Organizational Factors, Teachers’ Professional Development and Teaching Practices: Findings from Female Elementary School Teachers

Development of teaching competencies has always considered the most prolific dimension in teaching education. It assists teachers in teaching and in preparing to adopt more functional orientation practices beneficial towards teaching practice. This study aimed to investigate the antecedents of teachers’ teaching practices. Primary data through survey was collected from 377 female elementary school teachers from private sector schools based in Karachi. Smart PLS was used for data analysis. Findings of this study revealed a significant relationship among organizational factors, teachers’ professional development and teachers’ teaching practices. This paper contributes to existing knowledge by reporting new empirical evidences from female elementary school teachers. Hence, this research provides practitioners and policy makers with better insights into some practices that could improve teaching practices.

Assessing the Impact of Eucalyptus Plantation on Groundwater Availability in Pakistan

Eucalyptus tree was first planted in Pakistan in the 1980s under the project of Pakistan Forest Institute sponsored by United States Agency for International Development. It is not native to Pakistan's environment, so it has become a threat to the ecosystem. A mature Eucalyptus tree shape is like a shrub or tall tree. It is centered by the number of controversies like allelopathy, loss of soil fertility, the substitution of conventional forests and causing various hydro-ecological imbalances of an ecosystem. Eucalyptus tree consumes three times more water in arid and semi-arid environments, because of vapor pressure deficit. About 80% of Pakistan's area is present in the semi-arid and arid climate. Pakistan is facing a serious water shortage and rapid groundwater level depletion in many parts of the country. It is believed that species of Eucalyptus tree are extracting more groundwater than water recharge. Therefore, the present study is conducted to identify the adverse impacts of Eucalyptus plantation on the groundwater level of Lahore. Six parks in Lahore were selected as study sites, i.e., Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Bagh-e-Jinnah, Jillani Park, Nawaz Sharif Park, Jallo Park, and Johar Town Park. A total of 3,484 Eucalyptus trees were identified with different age groups. These trees belong to the species of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus citriodora and Eucalyptus sideroxylone. The study reveals that since 1990, the groundwater level has significantly reduced in study sites. It is recommended that Eucalyptus trees may be replaced with other indigenous species so that the rate of groundwater depletion can be slowed down

An in-vitro evaluation of skin protection factor of non-polar date seed extract from three different date varieties Ajwa, Aseel and Khapra by UV spectrophotometry

Objective: Skin is the primary layer of human body which act as protective barrier against exogenous chemicals, UV radiations as well as microorganisms. Maintaining the skin morphology under regular environmental stresses and controlling age related skin changes is one of the biggest challenges for modern science, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. These environmental stresses, such as excessive exposure to UV radiations, can even lead to the devastating skin disorders such as skin cancer. Dates seed has capability to protect skin against the damages caused by solar radiations, which mostly appear in the forms of wrinkles and some other skin related issues. Methods: Therefore, current research is focused on to analyze sun protection factor (SPF) of two non-polar fractions obtained from crushed seeds of three different varieties of i.e., Ajwa, Aseel and Khapra. Results: Results indicate that the highest value of SPF was found in AEA i.e., 15.061 at 200ppm while no difference was observed in the SPF values of KPPE. Conclusion: Hence, it could be concluded that the ethyl acetate fraction of all date seed varieties could be potential Ajwa, Aseel and Khapra could be a promising source of cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations due to the potential SPF value except petroleum ether of Khapra extract

Prevalence and Levels of Information Seeking Anxiety among Business Students

This research assessed the prevalence and levels of information seeking anxiety among business students at Lahore School of Economics, Lahore, Pakistan so that remedial measures could be taken to reduce anxiety. The data were collected from 283 students using a survey questionnaire, containing an Information Seeking Anxiety Scale along with certain demographic and academic variables, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated the prevalence of information seeking anxiety among these students across different dimensions and overall scale at mild to moderate levels. There was no significant relationship between nature of MBA program, gender, school background, geographical origin, ICT skills, English language competency, and information seeking anxiety. However, gender appeared to predict the dimension of search anxiety as female students were more anxious than males when searching for information. The results are very useful to inform policy and practice for development of information capabilities in the digital information landscape. These findings could be used as a guide for developing and designing information literacy programs aimed to reduce information seeking anxiety resulting in the improvement of students’ academic performance. This study has made a reasonable contribution to the existing literature on information seeking anxiety as a limited number of studies appeared focusing specifically on information seeking anxiety

Frequency of depression and anxiety among patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria visiting a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the frequency of anxiety and depression among chronic spontaneous urticarial patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to August 2015, and comprised patients diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria at the dermatology clinic. All the participants were assessed for anxiety and depression using Aga Khan University-Anxiety Depression Scale. Data was collected in face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The association of the condition with different characteristics were calculated after stratification for age, gender, occupation and monthly income. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis..Results: Of the 146 study participants, 84(57.5%) were males and 62(42.5%) were females. The overall mean age was 39±15.6 years. Of the total, 39(26.7%) had depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety were more frequent among patients with a positive family history of mental disorders (p=0.02).Conclusion: Anxiety and depression were found to be considerably common among chronic spontaneous urticaria patients, with patients having a positive family history for mental illnesses particularly vulnerable

Financial contagion and globalization : evidence from South Asian countries

This study investigates the contagion and globalization between the South Asian (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and five largest economies (US, UK, China, Japan and Germany) stock markets. Daily stock returns data from 1st July 1997 to 30th June 2015 consisting of total 4695 observation is analyzed. DCC GARCH is applied to calculate the conditional correlation coefficients to overcome the issue of heteroscedasticity. Null hypothesis of no globalization got rejected eleven times out of twenty while the hypothesis of no contagion got rejected six times. Further analysis of conditional correlation coefficients confirmed the impact of 9/11 attacks, Subprime mortgage crises and Europeans debt crises on the Indian market. Impact of 9/11 attacks also found on Pakistani and Sri Lankan stock exchanges, while Dhaka stock exchange remained independent of all shocks. In sum, the South Asian stock markets remained isolated from the global shocks except India. Isolation of South Asian stock markets from the global shocks is due to their lower integration with the global markets. This study provides some useful recommendations to the investors and policy makers. Results suggests that Indian stock exchange get contagion impact from the major economies, so authorities of India should have to take measure to decouple the market from the global shocks. The markets of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are not properly integrated with global financial system, so the authorities of these countries should have to take proper steps to liberalize the markets. This paper presents the first empirical study on financial contagion and globalization of South Asian countries.peer-reviewe

Potential Assessment and Economic Analysis of Concentrated Solar Power against Solar Photovoltaic Technology

Competition between concentrated solar power and solar photovoltaic has been the subject of frequent debate in recent years based on their cost of fabrication, efficiency, storage, levelized cost of energy, reliability, and complexity of respective technologies. Taking Pakistan as a testbed, a study was conducted to determine which technology is economical in a particular location and climate. The study assesses the meteorological, orographic, and spatial factors that impact the performance and cost of both renewable energy systems. A SWOT analysis, followed by technoeconomic analyses, was conducted to determine suitable sites for setting up solar power plants in Pakistan. A detailed assessment of siting factors for solar power plants was conducted to shortlist the most suitable sites. Based on the results, economic analysis was performed to install 100 MW photovoltaic and parabolic trough power plants at selected locations. The levelized cost of energy for the 100 MW parabolic trough is 10.8 cents/kWh and 12 cents/kWh in best-case scenarios, i.e., for locations of Toba and Quetta, respectively, whereas the LCOEs of 100 MW photovoltaic systems stand comparatively low at 7.36 cents/kWh, 7.21 cents/kWh, 7.01 cents/kWh, 6.82 cents/kWh, 6.02 cents/kWh, and 5.95 cents/kWh in Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Hyderabad, Quetta, and Toba, respectively. The results favor choosing solar PV plants over solar CSP plants in terms of finances in the selected regions. The findings will assist financiers and policymakers in creating better policies in terms of long-term goals.publishedVersio

Anxiety And Depression Among Medical Students During Covid-19 Pandemic In Faisalabad

Objectives: To find out the frequency of anxiety and depression among medical students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to study their relationship with socio-demographic factors. Methodology: Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students of various medical institutions in Faisalabad and their consent was taken beforehand. The study duration was 2 months (August to September 2021). Ethical approval was taken. The questionnaire was distributed online through google forms on social media platforms to all MBBS students of a medical college and the total number of responses received was 452. Non-probability purposive sampling was done.  The inclusion criteria were those students who gave consent and filled out the questionnaire and the exclusion criteria were those who didn't concede. A validated and structured questionnaire was used. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic data; COVID-19-related attitudes and practising preventive behaviours, generalized anxiety disorder scale – 7 (GAD-7) to determine anxiety among medical students and patient health questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9) to determine depression. Results: Most of the students i.e. 132 (29.2) were having mild anxiety, followed by minimal, moderate and severe anxiety. Similar scores were observed in PHQ-9 results which showed mostly students were having mild depression i.e. 127 (28.1) followed by minimal, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression respectively. Average GAD-7 score was 8.73 (M = 8.73; SD = 5.78); average PHQ-9 score was 10.78 (M = 10; SD = 7.1). Significant relationship was found between gender (p = 0.00), year of study (p = 0.039), suffered Covid-19 in present or past (p = 0.00), afraid of getting Covid-19 (p=0.001) with anxiety and gender (p = 0.00), suffered Covid-19 in present or past (p=0.001) and afraid of getting Covid-19 infection (p=0.001) with depression. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of medical students suffering from anxiety and depression during Covid-19. The students in the age group above 21 years, females, year of study (4th year) and afraid of getting Covid-19 infection were at higher risk of psychological distress in a pandemic. It is important to find ways to alleviate the pressure and fear of college students, provide them with more social support, and help them adapt to the changes in their learning styles and lifestyle

FREQUENCY OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE USING CALCIUM SCORING BY 640 SLICE CT

Coronary artery disease is the narrowing of coronary arteries which is usually caused by the atherosclerosis that leads to restriction of blood flow to the heart muscles. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of plaque or deposition of fats on the inner walls of arteries and is calculated by calcium scoring. Calcium scoring is a test to assess the presence and degree of plaque in the coronary arteries. Objective: To find the frequency of coronary artery disease using calcium scoring by 640 slice CT.   Methods: A descriptive study was conducted at Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore. 155 participants including 117 (75.5%) males and 38 (24.5%) females were selected through convenient sampling technique. SPSS version 21.0 was used for data analysis. Results: Analysis of data showed that out of 155 patients, 54 (34%) patients had no lesion and 101 (65.2%) had CAD. Only 2 patients had 5 lesions. Out of 117 males, 38 had no plaque and 40 males had moderate plaque in coronary arteries. Out of 38 females, 16 female patients had no plaque, 5 female patients had moderate plaque. 99 (63.9%)  patients were non-smokers, out of them, 46 patients had no plaque and 17 patients had moderate plaque. 56 (36.1%) patients were smokers, out of these 8 had no plaque and 28 patients had moderate plaque. In total 103 (66.5%) patients who were hypertensive, 28 patients had no plaque, 36 had moderate plaque. Out of 52 (33.5%) patients who were without hypertension, 26 patients had no plaque, 36 patients had moderate plaque. Out of 155, 94 (60.6%) patients had diabetes, out of these 27 patients had no plaque, 32 patients had moderate plaque. Of 61 (39.4%) patients with diabetes, 27 had no plaque, 13 were with moderate plaque. 52 patients who were between the age of 26-35 years, 18 patients had no plaque, 14 patients had moderate plaque and of 8 patients between the age of 66-75 years, 3 had moderate plaque. Conclusions: In our sample the ratio of males was greater than females. In males, moderate plaques are most common and most of the females are those with no plaque. 54 % patients have no plaque and only 3 patients have minimal plaque. Smokers were least affected. It is concluded that hypertension affects the population more than any other risk factor. From our study it is also concluded that the people within the age range of 26 to 35 years are most likely to develop CAD Key words: Computed Tomography, Calcium Scoring, Coronary Artery Disease DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/71-13 Publication date: February 29th 202

Health Information Seeking on Behalf of Others: Characteristics of ‘Surrogate Seekers’

Understanding the health information seeking behaviors of surrogate seekers (those who seek health information for others) may guide efforts to reach disadvantaged populations. We used 2011-2012 data from the Health Information National Trends Survey to describe the behaviors of online surrogate seekers. Respondents were asked about their use of the Internet for surrogate seeking over the prior 12 months. Data were weighted to calculate population estimates. Compared to those who sought health information online for only themselves, surrogate seekers were more likely to live in households with others (weighted percent 89.4% vs. 82.5% of self-seekers; p \u3c 0.05); no significant differences in gender, race, income or education were observed. Surrogate seekers were more likely to report: visits to social networking sites to read and share about medical topics; participation in online health support groups and downloading of health information to electronic devices. On multivariate analysis, those who had looked online for a healthcare provider were more likely to be surrogate seekers (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08-2.59). Our results offer insight for leveraging health communication efforts to reach populations who rely upon surrogate seekers for health information