Restrictions and Challenges that Prevent Women from Moving up in Leadership and Management Positions: A Frequency Count

The number of women occupying senior management positions in Pakistani universities remains significantly low, with only 8.2% of women holding such positions in 2020, as reported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC, 2021). A recent report by the HEC also revealed that out of the 197 universities in Pakistan, only 16 have female vice-chancellors, indicating the underrepresentation of women in other senior management roles, such as pro-vice-chancellor, registrar, treasurer, and controller of examinations. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting women\u27s career progression in higher education management, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 48 women in various management positions, alongside a focus group discussion. The data was subjected to thematic analysis, revealing the multifaceted challenges and limitations impeding women\u27s advancement to senior management positions. The findings suggest that factors such as women\u27s non-assertive behavior, preferentialism, Queen Bee syndrome, subtle discrimination, lack of professional ambition, and limited awareness of legal rights are the most significant barriers to women\u27s advancement in senior positions. Interestingly, themes related to women\u27s families were found to have the lowest frequency scores

Classification and electrophysiological analysis of different types of reward and error in the GPi and ACC

This project aims to examine the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the globus pallidus internal (GPi) within the context of their cognitive functions from patients that had undergone deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Patients performed the intra-extra dimensional set shifting (IED) task that allowed neural activity from both the dACC and GPi to be recorded while participants got trials correct and incorrect. These trials were categorized beyond these two domains into five different types (expected correct, adjusted correct, guess correct, mistake, and unexpected incorrect) based on their level of surprisingness. Various analytical techniques including event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP), event related potential (ERP), linear regression, Fourier transform, and autoregression were used to examine the neural activity associated with the five conditions. ERSP analysis of the data highlighted that both the dACC and the GPi show differences in frequency power for correct vs incorrect trials and for types of incorrect trials but show no differences when comparing types of correct trials. The ERP analysis alongside linear regression highlighted trends when examining ERP parameters such as maximum ERP amplitude, minimum ERP amplitude, and the amplitude range. A positive correlation was seen as the level of surprise increased for both the maximum ERP amplitude and the ERP range and a negative correlation was seen as the level of surprise increased for the minimum ERP amplitude. A stronger correlation was seen in the dACC compared to the GPi. In addition to looking at the entire trial length of each trial in the IED task, three components of the trials were further examined independently including the decision-making phase, the learning phase, and the peri feedback phase of the trial. This allowed for more focused examination of these nuclei within three different cognitive domains. The Fourier transform and autoregression analyses were used to examine the spectral amplitude and post spectral density respectively of various cognitively significant frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta, gamma, and high gamma). Within the GPi significant differences were found in the gamma/high gamma frequencies during the peri feedback and learning phase of trials when comparing expected correct and unexpected incorrect trials. Within the dACC significant differences were found in the gamma/high gamma frequencies only during the peri feedback phase of the trial. Although greater gamma/high gamma amplitudes were found for the unexpected incorrect condition within the GPi, within the dACC, greater gamma/high gamma amplitudes were found for the expected correct condition. This reversal could indicate that the gamma/high gamma frequency may be one mechanism differentially guiding the learning and memory of correct and incorrect trials within the GPi and dACC. Overall, the results from this project provide evidence in supporting the hypothesis that the dACC and the GPi do serve cognitive functions and are not merely motor nuclei within the brain

Credit Markets in an Emerging Economy: Evidence from Pakistan

This thesis examines default resolution, fresh credit and lending relationships. The results suggest that collateral expedites both default resolution and access to fresh credit while higher interest rates increase duration of default. The impact of lender-borrower relationship on terms of credit varies by types of financial institution and firm. A longer relationship of a firm with the CEO of its bank results in lower risk premia

KOH etching of (100) Si wafer, No 1

This report describes KOH etching of (100) Si wafer through a hard mask of silicon oxide, and reveals that the scattered etch rate is ascribed to the etch rates of the different crystal planes exposed during the etching