Moderating effect of social support on personal financial constraints and job stress relationship

The aim of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of social support (which may be supervisory, friends, family and relatives) on the relationship of personal financial constraints and job stress relationship. Sample consists of 294 respondents from randomly selected 28 branches of 22 banks located across all major cities of Pakistan. Moderated regression analysis has been used to test the hypothesized relationships. Personal financial constraints enhance job stress and social support moderates this relationship. Job stress increases when an employee faces financial constraints but decreases in the presence of social support. Practical and theoretical implications are drawn. This research is conducted in banking industry, so its results can’t be generalized to other industries. This paper is the first which examines the impact of a non-work related variable, personal financial constraint on job stress along with buffering role of social support. Its findings have great implications for employers for increasing productivity of employees.Job stress, personal financial constraints, social support, moderating, banking, Pakistan

Evolving Role of the Information Center: Challenges and Directions

Abstract The paper provides a critical review of the development of information center through different phases, transformation of the information center in response to the inter-disciplinary imperatives of information and knowledge management, IT imperatives, trends in the areas of content, services, management, and personnel, and future possibilities and prospects. An extensive review of literature was made in order to discern trends and analyze the current situation in pertinent areas focused in this paper. It was noted that the information center has changed through different phases. Information and knowledge management have made a distinct impact on the dynamics of the center. Changes in resources and services, IT applications, user community, and management practices are most evident. These factors have been critical in shaping the identity and substance of the information centers. Based on this analysis, challenges facing the information centers have been elaborated. Best practices in specific areas in the developed nations have been highlighted. Future of the information center is projected to be dynamic, enterprising, and challenging. This review is useful for taking strategic cues for planning and managing the information centers

Investigating The Combined Effects of Replacing Cement with Sugarcane Bagasse Ash and Coarse Aggregate with Ceramic Tile Waste in Concrete Production

The aim of this study is to elevate the effects of combine inclusion of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) as cement and ceramic tile waste (CTW) as coarse aggregate replacement on concrete properties. However, SCBA is a waste material and having good pozzolanic properties. The importance of sustainability and recycling has become increasingly recognized and understood in academia and industry over the last several decades. Besides that, the recycling construction waste and debris is one of many avenues that provide a great opportunity to reduce the construction industry reliance on decreasing natural resource supplies. In order to optimize the percent replacement of cement by SCBA, the cement has been partially replaced by SCBA constant, the ceramic waste is replaced at the dosages 10%, 20% and 30% by weight of coarse aggregates. The various outcomes of replacement by SCBA and CTW have been analyzed through evaluation of different properties like workability and compressive strength for 7 days and 28 days. The results further revealed that the workability decreased with the inclusion of SCBA and CTW. The compressive Strength of concrete mix was relatively higher at 10% replacement of cement by SCBA and 10% replacement of CTW, after which it decreased beyond 10% replacement. The maximum compressive strength was observed as 26.57 N/mm2 SCBA in proportion of constant 10% by weight in concrete mixes. It was deduced from the outcomes of this study that 10% SCBA and 10% CTW replacement by cement and coarse aggregates respectively could be considered as optimum replacement

Maize in the Rainfed Areas of Pakistan: An Analysis for Production Sustainability

The turning issue in agriculture of this era is sustainability and self reliance. There are several definitions of sustainability described by various scientists. Broadly, it means that the improvement in agriculture should be long lasting in view of changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. The high yielding technology available today is not fully adopted because of high cost and changing price structure of the important inputs. Under the present circumstances, the need arises to tailor the production practices according to the need of the farmers for long-term adoption. Sustainable agricultural systems are those that rely on lower inputs of energy and agricultural chemicals to achieve long-term productivity and environmental compatibility. However, Balanos (1998) concludes that the low input systems are low in productivity. Firebaugh (1990) mentioned the proposals given by J.F. Pars and colleagues that the ultimate target of the farmers in sustainable agriculture is to increase productivity and profitability. He also added that we should get benefit from germplasm which can survive over a long period of time

Effect of Formal Course of Information Literacy on Student Performance / Sajjad Ur Rehman and Suha Al-Awadhi

This course has been in place for the last two years. This study was designed to assess the relevance, usefulness and effect of this course on developing the needed capabilities among students. The study had two purposes; first, studying if the course had made any significant difference in the information literacy and research capabilities of students. Secondly, it assessed whether certain personal and social variables of students were associated with significance differences in student capabilities. A research instrument was designed around the constructs that had been defined in the course description and syllabi of 1380-131. This instrument was administered in the first week of the Semester 1 classes of the year 2009-10 in five sections of the same class. The same instrument, with changed facts and multiple choice statements, was administered in the last week of the same semester in the same five sections. Students also provided information about personal and social variables. Data were analyzed and it was found that the students performed significantly better for the overall information literacy and for the three segments of information, computing and research. Majors of students, types of schools they had attended and mother‘s academic qualifications were found to be associated with significant differences in students‘ performance on information literacy measures

N-(4-Hydroxy­phen­yl)benzene­sulfon­amide

The title compound, C12H11NO3S, synthesized by the reaction of benzene sulfonyl chloride with para-amino­phenol, is of inter­est as a precursor to biologically active sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds. The structure is stabilized by N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Multiband Stepped Impedance Resonator (SIR) Based Antenna for Future Wireless Applications

A novel multi-band stepped impedance resonator (SIR) based microstrip antenna is presented in this paper. The presented antenna is explicitly designed to overcome the multi-standard requirements of future wireless communication systems. The antenna contains six radiating patches, occupies a volume of 85x50x1.574mm. The antenna contains three short-circuited dual band SIR radiating patches. The SIR radiating patches are optimized to operate at the specified frequency bands of 0.9GHz, 1.2GHz, 1.5GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.75GHz, and 3.65 GHz. The SIR radiating patches are fed using a single coaxial feeding technique which shows a good matching of 50 Ohm. In stepped impedance technique; of three resonators one of the radiating patches is short circuited with a ground. The simulated results of the reflection coefficient, impedance matching, and peak gains show stable responses and are acceptable. The Antenna is designed using FR-4 as a substrate whereas; CST studio and MATLAB are utilized as simulation tool. The proposed antenna verifies to be a suitable candidate for small mobile devices and other multi-standard wireless communication devices

Moderating effect of social support on personal financial constraints and job stress relationship

The aim of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of social support (which may be supervisory, friends, family and relatives) on the relationship of personal financial constraints and job stress relationship. Sample consists of 294 respondents from randomly selected 28 branches of 22 banks located across all major cities of Pakistan. Moderated regression analysis has been used to test the hypothesized relationships. Personal financial constraints enhance job stress and social support moderates this relationship. Job stress increases when an employee faces financial constraints but decreases in the presence of social support. Practical and theoretical implications are drawn. This research is conducted in banking industry, so its results can’t be generalized to other industries. This paper is the first which examines the impact of a non-work related variable, personal financial constraint on job stress along with buffering role of social support. Its findings have great implications for employers for increasing productivity of employees

Moderating effect of social support on personal financial constraints and job stress relationship

The aim of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of social support (which may be supervisory, friends, family and relatives) on the relationship of personal financial constraints and job stress relationship. Sample consists of 294 respondents from randomly selected 28 branches of 22 banks located across all major cities of Pakistan. Moderated regression analysis has been used to test the hypothesized relationships. Personal financial constraints enhance job stress and social support moderates this relationship. Job stress increases when an employee faces financial constraints but decreases in the presence of social support. Practical and theoretical implications are drawn. This research is conducted in banking industry, so its results can’t be generalized to other industries. This paper is the first which examines the impact of a non-work related variable, personal financial constraint on job stress along with buffering role of social support. Its findings have great implications for employers for increasing productivity of employees

Exploring the Nexus; Stock Market, T. Bills, Inflation, Interest Rate and Exchange Rate

The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between Karachi stock exchange and macroeconomic variables i.e. inflation rate, exchange rate, treasury bills and interest rate. Monthly time series data from January 2005 to December 2010 have been used to investigate the causal association among macroeconomic indicators and Karachi stock market. The co-integration test and Granger Casualty have been applied to drive the short and long-term investigation. The results found bi directional Granger causality among KSE and exchange rate and One way Granger causality exists among KSE and interest rate, no Granger causality found among KSE and inflation rate and KSE and treasury bills. Which means performance of macro-economic variable somehow affects the stock index; moreover, stock prices in Pakistan do not reflect the macro-economic condition of the country. This study emphasizes on the crash of macro-economic indicators on the capital market performance of developing countries. The performance of capital markets of developing countries calculated by these macro-economic indicators