Development of a benchmarking framework to assist educationists and schools on sharing strategies and application of best practices : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Benchmarking is used by organisations for comparing performance and for the learning and implementation of best practices. While benchmarking remains a widely recognised improvement tool for practitioners, its application by school systems and schools still remains to be investigated. In this research, an exploratory pragmatic multiphase mixed methods research approach is adopted to investigate the use of benchmarking by school systems and schools. Through the preliminary literature review, school systems and schools were recognised to be using benchmarking informally without being aware of its application. Further research showed that informal benchmarking brought improvements to school systems and schools. It is envisaged that school systems and schools can obtain greater improvements through the systematic use of benchmarking. Therefore, a benchmarking framework has been developed to assist school systems and schools in the planning and application of benchmarking. At the start of the research, a preliminary conceptual model of effective benchmarking was developed and this model has guided the research methodology. Then, a literature review was conducted to validate the use of benchmarking by school systems and schools. Next, a quantitative-qualitative survey was administered to school systems (n = 20) and schools (n = 183) to determine the frequency of benchmarking used by school systems and schools and its contribution to their performance, along with an identification of the benchmarking techniques used. The survey also recognised school systems and schools obtaining effective performance through benchmarking. Subsequently, qualitative structured interviews were conducted with these school systems (n = 4) and schools (n = 19) for an exploration of their benchmarking techniques and success factors. Finally, findings from all three phases of the research were integrated to develop a benchmarking framework to assist school systems and schools in the planning and application of benchmarking for the learning and implementation of best practices. The theoretical contributions of the research include the acknowledgement of use of benchmarking by school systems and schools and the confirmation of the association between benchmarking and performance improvement. The practical contribution is the Benchmarking Framework developed to assist school systems and schools in the application of benchmarking approaches and to guide them in the identification and implementation of best practices. Finally, the limitations and future research opportunities have been outlined. One of the most significant research opportunities is to apply the Benchmarking Framework for an actual benchmarking project for the learning and implementation of best practices

Do Legal and Institutional Reforms in Punjab, Pakistan Protect Women’s Inherited Land Rights?

Economic marginalization is a key feature of gender inequality globally. In Pakistan, which ranks 153 out of 156 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2020, economic marginalization has significantly hampered efforts towards inclusivity. In comparison to dismal levels of female literacy and formal occupation (traditional measures of development), inheritance is an interesting category—a right enshrined both in Islam (the official state religion) and the country’s constitution. Given Pakistan’s agrarian and otherwise rent-seeking economic orientation, land inheritance plays a pivotal role in financial wellbeing regardless of gender. However, a pervasive denial of women’s inheritance rights has been the norm. Considering the data and impelled by its international obligations, the Government criminalized denial of inheritance in 2011, followed by a series of legal and institutional reforms in the province of Punjab. These reforms include provisions for help desks dedicated to women at key offices, digitization of land records, and clamping down on anti-women practices that aid denial of inheritance. It is alarming to note that not much has changed in terms of women’s land inheritance since 2011. To understand what is impeding the amendment’s efficacy, the study frames these developments from a socialist feminist perspective and captures the opinions of experts engaged with the cause in various capacities. We selected Punjab as a case study and recruited twelve legal, revenue, Islamic, and women’s right experts through purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted, and the findings were thematically organized. Experts largely agreed that cultural change is a long-term process and that there has been a patriarchal monopoly of Islamic interpretation. On a more practical end, issues plaguing developing economies were highlighted in addition to institutionalized patriarchy, female mobility, patriarchal control of citizenship and land documents, and bureaucratic hurdles. We recommend the recruitment of more female staff in all relevant offices, adoption of better data management practices catering to institutional harmony, and that district inheritance committees be operationalized, among other measures

Contemporary incidence and risk factors of post transplant Erythrocytosis in deceased donor kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Post-Transplant erythrocytosis (PTE) has not been studied in large recent cohorts. In this study, we evaluated the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of PTE with current transplant practices using the present World Health Organization criteria to define erythrocytosis. We also tested the hypothesis that the risk of PTE is greater with higher-quality kidneys. METHODS: We utilized the Deceased Donor Study which is an ongoing, multicenter, observational study of deceased donors and their kidney recipients that were transplanted between 2010 and 2013 across 13 centers. Eryrthocytosis is defined by hemoglobin\u3e 16.5 g/dL in men and\u3e 16 g/dL in women. Kidney quality is measured by Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI). RESULTS: Of the 1123 recipients qualified to be in this study, PTE was observed at a median of 18 months in 75 (6.6%) recipients. Compared to recipients without PTE, those with PTE were younger [mean 48±11 vs 54±13 years, p \u3c 0.001], more likely to have polycystic kidney disease [17% vs 6%, p \u3c 0.001], have received kidneys from younger donors [36 ±13 vs 41±15 years], and be on RAAS inhibitors [35% vs 22%, p \u3c 0.001]. Recipients with PTE were less likely to have received kidneys from donors with hypertension [16% vs 32%, p = 0.004], diabetes [1% vs 11%, p = 0.008], and cerebrovascular event (24% vs 36%, p = 0.036). Higher KDPI was associated with decreased PTE risk [HR 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99)]. Over 60 months of follow-up, only 17 (36%) recipients had sustained PTE. There was no association between PTE and graft failure or mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of PTE was low in our study and PTE resolved in majority of patients. Lower KDPI increases risk of PTE. The underutilization of RAAS inhibitors in PTE patients raises the possibility of under-recognition of this phenomenon and should be explored in future studies

Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement between Emotional Manipulation and Psychological Well-Being: Does Age Matter?

Background/Aims: When people hone their emotional skills, they become better at manipulating others. They use their emotional skills for coping with the demands of life. This study investigated the mediating role of moral disengagement between emotional manipulation and psychological well-being. Further, the moderating role of age is tested for the mediation model of the study. Methods: This study has a cross-sectional design. Participants included students from private and public institutions (n = 542; Mean age = 18.59 years, SD = 2.10 years; gender = 46% males). Responses were collected on emotional manipulation, moral disengagement, and psychological well-being questionnaires. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 21 and PROCESS 3.1. Results: The correlation analysis showed that both in late adolescents and young adults, moral disengagement negatively correlated with psychological well-being. However, the correlation is much stronger for young adults as compared to late adolescents. Similarly, emotional manipulation has a stronger positive correlation with moral disengagement in young adults compared to late adolescents. Results also showed that moral disengagement and emotional manipulation is higher in males than females, and psychological well-being is higher in females than males. Moral disengagement appeared to be a negative mediator for the relationship between emotional manipulation and psychological well-being. Further, age moderated the indirect effect of emotional manipulation on psychological well-being through moral disengagement. The moderation of age suggests that young adults are more inclined toward moral disengagement behaviors for manipulating emotions in comparison to late adolescents. Conclusions: It is concluded that use of emotional manipulation is associated with a direct increase in psychological well-being; however, indirect emotional manipulation decreases psychological well-being, with an increased use of moral disengagement. Moreover, this indirect effect is stronger in young adults compared to late adolescents, as young adults are more inclined toward moral disengagement

Effects of viscous dissipation on MHD tangent hyperbolic fluid over a nonlinear stretching sheet with convective boundary conditions

Present analysis is concentrating on the thermo-physical aspects of MHD tangent hyperbolic fluid flow over a non-linear stretching sheet with viscous dissipation and convective boundary conditions. Mathematical modelling yields non-linear partial differential equations. The governing equations are transformed into corresponding coupled ordinary differential equations via using local similarity variables. The accomplished boundary layer ordinary differential equations are solved with the aid of both homotopy analysis method and shooting method. The effects of flow govern parameters are visualized on velocity and temperature in both qualitative and quantitative manners. The computations of wall friction factor and local Nusselt number are performed to analyze the behavior in the vicinity of stretching sheet. The contrast between analytically and numerically computed values of wall friction factor and local Nusselt number is presented. It is worth mentioning that the both results are in excellent agreement, this favorable comparison led to confidence on computed results. Keywords: Tangent hyperbolic fluid, MHD, Viscous dissipation, Convective boundary conditions, Non-linear stretching sheet, HAM, Shooting metho

Green Synthesized FM-AgNPs Lead to Alterations in Hematology, Oxidative Stress Biomarkers, and Microanatomy of Liver and Spleen in Rats

Abstract Widespread use of green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in pharmaceutical and cosmetics demand for its toxicological assessment. The current study describes the influence of exposure to kumquat, Fortunella margarita (FM) synthesized AgNPs in albino rats. Animals (n=60) were randomly distributed into four groups. Group, I served as control while groups II-IV were exposed to FM-AgNPs by the single intraperitoneal dose of 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Animals were sacrificed at two-week intervals up to 5 weeks. Hematology, tissue (liver and spleen) oxidative stress biomarkers (SOD, CAT, and MDA), and histopathological examination were performed. Significant elevation in hemoglobin (Hb), Erythrocyte count (RBC), hematocrits (HCT), and hematological indices and depletion in total leukocytes count (TLC) was recorded at different time points. Similarly, a significant increase in SOD, CAT, and MDA activity was observed in both liver and spleen. But changes (p ≤ 0.005) in the spleen was recorded more consistently. Exposures to the high dose of FM-AgNPs lead to significant alterations in microanatomy of the liver and spleen. In liver vacuolization, enucleation, necrosis, congestion, and reduction in the size of cell, nucleus, portal vein, and elevation in cell density per unit area were recorded. In the spleen, except for enlargement in splenic sinuses, no other alterations could be recorded. It is concluded that FM-AgNPs leaves time and dose-dependent toxicity in rats but variations are more evident at high doses

Meta-Analysis of miRNAs and Their Involvement as Biomarkers in Oral Cancers

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Recent studies have highlighted the role of miRNA in disease pathology, indicating its potential use as an early diagnostic marker. Dysregulated expression of miRNAs is known to affect cell growth, and these may function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes in various cancers. The main objective of this study was to characterize the extracellular miRNAs involved in oral cancer (OC) that can potentially be used as biomarkers of OC. A total of 318 miRNAs involved in oral carcinoma were shortlisted. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of oral carcinoma from reported experiments were identified. Common genes between lists of DEGs of OC of each miRNA were identified. These common genes are the targets of specific miRNA, which may be used as biomarkers of OC. A list of significant biomarkers for cancer was generated like CDH2 and CDK7, and functional enrichment analysis identified the role of miRNAs in major pathways like cell adhesion molecules pathway affected by cancer. We observed that at least 25 genes like ABCF3, ALDH2, CD163L1, and so forth are regulated by a maximum number of miRNAs; thereby, they can be used as biomarkers of OC

The Impact of Agile Methodology on Project Success, with a Moderating Role of Person’s Job Fit in the IT Industry of Pakistan

Computing software plays an essential role in almost every sector of the digital age, but the process of efficient software development still faces several challenges. Effective software development methodology can be the difference between the success and failure of a software project. This research aims to evaluate the overall impact of Agile Software Development (ASD) on the individual, organizational, software development, and project management dimensions. For this purpose, we surveyed several software development professionals from a variety of backgrounds (experience, location, and job ranks) to explore the impact of ASD on the IT industry of Pakistan. Our analysis of the collected information is two folds. First, we summarized the findings from our surveys graphically clearly show the opinions of our survey respondents regarding the effectiveness of the Agile methodology for software development. Secondly, we utilized quantitative measures to analyze the same data statistically. A comparison is drawn between the graphical and statistical analysis to verify the reliability of our findings. Our findings suggest the existence of a strong relationship between effective software development and the use of Agile processes. Our analysis shows that the job fit of software development professionals and ASD are critical factors for software development project success in terms of cost, quality, stakeholders satisfaction, and time. Although the study focuses on the IT industry of Pakistan, the findings can be generalized easily to other developing IT industries worldwide

Modulation of ADAR mRNA expression in patients with congenital heart defects.

Adenosine (A) to inosine (I) RNA editing is a hydrolytic deamination reaction catalyzed by the adenosine deaminase (ADAR) enzyme acting on double-stranded RNA. This posttranscriptional process diversifies a plethora of transcripts, including coding and noncoding RNAs. Interestingly, few studies have been carried out to determine the role of RNA editing in vascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine the potential role of ADARs in congenital heart disease. Strong downregulation of ADAR2 and increase in ADAR1 expression was observed in blood samples from congenital heart disease (CHD) patients. The decrease in expression of ADAR2 was in line with its downregulation in ventricular tissues of dilated cardiomyopathy patients. To further decipher the plausible regulatory pathway of ADAR2 with respect to heart physiology, miRNA profiling of ADAR2 was performed on tissues from ADAR2-/- mouse hearts. Downregulation of miRNAs (miR-29b, miR-405, and miR-19) associated with cardiomyopathy and cardiac fibrosis was observed. Moreover, the upregulation of miR-29b targets COL1A2 and IGF1, indicated that ADAR2 might be involved in cardiac myopathy. The ADAR2 target vascular development associated protein-coding gene filamin B (FLNB) was selected. The editing levels of FLNB were dramatically reduced in ADAR2-/- mice; however, no observable changes in FLNB expression were noted in ADAR2-/- mice compared to wild-type mice. This study proposes that sufficient ADAR2 enzyme activity might play a vital role in preventing cardiovascular defects