Going the extra mile: what does it mean for the male and female university teachers of Pakistan?

This thesis examines the subjective perceptions of the job activities of the university teachers with an aim to understand and differentiate between what is regarded as in-role tasks (i.e. prescribed or mandatory job behaviours) and what is regarded as extra-role tasks or Organizational citizenship behaviours OCB (Organ, 1988). In the recent past, OCB has gained a wide academic and organizational interest. With an emerging role of OCB in helping organizations to achieve various objectives, many researchers have focused on understanding the relationship of OCB with different determinants and consequences. However, most of the OCB-research has been confined to the causal studies aiming to relate OCB with various other factors following the positivist approach and quantitative methodologies. Moreover, being originated in commercial work settings, OCB remains under-researched in the academics. Furthermore, OCB has been problematized by the researchers for ignoring the gender-perspective in the formulation of OCB concept (e.g. Kidder, 2002; Kark & Waismel-Manor, 2005). The current study uses a qualitative lens to explore the meaning attached to extra-role job behaviours and their implications for male and female university teachers. The study includes the unheard voices of university teachers of Pakistan to understand the contextual and structural conditions under which these perceptions of in-role and extra-role job behaviours are developed. Thematic analysis was performed on the data obtained from 40 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with university teachers from the public and private sector universities of Pakistan. Drawing on the positioning theory (Harré & van Langenhove, 1999) and professional identity paradigm (Lasky, 2005), the findings suggest that the personal choices, social expectations and cultural values underpin the way in which university teachers develop their perceptions of OCB and other job behaviours. Moreover, there is a large difference in the perceptions of these participants on regarding their job behaviours as in-role or as extra-role job behaviours. Based on their perceptions, the study proposes three general domains for which university teachers perform OCBs. These domains include OCB towards students, colleagues, and department or university. Findings also indicate that there is a remarkable difference in the perceptions and performance of extra-role job behaviours by male and female university teachers, where the types of OCBs performed by female university teachers are helping in nature and mostly aimed at students, whereas the male university teachers perform OCB which are targeted at the department or the universities. Finally, the thesis offers theoretical and applied contributions in the field of OCB-research suggesting a few avenues for future research. Theoretically the current study has contributed by introducing the voices of a completely unheard segment i.e. academics from Pakistan. It highlights the need for examining OCB through a qualitative study to appreciate the unique context in which the accounts of participants are developed. The study also suggests the use of professional identity paradigm and positioning theory to examine the context in which university teachers develop their perceptions of in-role and extra-role job behaviours. Moreover, the study problematizes the concept of OCB being gender-neutral, offering the gender-based analysis of accounts obtained from the male and female university teachers

Interpersonal Problems in Arranged and Love Marriages

Marriage is often considered to be the cornerstone of a healthy social structure. The stronger the quality of a marriage, the healthier the social structure of society. The present research investigated the interpersonal problems among arranged and love marriages. The sample of this study comprised 100 couples who had married for love, and 100 couples whose marriage had been arranged by their families. The age range of participants was 20 to 40 years (Mean = 28, SD = 5.2). Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 (Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000) was administered to assess the nature of interpersonal problems experienced by the sample. The findings of present study revealed that the couples whose marriage was arranged by their families were more domineering and vindictive, compared to couples who had married for love.. However, couples in love marriages were more socially inhibited, non-assertive and intrusive when compared to arranged marriage couples. This research has important implications for social psychologists, marital counsellors and families

Obstructive sleep apnea and psychomotor vigilance task performance

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disorder with considerable morbidity and mortality. Vigilance and attentiveness are often impaired in OSA patients. In occupational medicine settings, subjective reports of sleepiness are notoriously inaccurate, making the identification of objective measures of vigilance potentially important for risk assessments of fitness for duty. In order to evaluate the effects of OSA on attentiveness and vigilance, we conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the association between OSA and psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performance. Methods: Patients attending sleep clinics for evaluation of possible sleep apnea were recruited. The subjects underwent either a standard overnight laboratory polysomnography or home sleep study. Subjective daytime sleepiness was assessed by Epworth sleepiness scale, and vigilance was tested using a portable device. The participants were asked to respond to the PVT signals using their dominant hand. Each PVT administration lasted 10 minutes, with stimuli signals appearing randomly at variable intervals of 2–10 seconds. Results: Mean age of the participants was 46±15 years, and mean body mass index was 34.3±9.8 kg/m2. Participants with higher Epworth scores had worse PVT performance (P<0.05). In multivariate analyses, age, body mass index, and poor sleep efficiency (measured by Pittsburgh sleep quality index score) were associated with worse PVT performance (P<0.05). In contrast, PVT performance did not differ significantly across categories of apnea hypopnea index severity. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that women had worse performance on all PVT measures (P<0.05). Conclusion: PVT performance can be utilized for risk assessments of sleepiness and may be particularly useful among populations where subjective reports are unreliable

Openness and Inflation: A Case Study of Pakistan

Romer (1993) postulates a hypothesis that inflation is lower in small and open economies. In this paper we test this hypothesis for Pakistan economy using annual time series data for the period 1973-2005. We find that besides the conventional explanatory variables like real GDP growth, monetary growth, interest rate, and wheat support price, the openness variable such as growth in ‘overall trade to GDP ratio’ also has significant negative impact on the domestic price growth in Pakistan

Openness and Inflation: A Case Study of Pakistan

Romer (1993) postulates a hypothesis that inflation is lower in small and open economies. In this paper we test this hypothesis for Pakistan economy using annual time series data for the period 1973-2005. We find that besides the conventional explanatory variables like real GDP growth, monetary growth, interest rate, and wheat support price, the openness variable such as growth in ‘overall trade to GDP ratio’ also has significant negative impact on the domestic price growth in Pakistan

Evaluating molecular study of the association of Glutathione S – Transferase GST (T1 , M1) genetic polymorphism in Iraqi Arab Femals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major health concern and leading of death in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Glutathione S – Transferase(GST) are known for their broad range of detoxification and in the metabolism of xenobiotics . The role of functional variants of these genes in the development of various disorder is proven. We investigated the possible role of these variants in the development of CAD in T2DM patients. In this case – control study a total of 60 patients (T2DM = 30 ; T2DM – CAD = 30) and 30 controls were included. Serum lipid profiles were measured and DNA was extracted from the blood samples. Multiplex PCR for GSTT1/M1 (present / null) polymorphism, were performed for genotyping of study participants. Gene frequency and lipid profiles were statistically analyzed for disease association. Regression analysis showed that, there was no significant difference of the frequency of GSTT1 (positive /null) genotype and GSTM1 (positive /null) genotype in the 3 study groups . GSTT1 – positive genotype is associated with a 0.51 fold increased ( OR = 0.51 ; 95%CI = 2- 0.1 ;P = 0.321 ) , while the GSTM1 – positive genotype was associated with a 3 fold increase ( OR = 3.06 ; 95%CI=1- 9.7 ; P = 0.055) .We conclude GSTT1 positive genotype considered to be a protective risk from CAD in T2DM patients . The GSTM1 – positive genotype it was considered to be a risk factor of the CAD in T2DM patients

Synthesis, characterization, anti-microbial and cytotoxic applications of zinc(II) complexes

ABSTRACT. In the present research, three zinc(II) complexes were synthesized using 3-(3-fluorophenyl)-2-methylacrylic acid (HL), 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2'-pyridine as ligands. The composition, structural confirmation, coordination way of ligand and assignment of geometry to the complexes were made by different analytical tools like elemental analysis, FTIR and 1H-NMR. The ligand 3-(3-fluorophenyl)-2-methylacrylate appeared to coordinate the metal (Zn) atom via COO- moiety in all of the complexes (1-3) while 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2'-pyridine co-ordinated to Zn(II) atom through N-donor sites in complexes 2 and 3, respectively. The complex 1 showed four while 2 and 3 showed six co-ordinated geometry. The synthesized complexes were evaluated for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. The obtained results showed that complexes are active against microbial agents and exhibited significant cytotoxicity. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEY WORDS: Co-coordination, Geometry, Zinc(II) complexes, Biological activity &nbsp; Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(2), 287-299. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i2.

Synthesis of a novel electrospun polycaprolactone scaffold functionalized with ibuprofen for periodontal regeneration: An in vitro and in vivo study

Ibuprofen (IBU) has been shown to improve periodontal treatment outcomes. The aimof this study was to develop a new anti-inflammatory scaffold by functionalizing an electrospun nanofibrous poly-e-caprolactone membrane with IBU (IBU-PCL) and to evaluate its impact on periodontal inflammation, wound healing and regeneration in vitro and in vivo. IBU-PCL was synthesized through electrospinning. The effects of IBU-PCL on the proliferation and migration of epithelial cells (EC) and fibroblasts (FB) exposed to Porphyromonas gingivlais lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS) were evaluated through the AlamarBlue test and scratch assay, respectively. Anti-inflammatory and remodeling properties were investigated through Real time qPCR. Finally, the in vivo efficacy of the IBU-PCL membrane was assessed in an experimental periodontitis mouse model through histomorphometric analysis. The results showed that the anti-inflammatory effects of IBU on gingival cells were effectively amplified using the functionalizedmembrane. IBU-PCL reduced the proliferation and migration of cells challenged by Pg-LPS, as well as the expression of fibronectin-1, collagen-IV, integrin a3ß1 and laminin-5. In vivo, the membranes significantly improved the clinical attachment and IBU-PCL also reduced inflammation-induced bone destruction. These data showed that the IBU-PCL membrane could efficiently and differentially control inflammatory and migratory gingival cell responses and potentially promote periodontal regeneration

Dual Spikes; New Spiky String Solutions

We find a new class of spiky solutions for closed strings in flat, $AdS_3\subset AdS_5$ and $R\times S^2(\subset S^5)$ backgrounds. In the flat case the new solutions turn out to be T-dual configurations of spiky strings found by Kruczenski hep-th/0410226. In the case of solutions living in $AdS$, we make a semi classical analysis by taking the large angular momentum limit. The anomalous dimension for these dual spikes is similar to that for rotating and pulsating circular strings in AdS with angular momentum playing the role of the level number. This replaces the well known logarithmic dependence for spinning strings. For the dual spikes living on sphere we find that no large angular momentum limit exists.Comment: Added reference