Validating Learning Organization in the Medical Profession: A Preliminary Analysis

This study investigates the underlying pattern of learning organisation practices among medical doctors using Learning Organization Survey (LOS) designed by Garvin, Edmondson and Gino (2008). The instrument was modified to adapt to settings in clinical care. A preliminary data of 150 medical doctors were used for reliability and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Cronbach’s alpha indicated an excellent reliability score. The outcome of EFA was a seven-factor solution. While some subscales converged to new factors, the three building blocks of a learning organisation successfully retained the original items. The outcomes reveal that LOS in the context of medical vocation is reliable and valid at an initial stage. The three building blocks of a learning organisation as specified by Garvin et al. (2008) can, therefore, be instrumental in fostering continuous learning in medical vocation. The conception of the learning organisation, albeit important for continuous development of human resources for health in the 21st century, was not well researched in medical vocation. The present study, in this context, is an initial analysis that suggests grounds for future research. The findings call for further enquiries with an expanded sampling framework as well as further validation on LOS using confirmatory factor analysis

Mothers Perceptions of the Role of Pre-schools in the Development of Self-regulation Skills in Children

It is considered agreed upon that self-regulation is an important determinant of academic success. Studies suggest that self-regulation begins to develop early in childhood, that is, the pre-school years. This study attempts to find out if mothers of three-year-old children consider it necessary to send their children to preschool and if they consider preschools to be satisfactorily developing their children’s self-regulation skills. Thus, 20 semi-structured qualitative interviews from mothers of preschoolers, belonging to the upper-middle class of Karachi were conducted. Findings indicate that mothers generally deem preschool to be a necessary activity based center for their children, where they could develop trusting relationships with their peers and teachers and learn to regulate their emotions, thereby developing the overall self-regulation skills in them. Interestingly, a major underlying source of this perception is the demographic changes including the prevalence of more nuclear families and the increasing trend of working mothers in Pakistani societ

Impact of Community Service Learning on the Social Skills of Students

Nowadays many high schools and universities are promoting community service-learning program by making it a part of the admission process; therefore, students participate in community service learning program to get admission in an institution of their choice. However, after completing the community service program, they see themselves as more socially responsible citizens. This qualitative study aimed to explore the impact of community service learning on the social skills of students. The study employed a qualitative method by randomly selecting twenty-five students for the focused group interviews from five different O- level schools situated in middle socio-economic locality. The results revealed that a community service-learning program has a positive impact on the social skills of O-level students.  Besides, students had also a positive learning experience. Findings of the study indicated that the awareness to encourage community service in schools is grounded on the acceptance that it does not only give students extra credit points but serving others or one’s community also makes them better citizens. Based on the advantages and positive experiences of students, the study recommends to include a more inclusive model of service-learning to a school curriculum.

Determinants of Working Environment and their Influence on Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Banking Sector

In today’s competitive market arena, human capital has been considered most significant factor to win the competitive edge. Thus, their attitude while on work has always added value to the organizational productivity. To tackle the competitive forces, most of the organizations have started working on creating satisfied working environment for employees. This study has therefore beenundertaken to explore the influence ofworkplace environment on satisfaction with job, of employees working in selected banks in Karachi. The subjects of interest were 230 bankers engaged in selected commercial banks in Karachi, Pakistan. However,200 duly filled responses were returned and found as useable for further analysis. The data was statistically analyzed through SPSS 20. The multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation were performed to test the hypotheses of this study. The results show that workplace environment effect immensely on satisfaction level of the employees. Most bankers in various banks were satisfied with working environment they had in their respected banks. All the hypotheses for this study were retained owing to significant influence of working environment on level of job satisfaction of bankers.

Long Run Relationship between Exports, Imports and Its Determinants of Medical Instruments: Case of Pakistan

Medical instruments are the popular export products of Pakistan and retain their competitive edge in this field of medical instruments. After the review of literature, this study aims to check the existence of a long-run relationship between export of medical instruments and import of medical instruments, export promotion program and exchange rate index. The empirical analysis used the monthly time series data for June 2003 to December 2017 released by State Bank of Pakistan. The unit root results directed to apply the Johansen Cointegration test, and the result of this lead to Vector error correction estimate. The finding of this study reveals that there is a positive and significant long-run relationship between medical instruments export and import of medical goods and exchange rate index. The study has policy implications for medical instruments, sector stakeholders and the Government of Pakistan

Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access Using Fuzzy Logic

Cognitive Radio is artificially intelligent radio and dynamic spectrum. This research paper presents an application of Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access with the help of fuzzy logic considering the inputs: radio and satellite frequency and outputs: adjust power and modulation. This research paper shows the real approach of comparing the simulation and design algorithm result and its successful use

Exploring Vocabulary Learning Strategies Across ESL/EFL Contexts: A Juggling between Experiential and Traditional Modes of Learning

Though vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) have drawn continuous attention in SLA research in the past three decades, there remain many unanswered questions, many unknown caveats and many unexplored regions. Quite a few historical reviews of vocabulary learning strategies have been undertaken by researchers over the past years, tracing its growth over the years. However, no research until now has captured the VLS profile of learners from diverse ESL/EFL backgrounds and presented an analysis from a geographical point of view. This study aims to capture the VLS profile of the diverse learners and takes up the task of the geographical review of vocabulary learning strategies landscaping the VLS research over many countries. For this purpose, the researcher has chosen specifically the research happening in the backdrop of ESL/EFL contexts. Fourteen papers have been selected for review belonging to Philippine, Turkey, Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Congo, China, India, Sudan, Libya and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A detailed analysis reveals not only the juggling between the experiential and traditional modes of vocabulary learning but also the reasons behind the insufficient vocabulary size of the learners in myriad contexts

Exploring the Effects of Teacher Education on Teacher Quality and Student Achievement in Pakistan

Amongst a variety of resources present, a teacher is considered to be the primary tool for enhancing the process of student learning. To be able to act as effective “agents of change” for their student, the teacher needs to enhance personal and pedagogical skills which can primarily be achieved through teacher education. This paper aims to be contributing to a broader understanding of language teacher education in the context of Pakistan. Employing a case study research method, the present study explored the ways in which teachers’ pre-service education affects teacher quality and student learning. A total of two tertiary-level novice teachers and seven first year undergraduate students from a public sector university in Pakistan participated in this study. Data were generated using teacher observation, teacher and student interviews, document analysis including teacher lesson plans and diary, course outlines and students’ work samples. Thematic analysis of the data showed contradictory results between the classroom practices of the teachers and their effect on students’ learning. The teacher with pre-service education used appropriate methodology and made well informed decisions which resulted in improvement of students’ learning. In contrast, the other teacher used traditional modes of teaching. Though happy with the classes, students found no practical use of what they learnt in the lessons. The study concludes that pre-service teacher education should to be made compulsory for individuals who wish to become teachers

The Effects of University Teachers’ Perception, Attitude and Motivation on their Readiness for the Integration of ICT in Classroom Teaching

Research indicates that student achievement enhances if coupled with information and communication technology (ICT). However, regardless of its extreme importance, there are examples of ICT underuse across all levels of classroom teaching and learning in Pakistan. Evidence from previous research studies suggests that teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and motivation towards ICT determine the practical use of ICT in classroom teaching. The aim of this study was to find the effect of university teachers’ perceptions, attitude, and motivation towards their readiness for the integration of ICT in their classroom teaching. A sample of 377 university teachers from 51 higher education institutions responded to the survey instrument. The data were analyzed by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Multiple Regression Analysis. The analysis of data revealed a statistically significant effect of university teachers’ perceptions, attitude and motivation towards teachers’ readiness for the integration of ICT in their classroom teaching. Based on the findings, the study recommends that university teachers with basic ICT literacy should be encouraged to have a positive attitude toward technology use for discharging professional responsibilities

Comparative Study of Classroom Management Strategies employed by Public and Private School English Language Teachers

This research project was a comparative study of classroom management practices of English language teachers in secondary level public and private sector schools of Lahore. The purpose of the research was to establish the practices and the strategies used by the English language teachers. A total of 200 including 100 public sector and 100 private sector school teachers, teaching English language, were randomly selected for the present research using random sampling techniques. A close-ended questionnaire was developed by the researchers to collect data from the respondents. The researchers personally collected the data. After receiving the data they were entered into the spreadsheet of SPSS version 21.0. Different statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. Mean scores along with standard deviations were calculated in descriptive statistics. In inferential statistics, independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were calculated. There were significant differences in the classroom management strategies used by public sector and private sector English language teachers. Policy recommendations were given for the administration of the schools to encourage EFL teachers to effectively use classroom management strategies