Pakistan Journal of Applied Social Sciences

Digital Media Training Programs and their Role in Enhancing Employee Skills and Performance

AMMAD Zafar — 2023-09-08

The study investigated how employee performance and skills in Karachi, Pakistan's media business, are affected by digital media training programs. A professional and flexible workforce is essential in the unexpectedly shifting digital landscape. However, there is limited empirical data on the efficacy of applications for digital media education in this setting. This study fills a substantial information gap by assessing the impact of such training initiatives on employee abilities and performance. The primary objective of this research is to ascertain whether digital media training programs have a substantial and statistically significant impact on enhancing employee skills and performance in Karachi's media sector. A blended-techniques research technique has been adopted, encompassing each quantitative survey and qualitative interview. A sample of 120 personnel working in the media industry participated in the study, providing valuable insights into their experiences with digital media training. The results of this are compelling, revealing a high-quality locating that participants who underwent virtual media education were about seventeen times more likely to exhibit more desirable abilities and progressed performance than their non-taking part opposite numbers. This statistically significant impact underscores the transformative potential of these training programs. The analysis and findings of the study give realistic tips for media groups, policymakers, and stakeholders, emphasizing the significance of strategic investments in complete and updated digital media education initiatives.

Interfaith Collaboration: The Case of PCWR-FF in Contextualizing Postmodern Realities in Pakistan

Samia Shakeel — 2023-09-08

Religious and faith-based organizations are extremely important for interfaith harmony. With a sizable Muslim population, Pakistan is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country. Numerous other religions exist, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism. The non-Muslim Kalashi minority also resides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. From a modernist perspective, the religious affairs in the country were static in the sense that every Religion was confined to its sphere of influence and dialogue as a process of understanding was outside of this equation. In this study, we examine how a postmodern perspective takes shape in Pakistan in the increasing role of those interfaith organizations that believe in religio-cultural harmony and plurality. The Pakistan Council of World Religions-Faith Friends (PCWR-FF) is one platform that encourages dialogue, tolerance, and global collaboration among followers of different faiths. This study shows that all religious leaders concur with most postmodern ideas, including collectivism, equality, pluralism, and interfaith cooperation. The followers of each Religion are keenly conscious of the followers of the other religions. Religious leaders are encouraged by PCWR-FF to adopt postmodern concepts. It gives followers of many faiths a place to gather, converse, and understand one another. Hence, Pakistan has become more tolerant of other religions.

Investigating the Implementation of Single National Curriculum (SNC) In Primary Private Schools of Karachi

Aziz-un-nisa — 2023-09-08

The Single National Curriculum is a government of Pakistan's initiative to develop and implement a single curriculum for all students to provide an equal opportunity for all students to receive a top-notch education in terms of an educational plan, guidance mechanism and evaluation framework. Investigating and examining how the Single National Curriculum is being implemented in Karachi's primary private schools is the goal of this research. This research study is based on a quantitative method, and the research study is done through online Google Forms, through which 60 researchers were chosen to respond based on random sampling. The Single National Curriculum was developed and implemented in schools. Still, primary private schools and their instructors were not participating in these processes, according to the chi-square analysis of the data. Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the primary private schools in Karachi did not use the Single National Curriculum. Additionally, it was found that private school teachers were unaware of anyone else participating in the Single National Curriculum but themselves. It is therefore recommended that the Government devise a plan to address the needs, application and practicability of the Single National Curriculum to all the stakeholders, including the teachers.

Investigating the Factors of Low Enrolment of Girls at Secondary School Level: A Sociological Analysis

Waheed Akber Khaskheli — 2023-09-08

The enrolment of girls in schools poses a significant challenge within underdeveloped nations. Education provision is a fundamental human right that is universally recognized and acknowledged. Each academic year witnesses many female students discontinuing their education at the primary level, thereby failing to complete their secondary education successfully. The primary aim of this study was to investigate and analyze the factors associated with the relatively low enrollment rates of female students at the secondary school level within the Kashmor district, specifically in the Knadhkot area. A research investigation was undertaken within a sample of 15 Government Schools, wherein the active participation of parents and community members was sought through the questionnaire administration. The research study employed a stratified random sampling technique to select participants from parents and community members carefully. Hence, the sample comprises 384 individuals, either parents of dropped-out female school children or community members. The data were obtained by using the questionnaire. The data collected underwent analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, standard deviation and multiple regression analysis. The identified factors, such as poverty (M=3.26), customs and traditions (M=3.26), an unsafe environment (M=3.15), and a lack of institutional support (M=3.39), have been determined to be the primary contributors to the low enrolment of girls at the secondary school level in the study area, the null hypothesis is rejected based on regression analysis results with an R-squared value of 0.549,(F = 144.083, p < 0.001). The average score of each question indicates a high extent of agreement among respondents regarding the impact of the factors. To enhance the enrollment rate of girls, it is recommended that the government increase the stipend amount and provide it monthly rather than quarterly or yearly. A community-level transport system should also ensure girls and their parents feel safe when sending their girls to school after completing 5th grade. A community citizenship organization should also be established to facilitate meetings and discussions regarding girls' enrolment and admission at the local level.

Media Advocacy on Health Hazards of CPEC's Coal Power Project: The Sustainable Development Goal#3 is under threat

Fatima Kiran — 2024-01-01

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations members committed to improving all individuals' well-being and prioritizing health as a key development aspect. However, the proposed construction of a 300MW coal power plant at Gwadar, a crucial location in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), raises concerns about its impact on human lives and the environment. This project could hinder Pakistan's progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal #3. Although the power plant aims to address Pakistan's energy scarcity, debates highlight the potential adverse effects on human health and climate due to carbon emissions from coal. This study explores how the media contributes to raising awareness of the health risks associated with the CPEC. It suggests that media coverage may employ diversionary framing by emphasizing the economic benefits of the CPEC while diverting attention from the health consequences for the general population.

Occupational Safety and Health in Coal Fields of Balochistan, Pakistan

Muhammad Asif — 2023-09-08

Coal, the black diamond, is the second and cheapest source of energy all over the world. Despite its economic importance and contribution to eradicating unemployment, mining causes health and safety issues if it is carried out using old and fangled methods. It has resulted in disasters several times. Considering these issues, this study identifies risk factors such as occupational safety and health in coal mining in the Mach and Sor-Range coal fields among Balochistan, Pakistan's six large coal fields. These fields have been producing coal on a massive scale for many decades. Though coal mining is helping out a large number of workers economically, it has caused several types of fatal injuries and even casualties. Among several reasons, unsafe and primitive methods are the main reason for disaster in the mining sector. The workers at coal fields lack all essential health and safety facilities; no type of training is ever conducted for the safety of workers. The untrained workers are transferring the old mining methods to the next generation. The absence of emergency cells, which are highly prone to accidents and diseases due to methane gases, coal mine collapse, and dust, makes the workers inside and the population living near the coal fields vulnerable.

Role of Organizational Culture in Improving Employee Psychological Ownership

Saleem Raza Qureshi — 2023-09-08

The current investigation aimed to examine the impact of organizational culture (OC) on the psychological ownership of healthcare employees. The case of the health sector in Pakistan was chosen. This study employed the dimensional Denison (2000) model of OC possessing the characteristics of involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission, while the construct of psychological ownership is drawn from the work of Pierce, Kostova, and Dirks (2003). The primary data were collected through a questionnaire from 324 doctors and nurses, male and female, belonging to both public and private hospitals. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 22.0, and the correlation and multiple regression techniques were adopted. Findings show that involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission explained 73% of healthcare employees' psychological ownership variance. All four dimensions of OC variables, including involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission, were found to possess strong statistically significant relationships and moderate effects on employee psychological ownership.

Who Else Dies When a Mother Dies? Investigating the Effects of Maternal Mortality on Children and Families in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Sonia Omer — 2023-09-08

The effects of maternal mortality on children and families are drastic, particularly in countries where maternal deaths are high. Pakistan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the South Asian region. Social, economic, and cultural factors are primarily responsible for the greater number of maternal deaths in the country. Most of the deaths are reported in rural areas. Children and families, after losing a mother, go through testing times that include infant mortality, compromising health conditions of children, remarriage of fathers, discontinuation of education, poor health conditions of children, early marriage of a girl child, and mental disorders among children. The current study is qualitative and has used verbal autopsies to find out the effects of maternal deaths on children and families. Thematic analysis has been used to draw on the major findings of the research. The study concluded that mothers' death discontinuation in children's education, early girl-child marriage, and early engagement in labor work were the effects on family and children. There is a dire need to propose a comprehensive program to control maternal mortality on the part of the government and policymakers.

Education Recovery Mission 2022: Understanding the Role of Leader-Member Relationship upon Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB): A Case Study Approach

Seema Khalid — 2023-09-08

COVID-19 has brought voluminous disruptions in Education in the form of abrupt closure of schools, ungreeted online classes and students' learning & performance challenges. This study aims to recover unmet educational targets. It investigates the impact of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) on the Employees' Performance in a leading college in Karachi as a case study. Relevant information is gathered from the said organization through interviews and a questionnaire, and the sample size includes 102 subjects. The statistical tool applied in this study is LMX-MDM, which assists in measuring the relationship quality between different organizational levels, and the OCB scale introduced by Podsakoff highlights 24-item help investigating the OCB variables and their impact on employees' performance. The correlational Regression Model was run, and findings show that the chosen constituents of LMX have a positive and significant relationship with the teachers' behavior and improved performance. The research provides insight into different ways to integrate strategies to motivate the workforce to achieve the unmet educational targets due to the pandemic. The study also serves as a reference for stakeholders in Academia to introduce a new set of techniques and enhance the performance in educational settings during the pandemic.