Temporary Job and Permanent Stress

In daily life we all are stressed-knowingly or unknowingly. As rightly said by a great  philosopher  Epictetus, that “People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.” So it can be understood that stress by nature has become a part and parcel of everyday life and in today’s cut throat competition, nobody is truly stress free. Seeing the condition of society it feels like nobody on this planet is stress free so the teachers are. Only those who are either not born or are dead are stress free. Stress is a very serious problem as it impairs one’s capabilities and have direct adverse impact on performance. If stress is not tackled properly on time it may lead to many emotional and physical problems. Teachers especially those who are appointed on temporary bases or on contractual bases are always work under stress, because of their status of being temporary. Although their job is temporary but stress becomes permanent. This paper is an attempt to suggest some ways to manage stress among temporary or contractual teachers also this paper explains significant impacts of stress on the body and how to take these stress levels down to a manageable point. Keywords: Stress, Pedagogical, Intrapsychic sector, Temporary job and Permanent Job.

Why Millennials Continue to Use WhatsApp? A Focus on Culture and Computer–Human Dialogue

© 2024 Kamaal Allil et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Continuous usage behavior among millennials is crucial, yet factors influencing this behavior are not well understood. This study integrates human-computer interaction and marketing research to investigate the relationship between persuasive dialogue support (PDS), attitudinal loyalty (AL), and continuous-use intention (CI) in the context of WhatsApp. The study also examines the moderating role of four cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance (UA), power distance (PD), masculinity (MAS), and individualism (IND) in these relationships. Data was collected from 287 WhatsApp users in four countries, and the proposed theoretical model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS). The results indicate that PDS has a direct positive impact on AL, which in turn leads to CI. The study also found that cultural differences can moderate the relationship between PDS and AL and between AL and CI. Therefore, app developers need to consider cultural differences when designing their products and implement persuasive design aspects to boost user loyalty and intention to use. To ensure optimal app performance in diverse cultural settings, developers should strike an appropriate balance between universal design principles and culturally sensitive adaptation. However, the study’s limitations, such as reliance on self-reported data and a relatively small sample size, suggest the need for future research to expand its scope to include participants from a broader range of cultural backgrounds.Peer reviewe

Examining country development indicators and e-waste under the moderating effect of country development levels and e-waste policy

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate if country development indicators i.e., gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC), literacy rate, internet penetration, and urban population influence the generation of e-waste on a global level. The moderation effect due to differences between countries in terms of absence or presence of e-waste policy and level of development is also checked. Design/methodology/approach - This is an archival study that builds upon data from United Nations (UN), World Bank, and Global E-waste Statistics Partnership. We did a path analysis comprising mediation and multigroup analyses to decipher the proposed research model containing data from 172 countries. Findings - Results indicate that GDPPC, literacy rate, internet penetration, and urban population do not directly influence the generation of e-waste. However, higher internet penetration in developing countries leads to higher e-waste, while higher literacy rates in developed countries suppress e-waste generation. When it comes to e-waste policy, a higher urban population without a regulatory legal framework boosts higher e-waste. We observed that higher internet penetration leads to higher e-waste in the presence of e-waste policy as well. Originality - This is the first study to include economic wellbeing indicators in elaborating e-waste generation, on a global scale. No previous study has observed differences between countries nested in e-waste policy and level of development

Market volatility of banking stock return vis-à-vis banks merger: An application of GARCH model

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects caused by the announcement of mergers of SBI and its associate banks i.e. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travan-core (SBT) with State Bank of India on the volatility of the return of SBI stock during the event window of 300 days. In order to achieve the proposed objective, this study applied Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (Garch) class model to the return series to model their volatility because it is considered an important tool for time series data analysis. Our results confirmed the impact of the announcement of Merger on volatility. The results suggest that merger announcement was expected to cause a reaction in the returns, which is related to higher abnormal return in lesser time through merger announcement for investors

Morphophysiological Responses of Oat (Avena sativa L.) Genotypes from Pakistan’s Semiarid Regions to Salt Stress

Soil salinity is a major constraint to modern agriculture, with around 20% of the previously irrigated area becoming salt affected. Identifying suitable salt stress-tolerant genotypes based on their agronomic and physiological traits remains a herculean challenge in forage-type Oat (Avena sativa L.) breeding. The present study was designed to investigate the response of oat crop plants against the salt (NaCl) stress in Mardan, Pakistan. The experiment was carried out in complete randomized design (CRD) with two factors trail comprising of the performance of four different genotypes of oat (NARC oat, PARC oat, Green Gold and Islamabad oat) in response to four levels of saline stress (0, 25, 50 and 75 mmol L-1 NaCl). Plant growth and physiological parameters including germination (G, %); fresh shoot weight (FSW, g); fresh root weight (FRW, g); chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll, and total carotenoids were analyzed for identifying salt tolerance. Germination (%) of oat genotypes was negatively affected by higher salt stress. Mean values showed that maximum germination (57.5%) was recorded for control while minimum germination (48.75%) was recorded for 25 mmol L-1 NaCl and that maximum germination (58%) was recorded for PARC oat. The root and shoot fresh weight of all genotypes declined with increasing salt stress, while NARC and Green Gold oat showed considerably higher values than the other genotypes. Although chlorophyll and carotenoids were found to be negatively affected by increasing salt concentrations, NARC and Green Gold oat genotypes performed considerably better at 75 mmol L-1 NaCl when compared to the other genotypes. Based on the mean shoot dry weight ratio ± one standard error, the four Oat genotypes were categorized as salt-tolerant (Green Gold), moderately tolerant (PARC and NARC), and salt-sensitive (Islamabad). The more salt-tolerant genotype (Green Gold) demonstrated relatively high salinity tolerance and may be useful for developing high-yielding oat hybrids in future breeding programs under salt stress conditions

Partial Substitution of Chemical Fertilizers with Organic Supplements Increased Wheat Productivity and Profitability under Limited and Assured Irrigation Regimes

Crop wastes could be applied in conjunction with synthetic fertilizers to satisfy crop nutritional needs and enhance soil fertility. A field experiment was carried out during winter 2019–2020 at the AMK Research Farm (Palatoo) Mardan, KPK (Pakistan) to investigate the combined effect of phosphorous (PS) and organic sources (OSs) on wheat productivity under different irrigation regimes. The experimental factors were: two irrigation regimes (limited and full irrigation), three inorganic sources of phosphorus (triple super phosphate (TSP), single super phosphate (SSP) and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP)) applied at 90 kg ha−1, and three organic amendments (farmyard manure (FYM), mung bean residue (MBR), and canola residue (CR)) applied at a rate of 10 t ha−1. A control plot (no phosphorus or organic supply) was included. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was adopted. Among the fertilization strategies, SSP + FYM outperformed all other P fertilizers combined with legume or nonlegume residues in terms of grains per spike−1 (52), thousand-grain weight (41.6 g), biological yield (9.7 t ha−1), and grain yield (4 t ha−1). Under full irrigation, improved yield, yield components, and profits were obtained compared to the limited irrigation regime. Three clusters were obtained after applying an Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) conferred the positive effects of inorganic P with FYM on the wheat yield and its related parameters. This study indicated that the productivity of wheat under the SSP + FYM fertilization strategy was found to be more economical with respect to the benefit–cost ratio (BCR). The combined application of SSP + FYM was more profitable in terms of a higher BCR (3.25) than other treatments under the full irrigation regime

2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives as potent alpha amylase inhibitors

277-282In our current study thirteen new 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives 1–13 have been evaluated for alpha amylase activity. The molecular docking results indicate that compounds potentially bind in the catalytic site of the enzyme with excellent result. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software was used for docking study. 2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone 1-13 have been obtained under reflux conditions by reacting dinitrophenyl hydrazine in methanol with different aromatic as well as aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of acetic acid act as a catalyst. The current results have shown that compounds 5 (IC50 =12.16µg/mL), 6 (IC50 =15.03µg/mL), and 12 (IC50 =16.42 µg/mL) have been found to be the more potent alpha amylase inhibitors as compared to the standard acarbose (IC50 = 42.47µg/mL). These compounds may provide better leads for alpha amylase inhibitor and further assessment of these compounds can be of great help in the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs

2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives as potent alpha amylase inhibitors

In our current study thirteen new 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives 1–13 have been evaluated for alpha amylase activity. The molecular docking results indicate that compounds potentially bind in the catalytic site of the enzyme with excellent result. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software was used for docking study. 2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone 1-13 have been obtained under reflux conditions by reacting dinitrophenyl hydrazine in methanol with different aromatic as well as aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of acetic acid act as a catalyst. The current results have shown that compounds 5 (IC50 =12.16µg/mL), 6 (IC50 =15.03µg/mL), and 12 (IC50 =16.42 µg/mL) have been found to be the more potent alpha amylase inhibitors as compared to the standard acarbose (IC50 = 42.47µg/mL). These compounds may provide better leads for alpha amylase inhibitor and further assessment of these compounds can be of great help in the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs.

Supervised treatment in outpatients for schizophrenia plus (STOPS+): protocol for a cluster randomised trial of a community-based intervention to improve treatment adherence and reduce the treatment gap for schizophrenia in Pakistan

Introduction There is a significant treatment gap, with only a few community-based services for people with schizophrenia in low-income and middle-income countries. Poor treatment adherence in schizophrenia is associated with poorer health outcomes, suicide attempts and death. We previously reported the effectiveness of supervised treatment in outpatients for schizophrenia (STOPS) for improving treatment adherence in patients with schizophrenia. However, STOPS was evaluated in a tertiary care setting with no primary care involvement, limiting its generalisability to the wider at-risk population. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of STOPS+ in scaling up the primary care treatment of schizophrenia to a real-world setting. Methods and analysis The effectiveness of the STOPS+ intervention in improving the level of functioning and medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan will be evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial design. We aim to recruit 526 participants from 24 primary healthcare centres randomly allocated in 1:1 ratio to STOPS+ intervention and enhanced treatment as usual arms. Participants will be followed-up for 12 months postrecruitment. The sample size is estimated for two outcomes (1) the primary clinical outcome is level of functioning, measured using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale and (2) the primary process outcome is adherence to treatment regimen measured using a validated measure. An intention-to-treat approach will be used for the primary analysis. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from Keele University Ethical Review Panel (ref: MH-190017) and Khyber Medical University Ethical Review Board (ref: DIR-KMU-EB/ST/000648). The results of the STOPS+ trial will be reported in peer-reviewed journals and academic conferences and disseminated to local stakeholders and policymakers

Gear misalignment diagnosis using statistical features of vibration and airborne sound spectrums

Failure in gears, transmission shafts and drivetrains is very critical in machineries such as aircrafts and helicopters. Real time condition monitoring of these components, using predictive maintenance techniques is hence a proactive task. For effective power transmission and maximum service life, gears are required to remain in prefect alignment but this task is just beyond the bounds of possibility. These components are flexible, thus even if perfect alignment is achieved, random dynamic forces can cause shafts to bend causing gear misalignments. This paper investigates the change in energy levels and statistical parameters including Kurtosis and Skewness of gear mesh vibration and airborne sound signals when subjected to lateral and angular shaft misalignments. Novel regression models are proposed after validation that can be used to predict the degree and type of shaft misalignment, provided the relative change in signal RMS from an aligned condition to any misaligned condition is known