Relationship between big five personality traits academic performance and academic stress among postgraduate students in Pakistan

Over the years, increased academic stress has been experienced among postgraduate students of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is evident that this academic stress often results in lower academic performance. Despite other factors like academic environment, workload and peer expectations student’s personality traits also play an important role in the level of perceived stress among postgraduate students of HEIs. It has been observed that the level of academic stress among postgraduate students varies according to their personality traits. However, there are limited empirical evidences available to confirm this claim. Therefore, the study aimed to firstly investigate the relationship of personality traits with academic stress of postgraduate students in Pakistan HEIs, and the relationship of personality traits with academic performance among them. The current study also investigated the mediating role of academic stress on this relationship among the postgraduate students of HEIs. Quantitative research design was used in the study with data collected from a proportionate random sampling of 384 postgraduate students enrolled in Pakistan’s HEIs. Furthermore, the data was analyzed descriptively using SPSS before applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SMARTPLS 3.0. The results of the study indicate that the personality trait neuroticism is positively and significantly associated with academic stress while personality trait openness is significant but negatively associated with academic stress. At the same time, personality traits extraversion and openness are positively related with academic performance while personality trait neuroticism is negatively associated with academic performance. Similarly, academic stress mediates the relationship of personality traits conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and extraversion with academic performance. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the HEIs focus on postgraduate students personality development along with academic development in order to improve their performance and skills by using students profiling to help them do better in their academics. However, the study was limited to HEIs students. In order to enrich the result, wider and larger population is recommended

The impact of culture and gender on leadership behavior: Higher education and management perspective

The study of culture, gender and leadership behavior has received much interest from researchers during the last three decades. This paper attempts to propose a conceptual framework consisting three human resource management (HRM) practices (culture, gender and leadership styles) and to explain the relationship among these variables. Culture plays an important role to adopt different leadership styles because it influences the way in which individuals, groups and teams interact with each other and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. The seven cultural elements are measured in the current study i.e., i) member identity ii) rewards criteria iii) team emphasis iv) means-end orientation v) control vi) unit integration and vii) risk/ conflict tolerance. Results show that the culture has a significant influence on male leaders to adopt different leadership styles, but female leaders likely participative in their leadership positions and try to adopt democratic leadership in different cultures

The Delphi Method for Internationalization of Higher Education in Pakistan: Integrating Theory of Constraints and Quality Function Deployment

Improvement of workforce quality is a major concern for the developing countries like Pakistan. Country’s higher education standard determines the quality of their workforce. Developing countries are continuously experiencing different methodologies for the improvement in the higher education standards and to meet the international standards. This study provides a roadmap for improvements in the higher education quality to meet international standard. The study used Delphi approach for the processes of internationalization of higher education. A Delphi panel of 20 educationists participated in the study having minimum 15 years of experience and 3 years in any international institution of higher education. A road map for the internationalization of higher education in Pakistan has been developed from the outcomes of the Delphi panel. In addition, this study used Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as a tool for analyzing the relationship between quality factors of higher education and technical constraints of the higher education institutions. The results show that managerial support and commitment is a key to success in the internationalization of higher education. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p270

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

Service quality in higher education: study of Turkish students in Malaysian universities

The Article attempts to analyze service quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. The study used the Gap Model presented by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) to identify the difference between expected quality and perceived quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. The study focused to identify gaps of Turkish students in Malaysian universities Five basic dimensions of service quality measured through SERVQUAL (Instrument for service quality measurement). These dimensions are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A stratified sample of 41 Turkish students has been selected from top five public universities in Malaysia. Results showed a negative service quality gap in higher education institutions of Malaysia from Turkish students' perception which indicated perceived service quality is below than expectations of Turkish students in Malaysian universities

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research