Influence of Educational and Financial Status of Parents on the Academic Performance of Secondary School Students: A Case Study in Hyderabad Division-Sindh

This research is conducted, in order to analyze the students’ academic performance at secondary school level in Pakistan. This is a case study conducted in Hyderabad Division of Sindh Province in Pakistan. The study was focused to the students who have passed matriculation class (Class-X), equivalent to secondary level in Pakistan(10 years of education). Sample size of 1097 higher Secondary level students were randomly selected from various colleges and schools in a way that around 150 students should take part in the survey from each institute. The sample selection was further divided on gender (Male = 448, Female = 648) and locale (Urban=455, Rural=641) basis. A data collection questionnaire was developed by the researchers and implemented for data collection. After collection of the data from desired population, the statistical analysis based on Pearson’s Chi-square and Correlation models were carried out in SPSS. The conclusion inferred from the data analysis of the study, strongly revealed that the students’ academic achievement at high school secondary level was highly associated to their parent’s educational level and socio-economic background. Therefore, it is strongly recommended financial condition of the population must be enhanced by taking appropriate measures. In order to coup tough financial conditions at their homes, deprived students should be provided adequate scholarships. Free stationary and books should also be provided at schools.

Synthesis and Exploration of Nano Gas Sensors Based on Metal Oxide Thin Films

This Doctoral thesis mainly focus on the understanding of Aerosol Assisted chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) technique and effect of various process parameters on structure, morphologies and optical behavior of metal oxide thin films. Main focus was on gas sensing behavior. Binary and ternary metal oxide thin films of metal oxides have been synthesized and investigated for gas sensing application. AACVD method was used for single step deposition of sensing films onto alumina gas sensor substrate, demonstrating the compatibility between the fabrication process and the sensing nanostructured layer deposition. The fabricated devices were based on pure and Pd-doped WO3 nanorods and nanoneedles, as well as ZnO, SnO2 and ZnSnO3 nanostructure.Various characterization techniques, including XRD, FESEM, EDX, RBS, and UV-Vis Spectroscopy were employed to extract the information about their structural, morphological and optical properties. This information helped to understand the characteristics and their effect on gas sensing properties of deposited nanostructured thin films. Gas sensing characterizations of deposited sensors have been carried out using H2, H2S, CO and ethanol vapors at operating temperature between 200oC500oC. Effect of doping on gas sensing behavior as well as comparison between sensor response of binary and ternary metal oxide have been investigated.This study can be further extended to systematically investigate the effect of various deposition parameters as well as different concentrations of dopant on gas sensor performance of metal oxide based gas sensors.