Determinants of Financial Empowerment Among Women in Saudi Arabia

Increasing women’s financial empowerment is important as they experience a lack of control over economic resources as compared to men. Although plenty of research evidence is available on the determinants of financial empowerment among women in developed countries, there is less known in the context of a traditionally male-dominated society like Saudi Arabia. The current study proposes a conceptual model that examines the role of financial literacy and financial socialization, in the development of financial self-efficacy, financial coping behaviors, and financial empowerment among Saudi women using social cognitive theory (SCT). Data are collected through a baseline survey from a sample of 1,368 women respondents who belong to the different segments of society ranging from female university students to women in the household to women working in different sectors in Saudi Arabia. We employed partial least squares (PLS) path modeling techniques using SmartPLS to test the hypotheses proposed in this study. The study found a significantly positive association between financial literacy, financial coping behavior, and financial well-being. Financial socialization is also significantly related to financial self-efficacy and financial empowerment. We also found the positive role of financial self-efficacy and financial coping behaviors in the development of financial empowerment. The practical implication of this study includes the provision of financial literacy education/training to Saudi women and increasing their financial socialization to improve their financial well-being

Teacher Training in Pakistan: Overview of Challenges and their Suggested Solutions

Education is a key component of progress in the present-day world. But this progress cannot be made without efforts of teachers. Therefore, teacher education, in particular teacher training becomes extremely important. In this regard, several trainings programs are initiated and executed across Pakistan but the desired outcomes have not been achieved so far. Hence, this study was conducted to explore the challenges in teacher training in Pakistan and the ways through which these issues can be resolved. The sources for the data of the study were the published studies in the field in the context of Pakistan, national education policy, and other relevant literature. Based on secondary data, the study concludes that the issues with teacher training in Pakistan are administrative as well as faculty related. The findings reveal that the challenges related to policy and planning, poor induction of teachers, lack of resources in teacher training institutions, demotivation among teachers, and unequal distribution of skilled and productive teachers, dual training system and infrequent trainings. These issues can be fixed by fostering encouraging environment, ensuring accountability and merit, providing necessary resources, systematizing professional training programs and their continuation. The findings of this study will, therefore, positively guide policymakers to develop the right and effective policy to improve the standard of teacher education in the country

Dopamine Responsive Dystonia(DRD) in a 25 Year Old Lady

Dopamine responsive dystonia (DRD) is a dystonic syndrome of childhood, usually affecting gait. It presents with walking difficulties, spasticity or dystonia with a characteristic diurnal variation and MRI brain scan is normal in it. It may however develop into Parkinsonism later, which shows dramatic therapeutic response to levodopa. A 25 year old lady presented with difficulty in walking along with weakness and stiffness of both legs at Neurology OPD of Chandka Medical College Hospital,Larkana. After reaching at proper diagnosis of DRD, treatment was started. As a result of which, she showed dramatic improvement and was able to return back to her routine life

Population Density of Grey Francolin (Franclinus Pondicrianus L.) in District Tando Allahyar, Sindh, Pakistan

The population density of Grey Francolin (Franclinus Pondicrianus L.) is distributed throughout the Baluchistan, KKPK, Punjab, and Indus plains of Sindh Province, Pakistan. The grey francolin is a prime game bird of our country. This species has been declared threatened worldwide according to the Red Data Book, also published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2018. There is no information available regarding the density of the population of Grey francolin in different populations in the district of Tando Allahyar, Sindh, Pakistan. Keeping this in mind, the present study was carried out to find the density population of Grey francolin birds in the habitat area to observe the conservation measurements. The study was conducted through direct sighting with the help of local residents of the particular areas using the Visual Encounter Method. The observations were recorded at three fixed transects, with a length of 300 to 350 m and a width of 30 to 60 m laid down at every site for recording the birds by nearest line. In Tando Allahyar, Sindh, Pakistan, the population density of Grey francolin varies significantly based on breeding practices and habitat characteristics. The observed densities were 0.90 birds per hectare in cultivated open land and 0.16 birds per hectare in wetland and associated natural vegetation. This suggests a notable influence of habitat and breeding practices on Grey francolin population

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

The Relationship between Perceived Psychological Barriers, Anxiety, and Rural Affiliation of Pakistani College Students to Communicate in English

Learning a foreign language is always a challenging and complicated process. Learning other than the native language encounters several psychological barriers in the minds of learners, particularly, for students belonging to rural areas. The study goal is to identify the relationship between perceived psychological barriers, anxiety, and rural affiliation of Pakistani college students communicating in English. The objective of the study is to investigate perceived psychological barriers encountered by students speaking in English. The study used the mixed-method design of quantitative and qualitative research. The data were gathered through questionnaires from students and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Adopting purposive sampling of 50 students and 10 college teachers to know their perspective on the objective of the study. The main identified barriers were inferiority complex, peer pressure, loss of words, hesitation, lack of confidence, and shyness. The results also showed a negative relationship between students’ rural affiliation which caused psychological barriers and speaking anxiety among them. The study results contribute to the contemporary literature on pedagogical psychology, foreign language anxiety, and applied linguistics. In particular, to the well-being of rural learners and to understand the relationship between psychological development, anxiety, and social background

A Taxonomy for Supporting Industry- Academia Communication in Software Quality

Software quality is one of the most important components of software development. Software quality attracts the user's attention and produces reliable and error-free software. Poor approach strategies lead to less effective outcomes and a higher likelihood of failure. The gap between software quality research and practice is one of the main problems with software quality. The difference between the way software quality research is communicated and the way industry concerns related to software quality is the actual gap.software industries are unaware about rapid technological change, complexities of Modern software systems, security concerns, skill shortage impact on software quality, to overcome theses problems and gaps. Taxonomy is proposed to enhance industry-academia collaboration by facilitating better communication between software quality research and practice. Some of the best quality standards are outlined and authorized in this paper that yields the greatest out-comes. A methodical and goal-oriented strategy is used to develop the proposed taxonomy, with the help of literature review, blogs, articles, and interviews with researchers and practitioners. Twenty distinct questions regarding team co-ordination, dispersion, culture, behaviors and attitudes, experience, and other topics are included in the questionnaire. The taxonomy is evaluated through online survey by implementing it in an industry-academia collaboration project. Researchers and practitioners could use the proposed taxonomy to classify and identify quality concerns or obstacles

A Systematic Literature Review on Text Generation Using Deep Neural Network Models

In recent years, significant progress has been made in text generation. The latest text generation models are revolutionizing the domain by generating human-like text. It has gained wide popularity recently in many domains like news, social networks, movie scriptwriting, and poetry composition, to name a few. The application of text generation in various fields has resulted in a lot of interest from the scientific community in this area. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of extensive review and an up-to-date body of knowledge of text generation deep learning models. Therefore, this survey aims to bring together all the relevant work in a systematic mapping study highlighting key contributions from various researchers over the years, focusing on the past, present, and future trends. In this work, we have identified 90 primary studies from 2015 to 2021 employing the PRISMA framework. We also identified research gaps that are further needed to be explored by the research community. In the end, we provide some future directions for researchers and guidelines for practitioners based on the findings of this review