Lived Experiences of Women Entrepreneurs Regarding Socio-Cultural Constraints in Entrepreneurship in Southern Punjab, Pakistan
The research paper investigates the socio-cultural constraints faced by women entrepreneurs during startup and expansion of their entrepreneurial ventures in Ahmedpur East of District Bahawalpur through documenting their lived experiences. The research is primarily a multi-sited ethnography and utilizes qualitative research methods such as in-depth semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions on collecting primary data from a selective sample of 25 entrepreneurs ascertained through sampling technique. The study highlights gender-specific socio-cultural challenges such as social perceptions and biases, work-life balance, patronage of male family members, restricted mobility owing to Purdah and low recognition and payment of women's work etc. as prime reasons that hinder not only women participation as entrepreneurs but also inhibits their engagements and choices in entrepreneurship. Socio-cultural factors not only systematically impact women's social interactions and decision-making but transform into multiple other challenges that women fight and struggle with while making their space as entrepreneurs.
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Ahmedpur East, Entrepreneurship, Gender, Lived Experiences, Multi-Sited Ethnography, Socio-Cultural Challenges, Southern Punjab, Women Entrepreneur
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(1) Mehreen Raza
M. Phil Scholar, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Inam Ullah Leghari
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
An Exploratory Study about the Role of Experiential Learning for Developing Professional Skills at Higher Education
This study explores the learning experiences of postgraduate students pursuing master's degree in higher education. The assessment students enrolled in the course "Application of Computer in Research" observed through semi-structured observations. These observations contained 16 weeks (4 days a week). The observation tool was validated through five experts' opinions, and a mock observation was conducted in order to ensure the reliability of the tool. The researcher deeply observed the students' learning experiences daily by tasks, activities and discussions in which they were involved by the teacher—the analysis procedures controlled through coding, memos and themes generation. The study findings revealed that experiential learning provided students with some important skills that enhance their learning in a better way. The study contributed to the field of education at a higher level than postgraduates might be handled through active learning because active learning may indulge new visions, ideas for creative work and transferring those ideas through reflection by involving students in the activities in which they do the tasks by themselves.
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Experiential Learning, Learning Experiences, Postgraduates, Active Learning, Higher Education, Practical Approach
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(1) Sidrah Ilyas
PhD Scholar, Institute of Education & Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Mahvish Fatima Kashif
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Hafiza Sadiya Iqbal
Lecturer, Department of Education, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Effect of Employee Creativity on Project Performance with the Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing and Moderating Role of Openness to Experience
Since almost last two decades employees creativity has been discussed immensely by the researchers. This study majorly focuses on the effect of employee creativity in project performance in project-based organizations of Pakistan. We have discussed that the relationship between, employees creativity and project performance depend on the knowledge sharing whereas, openness to experience moderating the correlation of employees creativity with knowledge sharing. For this purpose, data was collected from 273 employees working in project-based organizations of Pakistan. The results obtained after the data analysis, considerably shows that there is an optimistic relationship between employees creativity and project performance whereas knowledge sharing mediates this relationship with the moderating role of openness to experience. The study significantly expands to the prevailing literature by highlighting the procedure through which employees’ creativity has a major effect on the enhancement of project performance.
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Employee Creativity, Knowledge Sharing, Openness to Experience, Project Performance.
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(1) Hina Ahmed
MS Scholar, Capital University of Science and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Cynthia Sigamony
MS Scholar, Capital University of Science and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan.
Teaching Context and Students' Learning: A Case Study of a Public Sector University
This is an exploratory research study that aimed at capturing students’ learning experience in a public sector university campus in a remote region in Pakistan. The sample included students in the last semester of their two years Master’s program in Education Data were generated through a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews, and whole-class discussions with Master’s students of Education. Findings showed that the students saw their learning embedded inrelation to the interaction with the faculty members, availability of resources, and interactive teaching approaches. It surfaced that remoteness of the context and unavailability of the Internet, lack of relative skills, and English language deficiencies, were key challenges.
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Adult learning, Higher Education, Learning Experiences, Managing Learning, University Students
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(1) Muhammad Naeem Butt
Assistant Professor,Institute of Education and Research,University of Peshawar, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Haji Karim Khan
Assistant Professor,Department of Educational Development, University of Baltistan, Skardu, Pakistan.
(3) Wilayat Bibi
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar, KP, Pakistan.
An Exploration of Issues and Challenges Faced by Students in Distance Learning Environment
This paper investigates the issues and challenges encountered by students obtaining distance education in Pakistan. We conducted interviews with students obtaining distance education and they were enrolled in different study programs. Qualitative interviews were conducted to understand the perception of the study participants regarding the issues and challenges faced by them in learning. Students from five distance learning programs were selected and five participants from each study program were interviewed in this study. The findings reveal that distance learning students encounter impediment in their learning due to their personal circumstances, teachers’ related issues, and due to assessment and evaluation issues. These factors negatively affect distance learners learning experiences. Based on the study findings, we provide recommendations to universities for enhancing distance learners experience.
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Distance education, Experiences, Learners, Challenges, University
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(1) Asaf Niwaz
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Qazi Waqas Ahmed
PhD. Scholar, Department of Education,University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.
(3) Sohail Kamran
Assistant Professor,Department of Business Administration, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.
Demographic Variation and Stress Management Skills
The objectives of the study were focused on the demographic factor-based comparison of stress management skills of university-level teachers. 1362 teachers from faculty of Social Sciences serving in universities of Islamabad were taken as target population for the study. 412 teachers were selected as samples by using stratified sampling technique. Data was collected through a self-developed questionnaire that was based on seven stress management strategies. In accordance with the objectives t-test and ANOVA were applied. Results revealed that university employees with 15-20 years of experience in (Public sector) were more skilled in managing stressful situations. Stress management skills were found better in females than males. Furthermore, teachers serving in public sector universities were found more capable of dealing with stress. The study recommended that top management of educational institutions may redesign their workplace environment as making it more conducive for employees with reference to occupational stress management.
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Stress Maangement, Job Experience, Gender, Work Experience, Demographic Variation
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(1) Saira Nudrat
Assistant Professor,Department of Education, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Qurat ul ain Hina
Assistant Professor,Department of Education, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Shazia Zamir
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
Impact of Teachers Personal Characteristics on Their Job Satisfaction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Job satisfaction has mostly been investigated in both developed and developing countries because it has a strong relationship with job outcomes. This paper focuses on investigating the job satisfaction level and also explores impact of some selected personal characteristics of teachers on job satisfaction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The study used quantitative research design. From the seven divisional headquarter districts, researchers selected 744 senior secondary school teachers (SSST) through a stratified random sampling method. The teachers job satisfaction level was found high. The findings revealed that teachers gender, age, experience, academic and professional qualifications have significant effect on their job satisfaction. These personal characteristics have significant impact and predict teachers job satisfaction. It is suggested that the government should bring such reforms in the service structure which leads to increase the social status of teaching occupation and positive feelings among secondary school teachers opting to teach as a career.
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Academic Qualification, Age, Experience, Gender, Job satisfaction, Professional Qualification
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(1) Iqbal Amin Khan
Lecturer,Department of Education, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Dir Lower, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Munir Khan
Assistant Professor,Department of Education, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Dir Lower, KP, Pakistan.
(3) Mohammad Naseer ud Din
Professor, Department of Education and Psychology, Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat, KP, Pakistan.
Antecedents of Careerism: A Mediated- Moderated Model
The contemporary investigation was conducted with aimed to investigate the relationship of proactive personality and careerism. The said relationship was not tested in isolation rather it has been tested with the inclusion of career self-efficacy as a mediator and two moderators (openness to experience, extroversion). It was basically an attempt to build/ analyze the relationship of proactive personality with careerism which was not fully captured in the previous literature. In addition, the current study conducted a comparative analysis for male and female to identify the proactive behaviors in handling their careers. The population for the current was study selected from different private FMCG related firms. The analysis revealed that proactive personality has a significant relationship with careerism. Female respondents report lower proactive behavior than male. Overall the results supported three hypotheses and the one related to moderation was rejected.
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Proactive Personality, Career Self -Efficacy, Extroverts, Openness to Experience, Gender and Careerism.
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(1) Shazia Akhtar
Associate Professor, Department of Management Sciences, SZABIST, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Faisal Malik
Ph.D. Scholar,Department of Management Sciences,SZABIST, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(3) Muhammad Asim Afridi
Associate Professor Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University, Abbottabad Campus, KP, Pakistan.
Thanatophobia and Psychological Distress among Health Care Workers during COVID-19
The Outbreak of COVID-19 has caused distress all around the world. The healthcare professionals significant risk of transmitting coronavirus to others. This research determines the predictive effects of thanatophobia on psychological distress among healthcare workers during COVID-19. The demographic differences were related to age, gender, job title, and year of experience examined in the study variables. The data were collected on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and the Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale from doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff in different hospitals of District Haripur, KPK Pakistan via a convenient sampling technique. Findings showed that thanatophobia predicted a 33.5% increase in psychological distress. Women and doctors were more phobic and distressed than men, nurses, and paramedical staff. The older workers with more job experience had high thanatophobia and low psychological distress than their counterparts. The study’s limitations and recommendations are discussed.
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Covid-19, Death Anxiety, Distress, Healthcare, Year of Experience
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(1) Najia Zulfiqar
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Alveera Habib
Undergraduate Student, Department of Psychology, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan
(3) Muhammad Hassan
Graduate Student, Department of Medical Lab Technology, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan.
Development and Validation of Students' Learning Experiences (SLE) Scale at Higher Education Level
This study aimed at the development and validation of a research instrument for students learning experiences (SLE) at the higher education level in the public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected on three constructs as students learning experiences inside the classroom,outside the classroom and on-campus. The factors in students learning experiences inside the classroom factors like teacher interaction, assessment and feedback, and peer group discussion were measured. The factors of outside classroom learning experiences as cultural diversity, library and learning resources and conferences, seminars and webinars were measured. The simple random sampling technique was applied in the department of education,psychology and sociology in six public universities in Punjab to collect data.The tryout of the instrument was conducted on 200 students' samples to measure the content validity and reliability. The expert opinion was sought from the University of Sargodha and the University of Punjab Lahore. The Cronbach alpha reliability was .95, which showed the instrument is reliable.Having pilot tested the instrument. Data were collected from 1024 male and female students. The questionnaire comprised 42 items. Structure Equation Model (SEM) was used to validate the instrument using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The Cronbach alpha and SEM results indicated that students learning experiences resulted in fit indices as an acceptable model.
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Students Learning Experiences, Campus Experiences, Outside Classroom Learning Experiences, Higher Education. Instrument Developmen
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(1) Muhammad Ihsan
PhD Scholar, Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
(2) Muhammad Shahid Farooq
Professor and Chairman DASE, Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.