factors are understood, the result is a trend of development and growth. Therefore, the most favored image of Iran’s future relies on the maintenance and promotion of public participation and on increasing attention to the sustainable realities of international relations.

The complexities of events and trends affecting the rise and fall of previous governments of Iran make it necessary to use an interdisciplinary approach to understand the events that have emerged or are emerging in its governance. In this study, from futures studies point of view, transformation of governance has been studied.