The Conundrum of Medical Writing

Writing is an art. Medical writing is an amalgamation of art with science. Not all medical writers have the inherent capability to pen down their work. For some it is a source of contentment, happiness, and authorization whereas it’s a hard nut to crack for others, requiring additional efforts to accomplish this uphill task. Future medical writers confront many challenges before they embark upon this worthwhile endeavour.Some may not realize its importance; others simply enter into the world of bewilderment as to how to start. Yet others are well versed with the subject but just cannot pen it down and the majority cannotsqueeze their time in because of their hectic daily routines. In order to counter these challenges, one has to overcome the conundrum of medical writing. Why to Write?Medical writing is an essential feature of evidencebased medicine and is mandatory for progress in the medical profession. Apart from religious, international, national, institutional, and professional gains, the honor, regard, and respect a medical writer earns in the scientific world is priceless. High research scores, h-indices, portfolios, citations, and references quoted by other researchers and writers elevate you to unfathomable heights. Your work creates an opportunity for others to get benefit from the work done and the medical knowledge grows in a stepladder fashion. Ultimately the main aim i.e. Benefit humanity also fulfilling the divine requirement for a Muslim medical writer.This qualm of writers' hesitancy can have devastating effects on the professional career of a writer. Age limit constraints, fear of losing an opportunity to appear in examinations on time, poor prospects for gaining senior posts and promotions, etc. can be detrimental to the psychosocial well-being too. This initiates the unfortunate vicious circle causing further delay or even abandonment of work. This state of affairs could be demoralizing for a doctor who is otherwise humane, hardworking, conscientious, and has been courteous to patients. Even his research could be an extraordinary work but he is unable to put it down in black and white. The medical writers have to trounce over this perplexing situation by getting acquainted with the essence of writing. The significance of Medical writing cannot be undermined as it forms the basis of development, evolution, and progress in the medical field. It is the only preservable way of transferring knowledge to others. The importance of gaining knowledge and preserving it is very well depicted and stressed in Islam. The first Divine word “IQRA” and the second revelation related to “THE PEN” is ample evidence. Numerous Hadiths stress gaining knowledge and preserving it. I quote one Hadith “TAQYID Al ILM”, {define, preserve and record knowledge by ‘writing it down}’

University Faculty Development Program at Rawalpindi Medical University

Faculty development program refers to all activities taken up by the faculty in an institution targeting their development, both personal and professional, and finally implying the growth of the institution.1 The last two decades have witnessed dramatic changes in various fields of life. In the field of medicine, a paradigm shift has been observed from individualized and conventional approach to evidence based strategies. In Pakistan, the mushroom growth of medical colleges has occurred. The standard of education has deteriorated and recently some new universities have appeared on horizon. In order to thrive, they have to meet these challenges amicably. For a university, the continuous endeavour to excel is mandatory in order to accomplish its goals. They are no longer an institution that imparts degrees, rather they have to focus on improving and improvising medical education, conducting purposeful research and imparting best possible services to the patients and the society. In Pakistan, there is not only a shortage of school teachers but the medical teachers also. Doctors, who join the medical university as teachers, may not be well versed in teaching skills, although they may be good clinicians. As the students of today belong to generation Y, the changes they have observed in last two decades are substantially more in absolute quantity and magnitude than their precedents. Consequently, the generation Y (the millennial) have a higher processing capacity, are more complex and more sophistication than the older generation X (born in 1960-1980). The world has become smaller and sharper, with better resolution and better internet speed. Thus, there is a communication gap between the students and the teachers. Therefore, there is a dire need to change teaching strategies. The curriculum needs to be updated and better aligned to today’s needs. The assessment tools must be revised and more technology-oriented delivery needs to be incorporated rather than the conventional lectures strategy. Thus, improvement in teaching strategies will enhance the quality and capability of graduating doctors. The second challenge faced by the professionals is the patient care, which has to be evidence based. This requires solid evidence through research. The university has to provide an environment where research culture prevails. From Pakistan, the number and quality of medical research articles is far behind that of even the neighbouring countries.2 A dedicated department with adequate staff is mandatory to fulfil this gap. A constant support to the researchers at faculty level is required not only to refresh their knowledge but also to familiarize them with statistical and medical writing capabilities. High quality research brings credentials to the university and improves individual’s portfolio apart from delivering best service to patients. Moreover, the role of university also encompasses the grooming of the professional as a mentor, a leader, a supervisor and an administrator. It is a multifaceted prism that needs to be enlightened.            The faculty is an asset of the university. Highly professional faculty will self-perpetuate quality research as well as academic excellence. Ultimately, the university ranking improves as the national and international standards are met. High ranking universities act like a magnets and attract highly motivated professionals who enter into a structured system and contribute positively. The universities although are fully aware of the need but often there is a difficulty in implementation.  How to start the program and how to devise a curriculum are big challenges for the faculty of a newly formed universities due to lack of faculty development programs. Rawalpindi medical university (RMU), although being only few months old, has devised a fully structured faculty development program (UFDP) with five main domains to be addressed, i.e. medical education, research, administrative skills, supervisory & leadership skills and patient care.3 Both formal and informal methods are being employed. The strategy focuses more on workshops of one to two days, being conducted regularly throughout the year, symposia, guest lectures, seminars and theme based grand rounds. UFDP upholds the motto of the University i.e. “Wisdom, Truth and Service”. Highly trained and professional faculty of the University has not only won credentials at national and international level but also contributes in escalating the ranking of the University globally. Moreover, the first and the foremost aim of a professional doctor is explicitly achieved, as ‘the patient deserves the best’. The learning objectives, need assessment, audit, quality assurance, feedback, tangible scoring, monitoring, supervision and funding of the workshops were finalized under the able advice of Vice Chancellor, RMU.4 The UFDP of RMU is expected to serve as a role model for other universities so that they can move closer to their cherished goals

Suicide attempts among incarcerated homicide offenders

The aim was to investigate the role of age, drug abuse, period of confinement, loneliness, difficulty in controlling emotions, having no friends in prison, victimization in prison, guilt over crimes, insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and mood change in predicating suicide attempts in a sample of homicidal young prisoners. Poisson regression model indicated that five variables contributed significantly to the prediction of suicide attempts. Specifically, participants reporting drug abuse, difficulty in controlling emotions, victimization in prison, nightmares, and depression were significantly more likely to report suicide attempts while incarcerated

THE IMPACT OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT, PROMOTION DECISIONS AND INTENT TO LEAVE THE ORGANIZATION

This study was an attempt to investigate the impact ofprocedural justice on organizational commitment, promotiondecision, and intent to leave the organization. The study wasundertaken in two multinational banks and two local banks situated in Karachi, Pakistan. It was an empirical descriptive study with a sample size of 80 middle managers. To quantify promotion decision one item was used to evaluate whether the respondents got advancement or not. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) was employed to assess organizational commitment. Turnover intention questionnaires (TIQ) were used to measure turnover intentions. Procedural equity was measured with Procedural JusticePerception Scale. The findings indicate procedural justice as astatistically significant predictor of organizational commitment [(R²=.240, F (1, 78, 79) = 24.604, p <.001)]; procedural justice as insignificant predictor of promotion decision [(R² =.025, F (11.103, 5.624) = .164, p >.05)]; and procedural justice as insignificant predictor of intent to leave organization [(R² =.011, F (.053, .059) = .349, p >.05)]

A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP OF COGNITIVE STYLES WITH STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE SUBJECT OF SCIENCE AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL

This paper aimed at investigating the relationship of cognitive styles withstudents’ academic achievement in the subject of science at elementary level. Asample of 511 students, studying in 8th class, was taken from five Pakistani publicsector secondary schools. The data collected through the study instruments wereanalyzed by using Pearson product moment correlation, partial correlation and ttest. Results indicate that male students tended to be more field dependent, whilefemale students were more inclined towards field independence and the lowachievers were found to be field dependent while high achievers tended to be fieldindependent. Results have many implications for teachers, e.g. teachers may helpfield dependent children act more field independently to achieve well in thosesubject areas where field independence is required

Production and Characterization of Twelve Different Biochars and Evaluating Their Effects on Soil Health and Plant Growth

Biochar has been a topic of growing interest in the scientific community. It is a product derived from carbon rich organic materials through the process of pyrolysis. It has received wide attention as a means to improve soil fertility and crop productivity, absorb pollutants in soil, and sequester carbon to mitigate climate change. Recent research on biochar explores its impacts on the environment with particular focus on use as a soil amendment in agriculture. Biochar produced from different biomass and under different production process effects the environmental and agronomic impacts of its application in different ways. This means biochar can be designed to achieve desired goals. Therefore, the advanced understanding of biochar is of utmost importance. This research was aimed to produce and characterize twelve biochars from feedstocks consisting of invasive plant species along with native plants and agricultural residues made at two different production temperatures. Furthermore, this study explored the potential of these biochars as amendments to remove pesticide from soil, thus reducing further groundwater pollution. The effects of the biochars on plant growth, soil microbial population and soil enzyme activities were also investigated. Laboratory studies were conducted to characterize the biochars and also to evaluate their effect on pesticide retention. Garden potted study was done to observe how these biochars influenced plant growth as well as soil microbial and enzyme activities. Results indicated that the production temperatures and type of feedstocks greatly influenced the physicochemical properties of the biochars which subsequently affected their performance. It was found that the type of feedstocks had greater effects on biochar performance than the selected production temperatures. The knowledge from the study will be beneficial to determine the integration of these biochars as an approach towards sustainable agricultural practice and in climate mitigation

Ensemble Consensus-based Representation Deep Reinforcement Learning for Hybrid FSO/RF Communication Systems

Hybrid FSO/RF system requires an efficient FSO and RF link switching mechanism to improve the system capacity by realizing the complementary benefits of both the links. The dynamics of network conditions, such as fog, dust, and sand storms compound the link switching problem and control complexity. To address this problem, we initiate the study of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for link switching of hybrid FSO/RF systems. Specifically, in this work, we focus on actor-critic called Actor/Critic-FSO/RF and Deep-Q network (DQN) called DQN-FSO/RF for FSO/RF link switching under atmospheric turbulences. To formulate the problem, we define the state, action, and reward function of a hybrid FSO/RF system. DQN-FSO/RF frequently updates the deployed policy that interacts with the environment in a hybrid FSO/RF system, resulting in high switching costs. To overcome this, we lift this problem to ensemble consensus-based representation learning for deep reinforcement called DQNEnsemble-FSO/RF. The proposed novel DQNEnsemble-FSO/RF DRL approach uses consensus learned features representations based on an ensemble of asynchronous threads to update the deployed policy. Experimental results corroborate that the proposed DQNEnsemble-FSO/RF's consensus-learned features switching achieves better performance than Actor/Critic-FSO/RF, DQN-FSO/RF, and MyOpic for FSO/RF link switching while keeping the switching cost significantly low.Comment: Number of pages 16 and number of figures 15, Unpublished work, accepte

Impact of Working Capital Management on Firm’S Profitability

Management of working capital play very essential role in the firm’s profitability. Therefore, this study aims to inquire the impact of working capital management on firm’s profitability.  For measuring working capital management inventory conversion period, debtor’s conversion period, creditor’s conversion period, cash conversion cycle, and cash conversion efficiencyare taken as independent variables. Firm’s profitability is measured by using the four dependent variables which are net profit margin, return on assets, return on equity, and return on capital employed. Regression analysis is used to discover the impact of working capital management on firm’s profitability by using secondary data. This data is gathered from annual reports of 45 companies listed at KSE for five years from 2008-2012. Manufacturing industry is selected because major portion of total assets contain current assets so working capital management efficiency is necessary in this industry. From results of this study, working capital management has significant impact on firm’s net profit margin, return on assets, and returns on capital employed and insignificant impact is find out on return on equity of firms. Therefore, it is concluded that working capital management has significant impact on firm’s profitability in food sector. It is concluded that if firms in food sector efficiently manage working capital then, firm’s profitability is enhanced. This study also find descriptive statistics which tells how well performance of firms in food sector is and how efficiently these firms are managing working capital. Keywords: Working capital, food sector, financial performance, cash conversion cycle, ICP, CCE, DC