Examining Factors of Entrepreneurial Success: Culture, Gender, Education, Family, Self-Perception

Objective: To examine the potential and contribution of culture, gender, education, family background and self-perception as factors of success in entrepreneurial ventures in Punjab the largest (64%) population province of Pakistan. In the context of developing countries economic growth is attributed to small enterprises as they generate employment.  Mortality rate of small enterprises is exceedingly high; and a study by Khawaja (2006) on Pakistan SME has reported that only 19% start-ups survived before they reach the 5th year. Prior Work: However in another study by Vesper (1990), in non-Pakistani environment found that only 10% of ventures survive after three years of existence. Therefore it is important to study success as perceived by entrepreneurs and various contributing influences. About the definition of entrepreneurial success there is no consensus among researchers. Stefanovic et al 2010 enumerated previous experience, hard work, access to capital, personal capabilities, and leadership skills as factors affecting success experience and knowledge. Focus on role of education is not meant to deny the importance of other factors that contribute to entrepreneurial success, such as, the nature of the entrepreneur; his/her character traits.    McClelland (1961) had attributed achievement motivation as an entrepreneurial success factor. Cox and Jennings (1995) had identified innovativeness in decision making.  Hodgets and Kuratko (1992) have identified opportunity recognition as an important characteristic of entrepreneurs; Dafna (2008) has focused on leadership qualities as factors affecting success. Approach: However this study is an attempt to understand the role of selected influences that have been mentioned as having some contribution toward success of entrepreneurs; and these were:  1) education, 2) gender, 3) culture, 4) family, and 5) subjectively self - perceived reason of success. Therefore this study is more exploratory than theoretical. Two research questions were explored in this study. Result: Male and female entrepreneurs differed significantly with respect to years of formal education completed as well as with respect to the medium of instructions during formal schooling.   Male and female entrepreneurs differed about their reasons for success, especially about God-gifted qualities and hard work being main reasons for success. Successful entrepreneurs were found more likely to have taken college level SME/ entrepreneurship courses.  Other successful entrepreneurs were found educated informally and gained knowledge through own reading as well.   Other successful entrepreneurs reported that their family background of being in business, their father being in business, and maternal uncle being in business were the likely influences of family and friends. Less successful entrepreneurs were found blaming government failure in providing support to entrepreneurial activity. The successful did not blame the government. Successful entrepreneurs were found likely to be college educated Punjabis. Implication: the Punjabi factor is crucial in this study as Pakistan has a population of 180 million and the Punjabi community comprises of nearly 64% of the population. A knowledge into entrepreneurial success and motivation would help in policymaking oriented toward entrepreneurial development leading to economic development. The other implication would be less reliance to prepare job seekers who are professionals – hence working towards a paradigm shift in education policy. Value: The paper is one of the first to focus on detailed research related activity on the subject of entrepreneurial success factors. Therefore adds to mote comprehensive understanding of creating an Enterprising Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Success factors; education, gender, family, self-perception, cultur

A study of English teachers and students’ perception about the differences between annual and semester system of education at postgraduate level in Mardan

AbstractThis research study tried to seek the perception of English teachers and students’ about the differences between Annual and Semester system in terms of students’ learning strategies at postgraduate level. A public sector university in Mardan (established in February 2009) provided the researchers a population who were new to Semester system and who had been seeking education in Annual system before joining it. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a questionnaire was distributed among a randomly selected 120 students having experience of both the educational systems, and interviews with 10 teachers were conducted to record their perception towards both systems of education.The analysis of the data got from both the tools showed that there was found a significant difference between Annual and Semester system in terms of students learning strategies. In Annual system students used to get ample time to master the target subjects, whereas in Semester system, the students had to synthesize the subjects and were not only made to undergo rigorous evaluation in terms of both intellectual and emotional growth

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION (HPE) AS AN EDUCATIONAL DISCIPLINE IN PAKISTAN: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

Purpose of the study: This article reviews the importance of Health and Physical education (HPE) as an educational discipline in Pakistan: contemporary issues and prospects involved in the negligence of this important sphere of education which range from lack of interest of stakeholders in Pakistan. Methodology: Peer-reviewed and scholarly journals were searched for articles related to Health & Physical education program. Keywords included curriculum, physical activities, instruction, health and nutrition, carrier opportunities, guidance, teacher training because the review aimed to highlight the importance of HPE as an educational discipline in Pakistan and to address the prevailing issues and prospective improvement. Findings: The status of Health and Physical education as an academic discipline was discussed in the article. Among the comparison of the program in Pakistan with that of the others countries, a lack of awareness about the benefits and career opportunities for graduates of HPE is there. Applications of this study: Like other programs and projects, the HPE program aimed at the production of skillful youth who have comprehensive knowledge of the subject and also the practice. This study focused on only Health and physical education program but will help to bring positive change in the other discipline too and will facilitate the production of skilled youth in other academic programs. Novelty/Originality of this study: This review highlights the importance of the Health and Physical education program both at inter, BS ( Bachelor of Studies ), MS, & Ph.D. level and practical outcomes in the shape of physically, mentally, and emotionally fit graduates

Brucellosis in Pakistan: A neglected zoonotic disease

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease; endemic but neglected in the South Asian countries including Pakistan. It causes economic loss to the livestock sector and leads to systemic infection in humans. Brucellosis was neglected in Pakistan since long. According to the Staged Tool for the Elimination of Brucellosis (STEB), Pakistan carries a grim landscape of the disease with no structured control activities. This article describes the five-year national brucellosis control strategic plan (2018-2023) formulated by the government of Pakistan using the one-health approach for the prevention and control of disease across the country. The plan incorporates components of surveillance, research, diagnostic capacity, awareness and vaccination using a multi-disciplinary approach

Communicative ecology of sojourners from Pakistan and its implications for public service campaigns

Communicative ecology of Hajj-pilgrims from Pakistan is examined in a probability sampling.Of the eleven communication contacts identified, contacting friends and co-pilgrims tops the list followed by community organizational sources of information counters, tour operators, and Hajj mission officials.Ethnic newspaper and the mainstream Saudi mass media rank third and fourth. Less than 10% of the responses respectively cited digital billboards & Internet. Community organizations, co-pilgrims, the ethnic newspaper, and the digital screens impacted upon satisfaction. Findings highlight implications for public service campaigns to pilgrims

Numerical Study of a Three-Bed Adsorption Chiller Employing an Advanced Mass Recovery Process

The performance improvement of a three-bed (equal bed) adsorption chiller employing an advanced mass recovery process has been numerically studied in this paper. The mass recovery scheme is used to improve the cooling effect and a CFC-free-based sorption chiller driven by the low-grade waste heat or any renewable energy source can be developed for the next generation of refrigeration. Silica gel/water is taken as adsorbent/adsorbate pair for the present chiller. The three-bed adsorption chiller comprises with three adsorber/desorber heat exchanger, one evaporator and one condenser. In the present numerical solution, the heat source temperature variation is taken from 500C to 900C along with coolant inlet temperature at 300C and the chilled water inlet temperature at 140C. In the new strategy, if any one bed (3rd bed) is connect with the evaporator during pre-heating or pre-cooling time then it will give better performance than that of existing system. In this strategy, mass recovery process also occurs in all bed. A cycle simulation computer program is constructed to analyze the influence of operating conditions (hot and cooling water temperature) on COP (coefficient of performance), and CC (cooling capacity)

Palynological studies in tribe Chlorideae (Poaceae) from salt range of Pakistan

Pollen morphology of five species belonging to three genera of tribe Chlorideae (Poaceae) was examined by light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy. The studies showed that pollen in all species were circular in polar view, however, there are variations in equatorial view of pollen and other quantitative characters that is, polar and equatorial diameter, pore diameter and exine thickness, that are valuable in the identification and differentiation of species. Average pollen fertility in the tribe is 77.37%. Verrucate type of sculpturing is found in all species except Tetrapogon villosus, which showed the rugulate type of sculpturing and can be differentiated from Tetrapogon cenchriformis on the basis of its sculpturing pattern. The studies revealed that pollen characters are important in the taxonomy of grasses at the specific and generic level and can be useful in delimiting taxa of different tribes.Key words: Palynological studies, chlorideae, salt range

Bioequivalence of 2 Azithromycin Capsule Formulations: A Randomized, Single-Dose, Open-Label, 2-Period Crossover Study in Healthy Male Pakistani Volunteers

AbstractBackgroundApproximately 68 brands of azithromycin capsule formulations are available in Pakistan; however, published data on their bioequivalence in the Pakistani population are not available.ObjectiveUpon instructions from and approval of the Ministry of Health, Pakistan, this study was designed to evaluate the bioequivalence of a locally manufactured azithromycin capsule formulation with a reference formulation from a multinational manufacturer. This study compared dissolution profiles, relative bioavailability, and other pharmacokinetic parameters of the 2 formulations.MethodsA single oral 500-mg dose of the 2 formulations was administered to 12 healthy adult Pakistani male volunteers under fasting conditions in a randomized, open-label, 2-period crossover study. The trial included collection of blood samples over 48 hours and a 2-week washout period. Azithromycin serum concentrations were quantified using a validated RP-HPLC/ultraviolet (UV) detection method. These results were used to determine the intended pharmacokinetic parameters. As mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicine Agency, the test and reference formulations were considered bioequivalent if the 90% CIs of the geometric mean ratios for the log-transformed values of their pharmacokinetic parameters were within the predetermined range of 0.8 to 1.25.ResultsWhen subjected to a simple model independent approach of dissolution profile comparison, f1 (difference) and f2 (similarity factor) were found to be 5.47 and 70.04, respectively. Similarly, the 2 azithromycin capsule formulations were well tolerated by all volunteers. Low %CV of the pharmacokinetic parameters at a sample size of 12 and significance level of 0.05 contributed to acceptable (>0.8) power of the test. The 90% CIs for the ratios of Cmax, AUC0–48, Tmax, t1/2, and mean residence time, respectively, were 0.83–0.93, 0.85–1.10, 0.86–1.08, 0.92–1.17, and 0.92–1.16.ConclusionThis single-dose study found that test and reference formulations met the regulatory criteria for bioequivalence in these fasted, healthy male Pakistani volunteers