Stress and Coping Strategies of University Teachers in Pakistan

The purpose of the present study was to identify the perceived job stressand stress coping strategies used by the teachers in Pakistani universities.The study used a survey research design comprising two segments: a)first section identifies how the presence of negative factors and theabsence of positive factors cause stress for university teachers in theircareers. b) The second part identifies the coping strategies used by themto explore the ways for effective stress management. The data wascollected by the instruments Perceived Job Stressors (Kanner, Kafry, &Pines, 1978) and The Coping Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub,1989) to identify the stressors and the preferred coping strategies used bythe faculty. The data indicate that university faculty experience stressboth due to presence of negative factors and absence of positive factors.The most important stress coping strategy used by them was positivereinterpretation & growth, followed by turning to religion, planning,suppression of competing activities, active coping, restraining coping,seeking social support for emotional reasons, acceptance, mentaldisengagement, alcohol-drug disengagement, focusing on & venting ofemotions. Moreover, age of teachers influence the adaptation of abovementioned three coping strategies namely positive reinterpretation &growth, turning to religion, and mental disengagement

Analyzing Stress Coping Strategies and Approaches of School Teachers

With increasing demands of the job market, occupational stress isbecoming a matter of great concern for both employers and employeesacross the occupations. Individuals try different coping strategies andapproaches to keep this stress at a manageable level. This studyexamined the stress coping strategies and approaches used by the schoolteachers in respect to their perceived level of stress. A self-developedquestionnaire based on COPE inventory was used to conduct this surveybasedexploratory study. A sample of 400 school teachers with diversebackgrounds working in both public and private sectors was randomlyselected from two district of Punjab. Mean, percentage and t-test wereapplied to analyze the data. The study found that 60% of the teachersperceived high or very high level of stress. Female teachers reportedmore stress than male teachers. ‘Turning to religion’, ‘positivereinterpretation’ and ‘planning’ to actively solve the problem are themostly used coping strategies. The majority of respondents usedproblem-oriented and emotion-oriented strategies. Further, it was foundthat as the level of stress increased, teachers tend towards use of problemand emotion-oriented approaches than avoidance and social-supportapproaches

Employing James Gee’s Analytic Lens for Identity to Investigate Teacher Identity Development

The current article is an exploration of the construction and development of teacher identities at the tertiary level in Pakistan. Identity is the sense of who one is as a professional, and it is becoming evident that it is important for teachers at all levels to develop a clear sense of identity as it leads to better practices and high level of commitment to the profession. The researcher adopted a constructivist stance for the investigation of identity and used data triangulation by using life histories, semi-structured interviews (based on the James Gee’s Lens for Identity) and fieldnotes as the sources of data. Six participants from urban tertiary institutions in various cities of Pakistan were selected and interviewed. The gathered data was analyzed iteratively through coding and contrastive analysis and highlighted the similarities and disparities of the various perspectives of identity; it was discovered that the participants had a better awareness and acceptance of their nature identity, whereas the institutional and discursive identities were the ones that posed conflict for them. The researcher also found that affinity identity was the weakest link in the Gee lens for teachers of Pakistan

Vocabulary Acquisition through Systematic Instructional Strategies at Early Grades

Vocabulary development is one of the key features to improve reading, writing, speaking and comprehension of a language at early grades. It is usually considered as a major indicator in students’ performance at the level of early childhood education. Considering the importance of vocabulary development, this research was planned to explore the current level of vocabulary of students and effects of systematic instructional strategies on vocabulary acquisition of grade 1 students. Convenient sampling technique was adopted to involve students in this research. A section of grade 1 of 27 students from a model school was selected to conduct this study. A multiple-choice test based on 25 questions was constructed to study the current level of students in relation to their vocabulary. One-group pretest-posttest research design was adopted to conduct this action research. The results of the pre-action test depicted a significant deficiency of students’ learning of vocabulary. Based on the pre-test results, an action was planned based on multiple instructional strategies to enhance students’ vocabulary. A paired sample t-test was applied on the collected data to identify the improvements in their vocabulary. Post-test results showed significant improvements in students’ performance. Next to discussion, limitations of this study and directions for future research also presented

Learners with Dyspraxia: Teachers Perceptions at Elementary Level

The area of dyspraxia received a little attention as compared to other learning disabilities. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to explore the level of awareness and understanding of teachers regarding the indications of dyspraxia, to assess teachers’ perceptions and ability to identify and manage the students with dyspraxia in their classroom. This study makes a contribution in revealing the awareness of teachers’ regarding the symptoms of dyspraxia and impact of dyspraxia on social, emotional and physical health of a child. A descriptive research design was adopted to study the perceptions of elementary school teachers about dyspraxia at secondary level that attempted to determine and report things the way they were. Data was collected through questionnaire. The study targeted a total sample of 400 teachers from 40 mainstream elementary schools from Lahore city. The results showed that teachers had enough knowledge and awareness about the impact of dyspraxia on the social, physical and emotional health of the child, and believed they had the ability to identify and manage the students with dyspraxia in their classroom

Metal halide-based photodetector using one-dimensional MAPbI3 micro rods

In the present work, we report the fabrication of a photodetector using methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI3) micro rod. Photosensitivity of the Ag/MAPbI3/Ag photodetector has been studied under various light intensities ranging from 10 to 100 mW/cm2. The MAPbI3 perovskite micro rod-based photodetector shows a high on/off ratio (4.47 × 105), and fast response & recovery times (2.7 ms, each), as compared to the photodetectors using perovskite films. This work could initiate new perspectives for perovskite micro rods to be employed in high-performance optoelectronic devices.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. The authors are highly thankful to the Center of Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University, for providing the lab facilities to perform this work

Enhancement of electronic and charge transport properties of NiPc by potassium-tetrasulpho group

a b s t r a c t We report significant enhancement in the electronic properties of nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) by attaching a potassium-tetrasulpho functional group to synthesize its water soluble derivative nickel (II)4,4 0 ,4 00 ,4' 00 potassium-tetrasulphophthalocyanine (K 4 NiTSPc). To study the potential of this organic compound for electronics applications, Au/K4NiTSPc/Ag diodes have been fabricated and their electronic parameters have been calculated. The mobility and conductivity of the device have been found to be 1.5 Â 10 À 4 cm 2 V À 2 S À 1 and 2.5 Â 10 NiTSPc has shown much better electronic properties as compared to NiPc reported in the literature, which makes it a promising candidate for its potential use in electronics applications

Perceptions on gender-based differences in educational leadership

This descriptive, qualitative study aimed at identifying disparities in perceptions of males and females regarding gender-based differences in educational leadership. Data were gathered purposively from 20 renowned male and female educationists having a long experience of leadership in various institutes of Pakistan. An open-ended questionnaire was used as a research tool to express their perceptions. Data were thematically analyzed under pre-defined categories borrowed from different leadership theorists. The results showed that both male and female respondents perceive that males have more leadership qualities as compared to females. It is especially true about abilities of decision-making and empowering the employees. </jats:p

MAPbI3 Microrods-Based Photo Resistor Switches: Fabrication and Electrical Characterization

The current work proposed the application of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite microrods toward photo resistor switches. A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) configuration with a structure of silver-MAPbI3(rods)-silver (Ag/MAPbI3/Ag) based photo-resistor was fabricated. The MAPbI3 microrods were prepared by adopting a facile low-temperature solution process, and then an independent MAPbI3 microrod was employed to the two-terminal device. The morphological and elemental compositional studies of the fabricated MAPbI3 microrods were performed using FESEM and EDS, respectively. The voltage-dependent electrical behavior and electronic conduction mechanisms of the fabricated photo-resistors were studied using current–voltage (I–V) characteristics. Different conduction mechanisms were observed at different voltage ranges in dark and under illumination. In dark conditions, the conduction behavior was dominated by typical trap-controlled charge transport mechanisms within the investigated voltage range. However, under illumination, the carrier transport is dominated by the current photogenerated mechanism. This study could extend the promising application of perovskite microrods in photo-induced resistor switches and beyond

Inventory and GLOF Susceptibility of Glacial Lakes in Hunza River Basin, Western Karakorum

Northern latitudes of Pakistan are warming at faster rate as compared to the rest of the country. It has induced irregular and sudden glacier fluctuations leading to the progression of glacial lakes, and thus enhancing the risk of Glacier Lake Outbursts Floods (GLOF) in the mountain systems of Pakistan. Lack of up-to-date inventory, classification, and susceptibility profiles of glacier lakes and newly formed GLOFs, are few factors which pose huge hindrance towards disaster preparedness and risk reduction strategies in Pakistan. This study aims to bridge the existing gap in data and knowledge by exploiting satellite observations, and efforts are made to compile and update glacier lake inventories. GLOF susceptibility assessment is evaluated by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multicriteria structured technique based on three susceptibility contributing factors: Geographic, topographic, and climatic. A total of 294 glacial lakes are delineated with a total area of 7.85 ± 0.31 km2 for the year 2018. Analysis has identified six glacier lakes as potential GLOF and met the pre-established criteria of damaging GLOFs. The historical background of earlier GLOF events is utilized to validate the anticipated approach and found this method appropriate for first order detection and prioritization of potential GLOFs in Northern Pakistan