Consumer Perception and Attitude towards Credit Card Usage: A Study of Pakistani Consumers

Consumer financing have become increasingly important in the private sector of Pakistan for the last two decades. With the new reforms in the banking sector, the marketing of financial products has become very competitive, creating a need for strategizing the marketing efforts. This study investigates the shift of Pakistani consumers towards the use of plastic money, with emphasis on credit cards. A survey of consumers holding (at least) one or no credit card were used for data collection. Variables related to demographics such as age, income level and gender have also been taken into consideration. This study makes (the) use of descriptive variables in terms of analyzing the general attitude about the use of credit cards and the factors contributing towards the selection of (a) one particular credit card over the other. A positive relationship has been found between the income level of a person and his/her possession of the credit card. While making the choice of a credit card the trust in a particular brand name seems to hold a very significant importance in the selection of a credit card, instead of the logo of Visa or Master card. The profession of the person seems to play a very interesting role with their behavior towards credit cards. Our study shows that the bankers hold negative attitude towards the use of a credit card. The moderating variables include the marketing campaign of a particular bank, sales teams support, openness from retailers for accepting credit card instead of cash, knowledge about the true interest rate imposed by the banks and the concept of Islamic mode of financing, etc. Based on our observations, suggestions have also been made for managers to refine the target market

SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES IN PAKISTAN: DEFINITION AND CRITICAL ISSUES

SMEs play a vital role in the development of an economy. Thecontribution of Pakistani SMEs is less as compared to other countries, yet their significance cannot be denied. The SME sector is facing multifarious problems that made it difficult to contribute to the nation‘s GDP. This paper attempts to focus on the major constraints faced by the SMEs. The basic problem starts with no defined and standardized size for SMEs. The paper examines the definitions of SMEs given by different government organizations in Pakistan with some possible suggestion for one standard SME definition (in terms of size). This paper also highlights the critical issues of Pakistani SMEs such as financial, human, physical and technological. The paper concludes with some brief prospects by recommending a few implications for policy

Anatomical location of inferior alveolar canal in different age groups in local population

Objective: To assess the radiographic location of the inferior alveolar canal and its association with age and gender. Methodology: This observational study was conducted at the dental department of Isra University Hospital Hyderabad, in the time duration of six months (Sep-2015 to Feb-2016). All the adult patients aged ≥18 years with permanent teeth underwent diagnostic quality imaging with suitable contrast and density, presence of first molar, 1st & 2nd premolar and canine in images, superimposition of structures and either of gender were included. Patients underwent panoramic digital imaging. The manufacturer’s guide-based images were produced using panoramic machine (digital) to assess multi-pattern of inferior dental canal using software “OWANDY OPG I-MAX TOUCH OSP and Quick vision to get histogram equalization and gray values. The entire data was entered in self-made proforma and was analyzed by using SPSS 20th version. Results: Overall 70 patients were studied; their mean age was 28.23+12.43 years, females were found in the majority (57.14%). Most of the patients (54.28%) were seen with inferior alveolar variations of Type I, followed by 21.42% Type II, 14.28% type III and 10% with Type IV. According to the site of mandibular canal locations; 21 of 70 had right side, 15 had left side and 34 had bilateral. There was statistically no significant variance in the appearance of inferior alveolar nerve according to age and gender. Conclusion: Localized superior and inferior borders were 54.28% in our population to avoid injury during the maxillofacial surgery or during dental implant procedures. There was an insignificant difference in location according to age and gende

Why Workers Switch Industry? The Case of Textile Industry of Pakistan

Abstract: The main objective of this study is to identify core reasons for employee's turnover. The study is descriptive and cross-sectional. Twenty turnover intentions are identified from the literature and a questionnaire is designed on 5 point likert-scale for data collection. A sample of 160 respondents has been randomly selected from the textile industry of Pakistan. The data has been analyzed through one sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. The study reveals the most prominent factors responsible for employees' intentions to leave and offer practitioners and researchers some practical recommendations to retain the workforce

Rare presentation of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and neurogenic stunned myocardium in a patient after emergency cesarean section

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is clinically characterized by seizures, lethargy, nausea and visual impairment. These findings are thought to be due to vasogenic edema, predominantly in the posterior cerebral hemispheres and are reversible with appropriate management. Neurogenicstunned myocardium is a syndrome of reversible left ventricular dysfunction, associated with excessive sympathetic discharge states like pheochromocytoma, high-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), status epilepticus and significant emotional stress. Here, we report a case of PRES and Neurogenic-stunned myocardium occurring simultaneously in a 25 year old primigravida at 34 weeks of gestation with twin pregnancy who presented to the emergency department with eclampsia and fetal distress. A careful review of literature did not return any report where these two conditions co-existed in an obstetric patient

Effect of screening and management of diabetes during pregnancy on stillbirths

Background:Diabetes during pregnancy is associated with significant risk of complications to the mother, fetus and newborn. We reviewed the potential impact of early detection and control of diabetes mellitus during pregnancy on stillbirths for possible inclusion in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST). Methods: A systematic literature search up to July 2010 was done to identify all published randomized controlled trials and observational studies. A standardized data abstraction sheet was employed and data were abstracted by two independent authors. Meta-analyses were performed with different sub-group analyses. The analyses were graded according to the CHERG rules using the adapted GRADE criteria and recommendations made after assessing the overall quality of the studies included in the meta-analyses. Results: A total of 70 studies were selected for data extraction including fourteen intervention studies and fifty six observational studies. No randomized controlled trials were identified evaluating early detection of diabetes mellitus in pregnancy versus standard screening (glucose challenge test between 24(th) to 28(th) week of gestation) in pregnancy. Intensive management of gestational diabetes (including specialized dietary advice, increased monitoring and tailored dietary therapy) during pregnancy (3 studies: 3791 participants) versus conventional management (dietary advice and insulin as required) was associated with a non-significant reduction in the risk of stillbirths (RR 0.20, 95% CI: 0.03-1.10) (\u27moderate\u27 quality evidence). Optimal control of serum blood glucose versus sub-optimal control was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of perinatal mortality (2 studies, 5286 participants: RR=0.40, 95% CI 0.25-0.63), but not stillbirths (3 studies, 2469 participants: RR=0.51, 95% CI 0.14-1.88). Preconception care of diabetes (information about need for optimization of glycemic control before pregnancy, assessment of diabetes complications, review of dietary habits, intensification of capillary blood glucose self-monitoring and optimization of insulin therapy) versus none (3 studies: 910 participants) was associated with a reduction in perinatal mortality (RR=0.29, 95% CI 0.14 -0.60). Using the Delphi process for estimating effect size of optimal diabetes recognition and management yielded a median effect size of 10% reduction in stillbirths. Conclusion: Diabetes, especially pre-gestational diabetes with its attendant vascular complications, is a significant risk factor for stillbirth and perinatal death. Our review highlights the fact that very few studies of adequate quality are available that can provide estimates of the effect of screening for aid management of diabetes in pregnancy on stillbirth risk. Using the Delphi process we recommend a conservative 10% reduction in the risk of stillbirths, as a point estimate for inclusion in the LiST

Hepatitis C in pregnancy: an observational study highlighting its association with maternal parameters

Background: Pregnancy is a very crucial time in a woman’s life. In this period of time, not only multiple physiological alterations effect the usual health status but also makes women more vulnerable to contract infection and face negative sequalae. Hepatitis C, a blood borne viral infection serve the similar fate when encountered by pregnant ladies. This study is based on exploring the prevalence of the Hepatitis C virus seropositivity among pregnant population. Moreover, we also evaluated the major risk factors leading to the infection in these mothers. Besides this, infected mothers were studied for their pregnancy outcomes.Methods: In this study 114 pregnant females were observed for this cross-sectional study. It was conducted in Gynecology Unit- 1, Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad, for the period of January 2017 to July 2017. Chi square test was applied for statistical analysis on SPSS version 16. The criteria for enrollment in the study was set to be a pregnant lady belonging to age group 20-35 years; having singleton pregnancy; was a booked case at the hospital with compliant to antenatal follow ups; admitted to the labor room for delivery. All the non-pregnant ladies, whom had co morbid conditions such as hypertension or diabetes or had infected with hepatitis B or D were excluded from the study. Furthermore, pregnant ladies with multiple gestion or those who were either diagnosed of hepatitis C prior to conceive or had a previous history of hepatitis C were also excluded.Results: Present study revealed that out of 114, 10(8.8%) pregnant ladies were found seropositive for Hepatitis C virus. Prior history for transfusion of blood was the Foremost risk factor discovered, with 60.5% women reported this. History of surgery was the 2nd commonest factor and 43.9% had this in their medical records. On the other hand, only 8.8% women gave the history for previous evacuation. While observing pregnancy outcomes, we found 48.2% neonates had low birth weight, 41.2% were born preterm and 21.1% had low APGAR score.Conclusions: In a nutshell hepatitis c is prevalent in the pregnant population of this region and showing its effects in the form of compromised pregnancies. History of blood transfusion and previous surgery were found to be chief risk factors in the study

Prospective evaluation of serum procalcitonin in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis- experience from a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Background: Sepsis is the leading cause of mortality in critically ill patients. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a promising marker for identification of bacterial sepsis. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of serum PCT concentration in patients with suspected sepsis admitted to mixed medical-surgical Intensive care unit (ICU).Material and methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at section of Chemical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and ICU. Patients with suspected sepsis were included, serum PCT cut off ≥0.5 ng/ml was taken for diagnosing sepsis. Diagnostic accuracy was measured in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) taking blood culture as gold standard. Furthermore, different cut offs were compared by using receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). Data analysis was done on SPSS version 20. Results: Median age of the study group (n = 103) was 48 years (IQR: 22), 60% being males. Out of the 103 patients included 82 patients had PCT levels above the optimal cut off. At a serum PCT cutoff of 0.5 μg/L, the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of sepsis was found to be 93.75% and 43.59% respectively. NPV was higher compared to PPV making PCT a reliable marker to for the screening out of sepsis patients. Furthermore, it was revealed that PCT having an AUC = 0.70 outperformed WBC (AUC = 0.5) and CRP (AUC = 0.6). Conclusion: Elevated PCT concentration is a promising indicator of sepsis in newly admitted critically ill patients capable of complementing clinical signs and routine laboratory parameter

Cough, Hemoptysis and Hair Expectoration: An Intrapulmonary Teratoma

Teratomas can be found in different organs of the body and may involve gonads, saccrococcygeal region, mediastinum and other sites. Intrathoracic teratomas always occur in mediastinum and less often arise within the lung. As teratomas mostly involve sex organs (gonads), they rarely occur as extra-gonadal tumors accounting for only 3% of all the cases and very small percentage of such tumors occur in mediastinum.We reported an interesting case of middle aged male who presented to us with symptoms of cough, hemoptysis and trichoptysis (hair expectoration).We found that patient had intrapulmonary teratoma that was initially being treated as case of pulmonary tuberculosis. He underwent surgical resection of his cavitatory lesion and diagnosis of intrapulmonary teratoma was confirmed by histopathology as well. The patient made remarkable recovery with complete disappearance of his symptoms. From Pakistan no such case has ever been reported. Although it is very unusual but in patient with cavitatory lesion, intrapulmonary teratoma should always be kept in mind as differential diagnosis