Poverty and Its Alleviation: The Case of Pakistan

This chapter aims to look at the current status of poverty and existing social policies in Pakistan. Poverty is one of the concerns for the governments of almost all countries including Pakistan. There is a continuous research on the policy measurements by national and international organizations in Pakistan, which demonstrated the decline in poverty. The government has launched many social policies in the past three decades to help the nation in reducing the poverty. Apart from government, many national and international organizations have also contributed a lot in the effort of reducing the poverty. However, there is very little research available on the effectiveness of these social policies, and on the need of social policy areas in particular. Disparity among the urban and rural population is another important factor, which has been discussed in almost every research on poverty. Still, very few social policies in Pakistan are focusing on rural population. Therefore, the issue of social policy needs fresh exploration in the country, which is necessary to make new social policies that can benefit all citizens

Social Media Networking Sites Usage and Depression Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic : The Mediating Roles of Social Anxiety and Loneliness

The current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased psychological issues such as excessive social media networking sites usage (SMNSU), loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. In this quantitative study, we examined how SMNSU can directly and indirectly influence depression, with loneliness and social anxiety examined as mediator variables. A 39-item questionnaire was used to collect survey data on SMNSU, loneliness, social anxiety, and depression from 244 blended learning undergraduate students from universities in the Hunan province in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was conducted using SmartPLS 3.3.3 to measure the relationships between the stated variables of interest. Results indicated that SMNSU has a direct, significant, and positive relationship with depression. In terms of mediating effects, both loneliness and social anxiety have an intervening role in the association between SMNSU and depression. This study focused on the higher education sector of China by recruiting students who were enrolled in blended learning courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing psychological problems. We found that excessive SMNSU is associated with depression. Loneliness and social anxiety also increase depression along with excessive SMNSU among blended learning students during unprecedented situations, in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. The valuable implications of these findings for teachers, counselors, and university managers are discussed, along with a consideration of future research directions.Peer reviewe

Fostering ICT Competencies in Blended Learning : Role of Curriculum Content, Material, and Teaching Strategies

The study examined the direct and indirect influence of information communication technology (ICT)-integrated curriculum content, material, and teaching strategies on ICT competencies of students in blended learning. The ICT-integrated teaching strategies were used as a mediator in between the relationships of curriculum content, material, and ICT competencies. We used a survey questionnaire containing 26 items on the variables of research in this study. The data were collected from six universities in the Hunan Province of China. The target population consisted of undergraduate students of blended learning. In total, 486 participants participated in the study. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to measure the relationships among variables. The results revealed that there were significant and positive relationships among ICT-integrated curriculum content, material, teaching strategies, and ICT competencies of students. Furthermore, it was also revealed that ICT-integrated teaching strategies in blended learning mediated the relationships in between ICT integrated curriculum content, material, and ICT competencies. It was concluded that the effective curriculum content, curriculum material, and teaching strategies are the critical predictors of ICT competencies. Moreover, teaching strategies worked as an intervening factor between the curriculum content, curriculum material, and ICT competencies. The practical implications and directions for future research are also presented in this study.Peer reviewe

The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence on Students’ Study Habits in Blended Learning Environments: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Engagement during COVID-19

Emotional intelligence is a main area in educational psychology and a key factor in the academic life of students. It deals with deviant behavior through self-awareness and self-motivation, regulates emotional and social skills, and converts emotional energy into positive energy. This study examined direct and indirect relationships between emotional intelligence and study habits in blended learning environments. Blended learning is conceptualized as a hybrid learning approach that combines online learning opportunities and the traditional classroom approach. Furthermore, the study explored the mediating role of cognitive engagement in the relationship between emotional intelligence and study habits. We used 26 items in a paper-based questionnaire in a quantitative study to collect data on emotional intelligence, cognitive engagement and study habits from health sciences students (N = 338) enrolled in blended learning courses in universities in the Hunan province of China. Emotional intelligence included self-awareness, self-motivation, and the regulation of emotion; social skills were also examined. A partial least squares structural-equation modeling approach was applied through SmartPLS software to explore the relationships. The results indicate that self-awareness and self-motivation have direct, significant, and positive connections with study habits. Similarly, the results indicate that all four dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-motivation, emotion regulation and social skills) had indirect, significant, and positive relationships with study habits using cognitive engagement as a mediator variable. It was concluded that students face higher-than-usual challenges in building study habits in blended learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that emotional intelligence helps them to develop their study habits to greater effect. Similarly, it was concluded that cognitive engagement strengthens the connection between emotional intelligence and study habits. Therefore, it is recommended that universities take specific measures to enhance students’ emotional intelligence and cognitive engagement, which will ultimately improve their study habits. Moreover, valuable and practical implications for teachers, practitioners, and university management were also discussed in the study

The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence on Students’ Study Habits in Blended Learning Environments: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Engagement during COVID-19

Emotional intelligence is a main area in educational psychology and a key factor in the academic life of students. It deals with deviant behavior through self-awareness and self-motivation, regulates emotional and social skills, and converts emotional energy into positive energy. This study examined direct and indirect relationships between emotional intelligence and study habits in blended learning environments. Blended learning is conceptualized as a hybrid learning approach that combines online learning opportunities and the traditional classroom approach. Furthermore, the study explored the mediating role of cognitive engagement in the relationship between emotional intelligence and study habits. We used 26 items in a paper-based questionnaire in a quantitative study to collect data on emotional intelligence, cognitive engagement and study habits from health sciences students (N = 338) enrolled in blended learning courses in universities in the Hunan province of China. Emotional intelligence included self-awareness, self-motivation, and the regulation of emotion; social skills were also examined. A partial least squares structural-equation modeling approach was applied through SmartPLS software to explore the relationships. The results indicate that self-awareness and self-motivation have direct, significant, and positive connections with study habits. Similarly, the results indicate that all four dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-motivation, emotion regulation and social skills) had indirect, significant, and positive relationships with study habits using cognitive engagement as a mediator variable. It was concluded that students face higher-than-usual challenges in building study habits in blended learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that emotional intelligence helps them to develop their study habits to greater effect. Similarly, it was concluded that cognitive engagement strengthens the connection between emotional intelligence and study habits. Therefore, it is recommended that universities take specific measures to enhance students’ emotional intelligence and cognitive engagement, which will ultimately improve their study habits. Moreover, valuable and practical implications for teachers, practitioners, and university management were also discussed in the study

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Control of Microgrids: A Review

A microgrid is widely accepted as a prominent solution to enhance resilience and performance in distributed power systems. Microgrids are flexible for adding distributed energy resources in the ecosystem of the electrical networks. Control techniques are used to synchronize distributed energy resources (DERs) due to their turbulent nature. DERs including alternating current, direct current and hybrid load with storage systems have been used in microgrids quite frequently due to which controlling the flow of energy in microgrids have been complex task with traditional control approaches. Distributed as well central approach to apply control algorithms is well-known methods to regulate frequency and voltage in microgrids. Recently techniques based of artificial intelligence are being applied for the problems that arise in operation and control of latest generation microgrids and smart grids. Such techniques are categorized in machine learning and deep learning in broader terms. The objective of this research is to survey the latest strategies of control in microgrids using the deep reinforcement learning approach (DRL). Other techniques of artificial intelligence had already been reviewed extensively but the use of DRL has increased in the past couple of years. To bridge the gap for the researchers, this survey paper is being presented with a focus on only Microgrids control DRL techniques for voltage control and frequency regulation with distributed, cooperative and multi agent approaches are presented in this research

2-Carboxy­anilinium chloride monohydrate

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C7H8NO2 +·Cl−·H2O, an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond results in the formation of a non-planar six-membered ring adopting a flattened boat conformation. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular O—H⋯O and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules. There is a C=O⋯π contact between the carbonyl unit and the centroid of the benzene ring. There is a C=O⋯π contact [C⋯Cg = 3.5802 (18), C—O⋯Cg = 89 (1)°] between the carbonyl unit and the centroid of the benzene ring