The relationship between leadership styles and job performance : the moderating role of performance appraisal politics

Drawing upon the leader-member exchange theory and equity, fairness and justice theory, the present study examined the role of performance appraisal politics in moderating both relationships between transactional and transformational leadership styles with job performance. This study also examined the corresponding dimensions of transactional and transformational leadership styles in relation to job performance. Using the quantitative inquiry, the survey method employed had collected a total of 266 responses from bank managers of six large banks in Sindh, Pakistan. They were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. The PLS-SEM analyses revealed that the study supported both the hypothesized relationships between transactional leadership, transformational leadership styles and job performance. Specifically, positive relationships were found between two dimensions of transactional leadership (contingent reward and management by exception [active]) with job performance. Conversely, the significance of relationship between management by exception (passive) and job performance was not supported. However, except intellectual stimulation, remaining four dimensions of transformational leadership styles, namely, idealized influence (attributed), idealized influence (behavior), inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration, were found positively related to job performance. Additionally, while performance appraisal politics moderated the relationship between transformational leadership style and job performance, the reverse was found for the relationship between transactional leadership style and job performance. In general, the results suggested that transformational leadership indeed plays an integral role in facilitating job performance; this relationship is strengthened in the presence of the moderating variable, performance appraisal politics. Finally, the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications were also include

Higher Education Challenges in the Era of COVID-19 from the Perspective of Educators and Students (Ghana, Georgia and Pakistan Cases): A Literature Review

For the last three years, the entire world has faced a colossal phenomenon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All sectors and areas of life have been affected, which has forced rapid and radical changes towards adaptation in its wake. The unexpected pandemic’s mark and impact on education is more severe and longer lasting than imagined. It has evidently disrupted education provision at an unprecedented scale. This paper is a literature review that focuses on the experience of different countries and education systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the analysis of the existing literature and research on this issue, from the perspective of educators and students, including the experience of different countries around the world, the pandemic has had a great impact on higher education. This has resulted to digital transformation, which implies overcoming many challenges. The review uses particular examples of higher education in the era of COVID-19 in Georgia, Ghana, and Pakistan. The measures taken to continue education in spite of the pandemic are also highlighted. Although this phenomenon proved to be challenging, it has initiated enormous opportunities for creativity within progress. This paper further discussed barriers that students and academics faced during online teaching-learning, the pros and cons of online teaching-learning, the quality of teaching-learning, and the state of preparedness for future education

Promoting Online Education in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan: Insights from the Technology Acceptance Model

This study investigates the effect of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) on university students’ attitudes toward online education, their behavioral intention, and subsequent actual adoption/use of online education, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical lens. It is also hypothesized students' geographic status (e.g., urban vs. rural) and educational levels (e.g., undergrad vs. grad) as moderating variables towards a positive effect of PU and PEU on actual adoption/use of online education through the mediation of attitude and behavioral intention. To this end, three hundred and thirty-one students were recruited from both public and private universities and sub-campuses in Pakistan, and the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multigroup modeling in AMOS (Analysis of a moment structures in SPSS). SEM results supported the positive effect of PU and PEU on university students' attitudes toward online education, their behavioral intention, and subsequent actual adoption/use of online education. Finally, the important implications for policy and research are discussed

E-learning Challenges in the Era of Covid-19: The Georgian Case

Digital literacy is an essential skill for learning, living and working, with the Internet remaining a main part of modern life. The Covid-19 pandemic has made the issue of effective use of information and communication tools and acquired digital skills of outmost importance and urgency. During the pandemic, higher education around the world has largely shifted to a distance/online learning format and Georgia's higher education system was no exception. The swift conversion challenged students and educators alike. Method: This descriptive study inquired N=2160 students from 5 top universities in Georgia about the challenges of online education, their learning experience during the pandemic and their recommendations for future opportunities. Results: The 21 items online survey used for data collection produced quantitative and qualitative results from a majority female body of participants. Even though they had no previous online learning experience, the vast majority of students prefer some online format of teaching and learning, as imperfect as it proved to be and quickly implemented during the pandemic. As the university mandates the creation of a student-friendly environment and relevant services to inform and support students with low social status and students with disabilities, it became a great challenge for Georgian universities to provide socially disadvantaged students with the resources needed for E-learning. Numerous suggestions for improvement of the online teaching experience and performance were offered

Non-Local Deformation of a Supersymmetric Field Theory

In this paper, we will analyse a supersymmetric field theory deformed by generalized uncertainty principle and Lifshitz scaling. It will be observed that this deformed supersymmetric field theory contains non-local fractional derivative terms. In order to construct such deformed N=1 supersymmetric theory, a harmonic extension of functions will be used. However, the supersymmetry will be only preserved for a free theory and will be broken by the inclusion of interaction terms.Comment: 12 pages, pulished versio

The relationship between transformational leadership and job performance: an empirical investigation

The main objective of the present paper is to assess the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance empirically.The study was conducted in the banking sector of Pakistan focusing on six large banks.A total number of 308 responses were collected through survey questionnaire from the bank managers.The data was then coded into SPSS for early stage analysis such as data screening.This was followed through applying SmartPLS to analyze the data and the results have been presented in its standard reporting style.The findings revealed a positive relationship between transformational leadership and job performance in banking sector of Pakistan supporting the hypothesized relationship.Finally, the paper has presented a way forward for future research

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Wpływ zielonych praktyk zasobów ludzkich na zrównoważone środowisko

The present study focused on manufacturing firms of Bahrain to determine the influence of green human resource practices on employee engagement and environmental sustainability. Mediating role of employee engagement was observed as novelty of present study. The data was collected from manufacturing firms of Bahrain that strives for green practices from employees of firms including officers, staff members and clerical employees. The study found that green human resource practices have positive nexus with environmental sustainability and employee engagement mediates the nexus among the green human resource practices and environmental sustainability. Today’s business world focuses on green practices in order to be responsive towards environmental protection and environment friendly product and services.Prezentowany artykuł przedstawia badanie, które koncentrowało się na firmach produkcyjnych w Bahrajnie w celu ustalenia wpływu “zielonych praktyk” w zakresie zasobów ludzkich na zaangażowanie pracowników i zrównoważenie środowiskowe. Mediacyjną rolę zaangażowania pracowników zaobserwowano, jako nowość przedstawionego badania. Dane zostały zebrane od firm produkcyjnych Bahrajnu, które dążą do zielonych praktyk wśród pracowników firm, w tym urzędników, członków personelu i pracowników biurowych. Badanie wykazało, że praktyki zielonych zasobów ludzkich mają pozytywny związek ze zrównoważeniem środowiskowym, a zaangażowanie pracowników pośredniczy w związku między praktykami ekologicznych zasobów ludzkich i zrównoważenia środowiskowego. Dzisiejszy świat biznesu koncentruje się na zielonych praktykach, aby reagować na ochronę środowiska oraz przyjazne dla środowiska produkty i usługi