The Challenges of Distance Education

Education is of extreme importance as it is key to equipping the workforce with the skills needed to develop national economies. The importance is exemplified by the Education for All movement, a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults, which links directly to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Sustainable development of quality primary education is dependent on complementary development in the secondary and tertiary education sectors. With economies relying more and more on the generation and application of knowledge, productivity is increasingly dependent on the development and spread of technological innovation. Higher education and life-long learning are today more important to development than ever before, due to the role knowledge plays in development - knowledge is power

CORRELATION OF BODY MASS INDEX WITH SELECTED PHYSICAL FITNESS PARAMETERS AMONG ADOLESCENTS OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of Body Mass Index and Postural balance, Handgrip Strength, Speed and Agility among school going children (Boys), aging 11 to 15 years from secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Studies are evident that the fitness level of today’s youth is becoming center of interest, as 12% of the total population of the world is obese, 33% are suffering from hypertension, and 10% of the adults are diabetic. This scenario is compelling the world leaders and policy makers to focus on enhancing the health and fitness of their youth. The sample of 1595 children (11 to 15years of age) was taken from eight districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The analysis showed mean values of 17.43 + 3.25 kg/m2for BMI, 8.83+ 4.7for postural balance in unipodal support (falls per minute (FPM)), 31.18 + 15.63 for hand grip strength, and 13.51+ 1.22 sec for the 10 x 5m Shuttle Run(SR). BMI was found inversely correlated with FPM (r= -0.049, P=0.039); and SR r= -.141, P< 0.001) and directly correlated with HGS r = .219, P<0.001.The average BMI being a predictor of wellbeing of the sampled population is relatively low for unknown reasons but it has been assumed that the physical development of children as per national education policy has not been properly visualized and poorly implemented, therefore, serious efforts required at national level to review and revisit the entire physical development plan of the children

THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND SPORTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN

The economic conditions and sports participation in developed countries has been studied extensively. For a number of countries in the developed world, it has been reported that economic conditions have a direct impact on participation and performance in various sports (Black et al., 2002). However, there has been no significant study conducted to assess the effects of economic conditions on sports participation in the developing world. The aim of this study was to fill that void and ascertain the impact of economic conditions on high performance sports in Pakistan, and the underlying reasons for the decline of sports in the country.Pakistan's participation & performance at the Asian games have been used as a basis for the study. Moreover, studies that have assessed the teaching of physical education in Pakistan have also been reviewed to identify issues with sports participation (Sarwar et al., 2010). Decline of sports participation of children in Secondary Schools, utilization of Sports Funds & availability of Sports Facilities was also considered to identify reasons for decline in performance. Data relating to available resources such as physical education teachers employed and utilization of funds for sports was taken from National Sports Policy of Pakistan 2005, and used to test and validate various hypotheses under consideration.The results show significant decline in the performance of Pakistan at the Asian games from 1950 to 2000 (p <0.05) along with negative relationship with economic conditions of Pakistan. It was noted that only 48 % schools had access to physical education teachers. Out of these schools it was found that 40% schools were not utilizing the funds fully, for physical education and 50% school did not have facilities for indoor / outdoor games / sports. The analysis of economic conditions in Pakistan and participation in sports showed that there was no significant relationship between the economic conditions and performance in sports. These results suggest that in order to stem the decline in sports performance,  focus should be on grass roots level activities in schools, implementation of systematic and scientific coaching, long term planning and upgrading our competition and monitoring system in addition to provisioning of sports facilities at all levels.

High Involvement Management and Employees Performance Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to augment the existing literature on the relationship between high involvement management and Employee job performance with the mediating effect of job satisfaction in the banking sector. Based on the available literature a conceptual framework was designed to study the relationship. The conceptual framework is composed on independent variable high involvement management practices, dependent variable employee performance and the mediating variable job satisfaction. Adopted questionnaires of (Takeuchi et al., 2007, (Judge, 2006) and (Hochwarter, 2006) for measuring High Involvement Management, Job Satisfaction and Individual Employee Job Performance respectively were used to collect the data. Overall the response rate was 71.3%. Correlation analysis, simple linear regression and step wise regression were used to test out the hypotheses. Results obtained were consistent with the previous research studies conducted i.e. there was a strong association of high involvement management with employees performance and similarly job satisfaction was having significant relationship with employee performance. Similarly from the regression analysis the effect of independent variable was found significant on mediator as well as dependent variable. Moreover full mediation was predicted from stepwise regression. The study has investigated the relationship as well as the level of employees performance, job satisfaction and high involvement management practices was calculated which shows the current performance of the organization, hence this research study can be used as a guide, for the management of the banking sector, to utilize its findings in order to stress the problems of employees and increase their productivity. Key words : performance management, job satisfaction, High involvement managemen

Comparative efficacy of melatonin in attenuation of endotoxin/LPS induced hepatotoxicity in BALB/c mice

Background: Sepsis is characterized by overwhelming surge of cytokines and oxidative stress to one of many factors, gram negative bacteria commonly implicated. Despite major expansion and elaboration of sepsis pathophysiology and therapeutic approach; death rate remains very high in septic patients due to multiple organ damage including hepatotoxicity. The present study was aimed to ascertain the adequacy of melatonin (10mg/kg i.p), and its comparability with dexamethasone (3mg/kg i.p), delivered separately and collectively in endotoxin induced hepatotoxicity.Methods: The number of animals in each group was six. Endotoxin/LPS induced hepatotoxicity was reproduced in mice by giving LPS of serotype E. coli intraperitoneally. Preventive role was questioned by giving the experimental agent half an hour prior to LPS injection whereas therapeutic potential of the experimental agent was searched out via post LPS delivering. The extent of liver damage was adjudged via serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) estimation along with histopathological examination of liver tissue.Results: Melatonin was prosperous in aversion (Group 3) and curation (Group 4) of LPS invoked hepatotoxicity as evident by lessening of augmented ALT (≤0.01) and AST (≤0.01) along with restoration of pathological changes on liver sections (p≤0.05). Dexamethasone given before (Group5) and after LPS (Group 6) significantly (p≤0.05) attenuated LPS generated liver injury. Combination therapy with dexamethasone in conjunction with melatonin (Group 7) after LPS administration tapered LPS evoked hepatic dysfunction statistically considerably, however the result was comparable to single agent therapy.Conclusions: Melatonin set up promising results in endotoxin induced hepatotoxicity and can be used therapeutic adjuncts to conventional treatment strategies in sepsis induced liver failure. Combination therapies however generated no synergistic results

A COMPARISON OF THE LEGAL AND SOCIAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS ADULTERY IN SAUDI ARABIA AND PAKISTAN

Adultery is considered a major sin in Islam and is prohibited in all Muslim societies. However, there are differences in the legal and social attitudes towards adultery in different Muslim countries. This article aims to compare the legal and social attitudes towards adultery in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, two Muslim-majority countries with different legal systems and cultural norms. The article begins with an overview of the Islamic perspective on adultery, as outlined in the Quran and Hadith. It then delves into the legal frameworks governing adultery in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, including the penal codes and the judicial procedures for prosecuting, and punishing adulterers. Furthermore, the article explores the social attitudes towards adultery in these two countries, including the cultural norms and religious beliefs that influence people's perceptions of this issue. It examines the role of family and community in shaping these attitudes, as well as the impact of modernization and globalization on traditional values. The article draws upon a range of sources, including Islamic texts, legal documents, academic literature, and media reports. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the similarities and differences between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in their legal and social attitudes towards adultery. Overall, this article contributes to the understanding of how Islam shapes the legal and social attitudes towards adultery in different Muslim societies, and the implications of these attitudes for the lives of people living in these societies

Insect Infestation on Bt. and Non-Bt. Cotton Cultivars

A field study was carried out to examine the resistance potential of promising cotton cultivars to insect pest infestation, during the year 2012. Five cotton varieties were examined for their resistance against insect pests including Hari Dost, Shahbaz-95, NIAB-78, Sindh-1 and Bt Cotton. The insect pests monitored in this study included thrips, jassid, whitefly and bollworms. The experimental process for monitoring the insect pests was initiated on 15th June 2012 and lasted on 12th October, 2012. The results showed that thrips population was significantly (P&lt;0.01) lowest (6.28/plant) on Haridost, against 9.22/plant on NIAB-78, 13.79/plant on Bt cotton 14.89/plant on Sindh-1. while the highest thrips population (15.21/plant) was recorded on  Shahbaz-95. The peak thrips population was noted on 12th July observation on all three verities while on Bt cotton, the peak thrips population was recorded on 19th July. Bt Cotton. The peak activities of jassid was recorded in the month of August. Overall mean showed that the signifactly highest (P&lt;0.01) population of jassid was recorded as (3.59/leaf) on Sindh1 followed by Bt cotton (2.81/leaf), Shahbaz (2.80/leaf), Niab -78 (2.19/leaf) and Hari dost (1.63/leaf). Similarly, whitefly was found active in month of July and Augest. Significantly, more population (P&lt;0.01) was recorded on Sindh-1 (3.20/leaf) and minimum on Haridost (1.40/leaf). Bollworms infestation was significantly lowest (P&lt;0.01), (2.04/plant) on Bt cotton against 2.56/plant on NIAB-78, 3.04/plant on Haridost, 3.22/plant on Sindh-1; while the highest bollworms population (3.36/plant) was observed on cotton variety Shahbaz-95. Bt cotton variety showed considerable resistance against bollworm complex, while NIAB-78 also showed some resistance against sucking. The infestation of sucking insect pests on haridost. Shahbaz and Sindh-1 as compared to Bt cotton. The infestation of thrips, and whitefly was  peaked in the month of July. While Jassid was found most active in August. Bollworms appeared in first week of July and remained active in the field in relatively higher population upto the mid of September and later decreased to negligible level. Keywords: Cultivar Resistance, Insect Infestatio

The burden of anxiety and depression among patients with chronic rheumatologic disorders at a tertiary care hospital clinic in Karachi, Pakistan

Objectives: To study the burden of anxiety and depression as a comorbid among patients of chronic rheumatological disorders and to investigate possible determinants of depression and anxiety.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the rheumatology clinic of The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi, Pakistan. With convenient sampling, 111 patients who fulfilled inclusion/exclusion criteria were screened for anxiety and depression with help of Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS). The data was entered and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 10.0).Results: The population consisted mainly of middle aged (mean age 41) females (80.2%). The most common diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis 57% followed by systemic lupus erythmatosis 17% and systemic sclerosis 9%. The permanent joint deformity was present in 33.3% patients and 36.9% patients were suffering from active disease with pain and inflammation. The frequency of anxiety and depression was 65.8%. Educational qualification, permanent joint deformity, active inflammation and time elapsed since diagnosis had significant association with anxiety and depression. Marital Status, gender, economic activity and monthly family income had no effect on the frequency of anxiety and depression.CONCLUSION: Almost two third of patients with chronic rheumatological disorders, also suffered from a concomitant mood disorder. Systematic evaluation of all patients for mood disorders and psychological distress in rheumatology clinics is highly recommended

Corporate Governance and Environmental Reporting in Pakistan

The focus of the present study is to investigate the association between environmental reporting and corporate governance traits in Pakistan. The prior studies related to the association between environmental disclosure and corporate governance characteristics show fickle findings. This study fills the gap by using cross sectional data of 100 randomly selected firms registered at Karachi Stock Exchange for the year 2015. The results of the present research showed a positive association between the level of environmental disclosure and fraction of independent directors on the board. Negative relationship was found between environmental disclosure and institutional investors. The result shows a positive association between the level of environmental reporting and board size. It confirms a positive association. The analysis revealed a lack of association between level of environmental reporting and fraction of female directors on a board. In case of control variables, positive relationship was found between firms’ profitability and level of environmental disclosure, whereas, no correlation was found between firm size and the level of environmental reporting. Moreover, the results of incremental regression indicate that ownership concentration is the most important independent variable among all the independent variables in the model