Role of Work Family Conflict on Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness

This research study explores the relationship of work family conflicts with organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. Mainly the study was conducted in service sector of two cities of Pakistan including D. G. Khan and Multan. Target sample included University Teachers and personnel of banking institutions within these two cities. There were one predictor variable, work family conflict and two criterion variables, organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. For the purpose of data collection a structured questionnaire was used and seven point Likert scale was applied to measure the response of 306 respondents. The questionnaire was consisting of a total of 46 questions. Total 400 questionnaires were distributed among different respondents of these two cities out of which 306 were returned from respondents those were useable for data analysis. So response rate for this study was 77 percent. SPSS v.20 was incorporated for data analysis. Different statistical techniques were used like factor loading (As a data reduction technique), Reliability analysis (To check the consistency among the different questions of a variable), Descriptive statistics (To check the central tendency), Correlation analysis (To check the relationship among variables) and regression analysis including model summary and ANOVA (To check the cause and effect relationship among variables). Results found that work family conflict is negatively related with organizational effectiveness and same was found true for organizational commitment so work family conflict is a significant predictor for organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. It is suggested that managers of organizations should consider the factors of work family conflicts in policy making and should take reasonable proper steps to improve organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness and to reduce work family conflicts. Keywords: work family conflict, organizational commitment, organizational effectivenes

ROLE OF SONOELASTOGRAPHY IN THE EVALUATION OF THYROID NODULES

Thyroid nodular disease is one of the most common endocrine disorder. B mode ultrasound provides useful characteristic information about thyroid nodules but it has noticeably low accuracy to differentiate benign from malignant. Fine needle aspiration is widely been used in differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules but it is an invasive procedure. Sonoelastography is a newly developed non- invasive technique which uses ultrasound and gives information about the stiffness of tissue. It estimates the hardness of thyroid lesions in association with adjacent tissues and assists in the differentiation of benign from malignant nodules.Objective:The objective of this study was to evaluate the role sonoelastography in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Methods:This study was conducted on 72 Patients of age between 18-80 years of either gender at Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Lahore (INMOL) Pakistan, from 25 March 2019 to 23 August 2019 for duration of five months. Elastography was performed using Toshiba Aplio 500.  Patient having one or more solid nodules in thyroid on conventional ultrasound examination were included in the study and the sonoelastography of nodules was confirmed with histopathological findings of nodules. Results: A total 72 participants were included in our study. The mean age of participants was 42.11 years. Gender distribution shows that 51.4% (n=37) were male and 48.6% (n=35) were female. Sonoelastographic strain ratio of 55.6% nodules (n=40) was more than 2.1(malignant feature) and 44.4% nodules (n=32) have less than 2.1 (benign). Histopathology showed 56.9% of participants (n=41) have malignant nodules and 43.1% (n=31) have benign nodules. The comparison of sonoelastography and histopathology in reference with nodules shows that the results of histopathology and sonoelastography were same and support each other. Conclusion: Sonoelastography is non-invasive and cost-effective imaging technique to diagnose thyroid nodules either benign or malignant. Keywords: Ultrasound Elastography, Thyroid Nodules, Benign, Malignant, Fine Needle Aspiration. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/66-08 Publication date:September 30th 201

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women with Perinatal Anxiety Symptoms in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on people with existing mental health conditions is likely to be high. We explored the consequences of the pandemic on women of lower socioeconomic status with prenatal anxiety symptoms living in urban Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This qualitative study was embedded within an ongoing randomized controlled trial of psychosocial intervention for prenatal anxiety at a public hospital in Rawalpindi. The participants were women with symptoms of anxiety who had received or were receiving the intervention. In total, 27 interviews were conducted; 13 women were in their third trimester of pregnancy, and 14 were in their postnatal period. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using framework analysis. Key findings were that during the pandemic, women experienced increased perinatal anxiety that was linked to greater financial problems, uncertainties over availability of appropriate obstetric healthcare, and a lack of trust in health professionals. Women experienced increased levels of fear for their own and their baby’s health and safety, especially due to fear of infection. COVID-19 appears to have contributed to symptoms of anxiety in women already predisposed to anxiety in the prenatal period. Efforts to address women’s heightened anxiety due to the pandemic are likely to have public health benefits.</jats:p

Adherence to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for chronic heart failure - A national survey of the cardiologists in Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aims of this study were to evaluate the awareness of and attitudes towards the 2005 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for Heart Failure (HF) of the cardiologists in Pakistan and assess barriers to adherence to guidelines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted in person from March to July 2009 to all cardiologists practicing in 4 major cities in Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar). A validated, semi-structured questionnaire assessing ESC 2005 Guidelines for HF was used to obtain information from cardiologists. It included questions about awareness and relevance of HF guidelines (See Additional File <supplr sid="S1">1</supplr>). Respondents' management choices were compared with those of an expert panel based on the guidelines for three fictitious patient cases. Cardiologists were also asked about major barriers to adherence to guidelines.</p> <suppl id="S1"> <title> <p>Additional file 1</p> </title> <text> <p><b>Questionnaire</b>. Description: Questionnaire that was administered to participants.</p> </text> <file name="1471-2261-11-68-S1.DOC"> <p>Click here for file</p> </file> </suppl> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 372 cardiologists were approached; 305 consented to participate (overall response rate, 82.0%). The survey showed a very high awareness of CHF guidelines; 97.4% aware of any guideline. About 13.8% considered ESC guidelines as relevant or very relevant for guiding treatment decisions while 92.8% chose AHA guidelines in relevance. 87.2% of respondents perceived that they adhered to the HF guidelines. For the patient cases, the proportions of respondents who made recommendations that completely matched those of the guidelines were 7% (Scenario 1), 0% (Scenario 2) and 20% (Scenario 3). Respondents considered patient compliance (59%) and cost/health economics (50%) as major barriers to guideline implementation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found important self reported departures from recommended HF management guidelines among cardiologists of Pakistan.</p

Cobalt availability in the soil plant and animal food chain: a study under a peri-urban environment

Abstract Cobalt metal is considered as an essential trace element for the animals. Present investigation was undertaken in the peri-urban area to analyze the cobalt availability in animal food chain by using different indices. Cow, buffalo and sheep samples along with forage and soil samples were collected from the three different sites of District Jhang and analyzed through atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Cobalt values differed in soil samples as 0.315-0.535 mg/kg, forages as 0.127-0.333 mg/kg and animal samples as 0.364-0.504 mg/kg. Analyzed cobalt concentration in soil, forage and animal samples was found to be deficient in concentration with respect to standard limits. Soil showed the minimum cobalt level in Z. mays while maximum concentration was examined in the forage C. decidua samples. All indices examined in this study has values lesser than 1, representing the safer limits of the cobalt concentration in these samples. Enrichment factor (0.071-0.161 mg/kg) showed the highly deficient amount of cobalt enrichment in this area. Bio-concentration factor (0.392-0.883) and pollution load index (0.035-0.059 mg/kg) values were also lesser than 1 explains that plant and soil samples are not contaminated with cobalt metal. The daily intake and health risk index ranged from 0.00019-0.00064 mg/kg/day and 0.0044-0.0150 mg/kg/day respectively. Among the animals, cobalt availability was maximum (0.0150 mg/kg/day) in the buffaloes that grazed on the C. decidua fodder. Results of this study concluded that cobalt containing fertilizers must be applied on the soil and forages. Animal feed derived from the cobalt containing supplements are supplied to the animals, to fulfill the nutritional requirements of livestock

Impact of Executive Compensation, CEO Compensation and Board Diversity on Organizational Performance with Moderating Effect of Systemic Factors

Purpose: Current research intended to probe the impact of executive compensation, CEO compensation and diversity on the organizational financial performance with the moderating role of systemic factors. Systemic factors are overall country based factors such as political, economic, social and legal factors that may moderate the relationship of executive compensation, CEO compensation, diversity and organizational performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: To conduct study secondary data is collected from annual reports of domestic scheduled public sector banks of 2015-2020. Executive compensation, CEO compensation and board gender diversity are bootstrapped on organizational performance by using MS Excel and Stata17. Linear regression and moderated hierarchical regression analysis is used for data analysis. Findings: Results shows that Executive compensation, CEO compensation and diversity has signification positive impact on organizational performance. Moreover systemic factors moderates the predictors and outcome relationship Implications/Originality/Value: This paper explores the relationship of Executive &amp; CEO compensation, board gender diversity and organizational performance with the moderating role of systemic factors, which has largely been ignored in the previous literature &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp

Comparison of SAME verses CIMT on upper-limb functions in chronic stroke: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial

Objective: To compare the effects of Same Arm Movement Therapy versus Constraint Induced Movement Therapy in improving upper-limb functions in patients of chronic stroke. Method: The pilot, assessor-blind, randomised control trial was conducted from February to September 2020 at the Spine and Physiotherapy Rehab Centre, Riphah Rehabilitation Centre, Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised patients of either gender aged 30-60 years having any type of stroke for a minimum 3 months. They were randomised into group A which received same arm movement therapy for 8 weeks of mental rehearsal of upper limb movements during 45min supervised sessions three times a week and structured independent sessions twice a week, and group B which received constrain induced movement therapy for eight weeks of daily intensive training of the affected extremity for two hours per day, five days per week for eight weeks in association with restriction of the non-affected extremity for 10 hours a day. Measurements were taken at baseline and post-intervention. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 22 patients, 5(22.7%) were male and 17(77.3%) were female. The average age in group A was 54.91±5.89 years compared to 53.18±6.61 years in group B. All 22(100%) patients had ischemic stroke. Intragroup comparisons showed significant progress in both groups (p0.05). Conclusion: Both the study interventions had similar effect on upper limb functions among chronic stroke patients. Key Words: Stroke, Therapy, Upper limb, Functions, CIMT, SAME. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials RCT20200620047848N1 https://www.irct.ir/trial/4905

Literature review presenting disclosure of mental illness: is it better to pursue your lips?

Background: the paper highlights the advantages and disadvantages of disclosure of a mental illness by an individual at workplace, home or within society. It has been observed that fear of shame; discrimination and stigmatization are pertinent causes of non-disclosure and influence delay in treatment and recovery. However, disclosure of mental illness uplifts self-confidence, sense of freedom and brings up support groups. Method: various research journals were preferred and consider being a consistent and diverse study. Non-disclosure of mental illness greatly impact on treatment and recovery. An unreported or unidentified case of mental illness can lead to far reaching and horrifying outcomes Findings: it has been observed through researches that Individuals with mental illness don’t prefer to disclose due to fear of stigmatization within our culture which could lead to severe consequences such as delayed in treatment and recovery. However if it is disclosed promptly it could be beneficial not only for self but also for the family. The family plays a important role in helping the individual through the disclosure process. This paper will identify the various pros and cons of disclosure and nondisclosure of mental illness in the light of disclosure model and recommendations to reduce the number of unreported mental illnesses Keywords: mental health, disclosure, stigma, discriminatio

Stuttering As a Disability in Pakistan; Policies and Its Implementation

Objective:&nbsp;&nbsp;Stuttering is a disorder of speech fluency not only includes academic and social consequences but also has emotional/behavioral outcomes. Stuttering leads to negative emotions and feelings i.e., low confidence, frustration, shame, embarrassment, poor self-image, and negative social identity. The present study was aimed at incorporating the definition of disability in Pakistan policy and determining the position of stuttering in it. Materials and Methods:&nbsp;&nbsp;The nature of the current study is qualitatively conducted on 10 Participants approached through convenient sapling and exploring their responses through Thematic analysis. Participants falling in this category were recruited into the study from SLPs, Lawyers, disability advocates, and CSPs as per inclusion criteria. Common masses were excluded from the study. A Self-Developed Questionnaire/structured interviews were conducted. Questions developed by the Lawshe method. The tool was validated through content validity by 10“experts”. Results:&nbsp;&nbsp;Thematic analysis was done and the findings of the study indicated an individual’s negative reaction towards association with any kind of disability and communication barriers are also the main source of not fitting disability as a definition. Results also showed that lack of assessment and screening tools are the main barrier, however, Visibility as per data in research publications also consider a barrier towards recognition of it. Conclusion:&nbsp;&nbsp;The study has practical implications regarding stuttering as a Disability in Pakistan