Enhancement of empathy in children through interventions

This is a quasi-experimental study; a four-month intervention-program designed to boost the empathetic attitude in public school students of Pakistan. The empathy towards bullying was assessed in experimental (199) and control (184) groups.  The study had three phases. In the first phase the students  were  engaged in different activities to foster empathy which established that empathetic score of students increased and the score of bullying tendencies decreased after the use of interventions. The activity began with a story, followed by a group discussion, highlighting the different aspects of human feelings, emotions and behaviors, alongside encouraging children to give their feedback. In the second phase 98 students were selected from treated group, boys (N= 53) and girls (N= 45). Six more interventions were applied including  reciting stories, question-answer sessions related to stories, followed by asking about the lessons students learnt from these stories. These conversations ended on  brief lectures of trainers about empathy guided by the researcher during the training of trainers. After completion of this session, in the third phae, for qualitative assessment selected students from treated group were asked to write a story about empathy. The study found that the boys and girls grasped the concept of empathy differently. For boys described empathy as being helpful while girls as a means of getting happiness; but both did not associate empathy with kindness. Also, the boys believed that parents are the first to notice changes in their personality while girls think its their teachers. Moreover, for adopting the attitude of empathy, unlike boys, girls showed more collective rather than personalized  approach. &nbsp

Bureaucratic Manacles in Financial Autonomy of Public Hospitals in Pakistan: The Case Study of Allied Hospital, Faisalabad

The objectives of financial autonomy aimed to reduce government commitments in the financing of public hospitals, to increase efficiency in hospital operations, contain costs, and raise the quality of care. The present survey study of Allied Hospital Faisalabad explores that bureaucratic manacles in financial autonomy of these public hospitals end up in creating low job satisfaction levels among the employees of the hospitals. The dissatisfaction among Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical Staff, and Surgeons towards the management of the hospital was observed. , and irregular flows causes low levels of satisfaction in patients towards doctors, nurses and paramedical Staff

Deliberative Democracy: Effect of News Media and Interpersonal Conversation on Quality of Public Opinion

Issues are debated on media and then redistributed into society through interpersonal conversation.Public deliberations lead to formation of public opinion on the issues of public concern. Public opinion refers to the views held by those who participate in public discourse. Quality of public opinion is based on quality of the discourse and quantity of the participation. The main objective of the study is to analyze the effects of the media on quality of the public opinion.A sample of 338 respondents was selected from various sections of the society, i.e. semi and unskilled labor, government employees, professionals, students, and housewives from the provincial capitals of Pakistan. Aquestionnaire consisting of 48 items(Kim et al, 1999) regarding conversation patterns was adapted to use in Pakistani context.According to the results of the study when an issue was frequently discussed in talk shows on TV channels,people discussed it in their interpersonal conversation. Increase in quantity of information from different perspectives enhanced quality of public opinion

Phosphorus release kinetics of applied phosphate is influenced by time and organic sources in clay loam and sandy clay loam soils

Adsorption and precipitation are major mechanisms that play an imperative role in immobilization of phosphorus (P) in various texture soils thus limiting the crop yields. Soil organic matter (SOM) can improve P bioavailability by decreasing its sorption in soils. The aim of current experiment was to investigate best organic source to reduce P sorption in different texture soils. Press mud (PM), farmyard manure (FYM), processed city waste (CW) and poultry litter (PL) were used to examine P availability in clay loam and sandy clay loam soils. Organic sources were added at the rate of 10 t ha-1 according to organic matter content in clay pots having 10 kg soil capacity. Phosphorus was added at the rate of 200 mg P kg-1 soil by using KH2PO4 and moisture was maintained at 60% water holding capacity. Results showed higher adsorption of P (122 mg kg-1) in clay loam soil as compared to the sandy clay loam (132 mg kg-1) soil. The Olsen P influenced by organic amendments was in the order of CW > PL > FYM > PM > control. There was a significant correlation between P released by organic sources with time and soil texture. It is concluded that application of CW is best regarding P release in different texture soils

An Empirical Study of the Effectiveness of Public Relation Campaigns of Rescue 1122

This survey study evaluates the PR efforts and strategies of Rescue 1122 in informing people of their services and projecting and cultivating a positive image of Rescue 1122 in the minds of the public. The study used the Lindenmann Model (Lindenmann, 2003) of PR evaluation comprising of three steps: outputs, outtakes, and outcomes. The sample of 300 was randomly taken from the two towns of Lahore. Output was measured in terms of information disseminated regarding the services and facilities offered by Rescue 1122 and were found to be very effective. Majority of the people seemed to be aware of the systems, services and area of operation of Rescue 1122. The outtakes, referring to awareness, comprehension and attitude about 1122, were also found to be effective. The PR department is successful in convincing people that Rescue 1122 is a force of highly professional, competent, and committed people. They have achieved the desired level of comprehension and have shaped positive attitudes in the public very efficiently. The outcomes, referring to the changes in behavior of the people and positive image of Rescue 1122, were successfully achieved. However, the PR efforts were unable to convince people of saving ICE numbers in their cell phones

Examining the Credibility of Online Political News and information in the Millennials in Pakistan

This study observed the influence of the credibility factors on the perception of the credibility of political information among the youth. Credibility can be due to the medium through which the information reaches the people; the source of the information; or the information itself. Each of the three factors: medium, source, and message are analyzed separately as an independent variable to observe its influence on the overall credibility of the political content received, as the dependent variable.  The key finding is that the majority of them trust that online political content is produced and run by the trustworthy, intelligent and experts. They also appear to believe that online political content is trustworthy, accurate, fair and respectful towards other’s privacy. Moreover, it is found that the credibility of online political content is independent of any other credibility factor such as the source, medium, or the content credibility.  The number of likes and shares seems to be the biggest criteria of the credibility and trustworthiness of a political content in the eyes of young university students. The findings of the study would allow the experts to convey political information to millennial effectively

Pakistani Media Users: From Political information Repertoires to Political Participation

In this study using the repertoire approach the effect of the nature of the media use and its impact on political knowledge, political efficacy, and political participation was observed. The survey of 200 respondents was conducted which were randomly selected from two cities and two villages of Punjab. Latent class analysis was performed to find the hidden groups present in the data based on education, income, and traditional and social media use representing the constitution of the population of Pakistan. Further analysis was done based on the four groups thus obtained. It was hypothesized that richer media repertoires provide political information, information increases political knowledge and interest which thus, increases the political efficacy which is then translated into active traditional participation. The results revealed that effect of media repertoire on political participation appear to be influenced by the socioeconomic status of the media users. The groups having richer media repertoires and higher income level do show higher political interest and knowledge but tend to have lower political efficacy, and therefore less political participation. While opposite is true for the media users with lower income level

Zinc-Oxide Eugenol Paste, Antimicrobial Gel, and Ayurvedic Medicament in the Management of Alveolar Osteitis: A Prospective and Comparative Study

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the three treatment strategies of zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE), metronidazole gel, and Aloe vera gel in the management of dry socket with respect to pain relief and mucosal healing. Methods: This was a comparative study in which 90 patients were recruited and randomly divided into three groups of 30. ZOE dressings were applied in Group A, Metronidazole gel in Group B, and Aloe vera gel was applied in Group C patients on the day of reporting. Patients were followed up for seven consecutive days. Day-wise pain and mucosal healing were assessed in each patient using the visual analog scale and mucosal healing index, respectively. Results: The mean age for the 90 patients recruited in the study was 44.02 (9.9). Male: Female ratio was 37:53. Higher values of pain were reported in Group A from day 1 to 6 (P < 0.01). However, the difference was not significant among the three groups (P > 0.05) on the 7th day. Significant differences were seen among groups (P < 0.01) for mucosal healing on days 2–6 with higher mean values in Group A. On day 1 and day 7, a non-significant difference was seen for the values across all three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Metronidazole and Aloe vera gels were found effective in early pain relief while producing a similar amount of mucosal healing. These gels offer the potential to be used as alternative home remedies, thus reducing the number of dental appointments required in the case of ZOE dressings. However, further randomized and clinical studies are required to evaluate the three strategies for their potential adverse effects

Pakistani Media Users: From Political Information Repertoires to Political Participation

In this study using the repertoire approach the effect of the nature of the media use and its impact on political knowledge, political efficacy, and political participation was observed. The survey of 200 respondents was conducted which were randomly selected from two cities and two villages of Punjab. Latent class analysis was performed to find the hidden groups present in the data based on education, income, and traditional and social media use representing the constitution of the population of Pakistan. Further analysis was done based on the four groups thus obtained. It was hypothesized that richer media repertoires provide political information, information increases political knowledge and interest which thus, increases the political efficacy which is then translated into active traditional participation. The results revealed that effect of media repertoire on political participation appear to be influenced by the socioeconomic status of the media users. The groups having richer media repertoires and higher income level do show higher political interest and knowledge but tend to have lower political efficacy, and therefore less political participation. While opposite is true for the media users with lower income level