The moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between social competencies, technical competencies, willingness and HR profesionals' effectiveness : A study among bank managers in Pakistan

The banking sector is the backbone of any growing economy and this sector has also played an important role in the economy of Pakistan. The Human Resource (HR) professionals in Pakistan have been claimed to be responsible for the banking employees' performances who subsequently contributed towards the growth of banks. Thus, HR competency had been speculated to have some connection with HR professionals' effectiveness. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of HR competencies on their effectiveness in the banking sector of Pakistan. The study was motivated by the resource-based view (RBV) and human resource competency model. The impact of HR professionals' social, technical competencies and willingness on their effectiveness were examined. The study also examined the moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between HR professionals' social, technical competencies and HR professionals' willingness and HR professionals' effectiveness in the said banking sector. The survey method was used to conduct the study and the questionnaire was adapted from past researchers' instruments. The sample was 370 private bank branch managers in Pakistan and 183 responded. This gave the study a response rate of 49 percent. The results suggested that the HR professionals' social, technical competencies and HR professionals' willingness had a positive and significant relationship with HR professionals' effectiveness. The study also found that the organizational support had moderated the effects on the relationship between the competencies and the willingness of HR professionals with the HR professionals' effectiveness. Finally, this study had recommended the need for HR professionals to further enhance their competencies in the areas of credible activist, strategic architect and business ally in the banking sector of Pakista

Things Left Behind

Things Left Behind is the story of a family in a small town in Pakistan where both the town and the family are transitioning between their traditional ways of living and Modernity coming from outside the town. Through its various characters, the narrative unfolds the struggles of facing challenges put by technology and colonial projects. The characters long for the safety and familiarity of their rural and traditional backgrounds while becoming part of an urban and modern milieu, creating a conflict. The arrival of Modernity takes place at the cost of the rearrangement and modification of the traditional and familiar world. This narrative deals with the loss of leaving behind a world where one is coded to live. Toward the end of the narrative, my work pushes its characters to accept the loss of their traditional world, let go of their fears and move forward, overcoming challenges to exist in a modern world

Users' perception and behaviour at Jalan Tapah A10, Perak

Tapah Road A10 is one of the rural areas with the large population in Perak which is above 10,000 persons. A10 road is a major road and it has more than 26 minor road access that attach to the junction. The area has a rapid development build around the main road hence the traffic congestion. Furthermore, according on the accident report from Tapah Police Traffic, road accident at the study location was increased from 69 cases to 100 from 2015 until 2018. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate users? perception and behaviour at the junction. The data collection takes about one month and is done continuously every day. First, observation study at the junction was conducted, followed by survey distribution and spot speed study. The survey distribution and spot speed study were conducted at the junction during peak hour. 200 respondents were obtained in the questionnaire survey. Spot speed study was conducted at the junction using radar gun. It was found that most of the road users are not satisfied with the travelling experience at the junction. Gap analysis has shown that the gap between users? satisfaction and users? expectation is more than 50%. Most of road users travelled at a lower speed compared to their expectation level. This is supported by the results of spot speed analysis which show that mean speed, median speed, 85th percentile speed and pace have all below the 80 km/hr speed limit. In addition, 85th percentile speeds of them drive at 77.50 km/hr or below. Results of this study can be used to answer the question that always plagued by the residents of the area. This study has obtained the perception from the road users? point of view. It is recommended to obtain experts? point of view to compliment the findings, so that effective mitigation strategies could be implemented better

Effectiveness of Islamic Counseling Protocol (ICP) on Depression, Anxiety and Stress among University Students at IUB

This study was carried out to estimate the effectiveness of newly developed Islamic Counseling Protocol (ICP) in managing the level of stress, anxiety and depression of university students at IUB. For this purpose, a pilot-testing was conducted on a sample of (N=24) volunteer university students who scored higher on DASS-42 scale. The participants were further divided into two groups (n=12) experimental group and (n=12) control group. After the screening process (pre-testing), the Islamic Counseling Protocol (ICP) was administered as a treatment/intervention on a sample of (n=12) participants of experimental group. The control group did not receive any treatment or intervention. After completing the 8-weeks sessions of Islamic Counseling, the post-test analysis was conducted. The follow-up session was conducted for 3 months. The results from pre-test, post-test and follow-up analysis revealed a significant healing effect of using Islamic Counseling Protocol (ICP) on the mental health of university students. The statistical analysis (Paired sample t-test and Mean differences) showed a significant reduced level of mental health problems in the participants of experimental group (post-test analysis). Similarly, the follow-up assessment also showed reduced mental health problems for 3 months. Hence, the Islamic Counseling Protocol (ICP) proved as a significant tool to manage the mental health issues of the university students