Review of Economics and Development Studies (READS) (E-Journal)
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Identification of Causes of Student’ Low Academic Achievements at Higher Secondary Level: A Qualitative Study
Get PDFThe present qualitative study was aimed to investigate the causes of Low Academic achievements of higher secondary students. Thirty participants were individually interviewed by a semi-structured schedule interview by purposive sampling techniques. All the interviews were audio-recorded. The data was analyzed by ‘thematic analysis’ technique, results showed that lack of parental involvement and support, lack of teachers involvement and support, lack of help and support from friends, excessive and negative use of social media, lack of students involvement and interaction in class, lack of interest in English, lack of learning facilities and teaching methodology, academic stress and anxiety, examination stress and anxiety, social stress and anxiety, environmental stress and anxiety, physical stress and anxiety, and poor health issues were the reasons causing low academic achievements among students. This study is helpful for educationists, psychologists, parents, teachers, and students to identify particular causes, creating biasness in students’ academic grades. They should make efforts to eradicate the identified causes having negative effects on the academic achievements of students who are our future leaders
An Overview of Women Entrepreneurship from Islamic Perspective
Get PDFIslam has encouraged women to participate in entrepreneurial activities for economic prosperity and social growth. Nevertheless, their participation in economic activities is very lesser than men globally. Previously, the field of entrepreneurship has been regarded as a male dominant sector. Entrepreneurship flourishes due to economic, social, ethical, and environmental factors while the practice of Sharia principles works as a catalyst in this process. Women entrepreneurship helps in alleviating poverty and unemployment that leads to socio-economic prosperity in a country. The motivation of starting women businesses varies in different cultures and geographic regions. Women engagements in different business activities can not only empower them socially and financially but can also share the household economic burden with men. Furthermore, it will also help them to make their decisions independently. Their entrepreneurial income can be used for their children’s education, health, and the betterment of society. They can also use the option of partnership within the family for the financial and social network. The challenges faced by these women entrepreneurs can be handled with their family support. This review provides a general overview of concepts, motives, challenges, and the prospects of women entrepreneurship from an Islamic perspective
Impact of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Pakistan’s Trade: Empirical Evidence from Gravity Model
Get PDFPurpose: The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is anenormous project for both economies. There are much potentialremunerations for concerning frugalities in trade and industries of bothcountries. The study was specifically designed to examine the influence ofCPEC on fruits export of Pakistan. The bilateral or regional trade wasexamined through Gravity approach. Data was taken from 2013 to 2015.Since distance plays a vital role in trade, the outcomes of gravity model areestimated with ordinary least square method. Pakistan China EconomicCorridor is a mega project for both economies. It will make Pakistan andChina, the major economic players in the region and further enhanceeconomic conditions of both countries. Some of the basic determinations ofPak-China economic corridor are to boost business opportunities, efficienttransport routes and expanding regional trade. The export target of Pakistanwas US 6,178 billion. Pakistan’s exports to Asia was amounted to US 1,017 billion. Thepaper analyses the CPEC’s impact on exports especially exports from fruitmarket of Pakistan using Gravity Approach for the evaluation of thisbilateral trade. The results show that CPEC reduces the distance and it willbe more beneficial for perishable goods trade like fruits
Impact of Urban Agglomeration on Economic Growth of Cities
Get PDFPurpose: Current study attempts to identify the impact of urban agglomerations on economic growth of cities in Punjab, Pakistan. Additionally the study attempted to identify the non-linearity of urban system in Punjab. The study utilized the district level data collected from secondary sources. For the purpose of estimations the study utilized recursive econometric technique. The results of the study showed that market size, district land area and Govt. policy for agglomeration has a positive and significant impact on urban agglomeration. While district vehicle density and district urbanization level negatively and significantly affect urban agglomeration. Results for urban economic growth regression showed that urban agglomeration positively and significantly affect urban economic growth. The study also supported the shaped non-linearity of the core-periphery (CP) model in Punjab’s urban system
Corporate Governance and Firm Efficiency: Empirical Study of Pakistan
Get PDFIn this exploratory study, we examine the effect of firm level corporate governance on firm efficiency calculated through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) during the period from 2008-2017 for a sample of 136 non-financial firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). DEA is a non-parametric technique developed by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (1978) which is used to measure firm efficiency by taking different input and output variables. In this study we have used three input and three output variables for firm overall technical efficiency (OTE) measurement, input variables were Total Assets, Total Liabilities and Cost of Goods Sold (CGS) and output variables were Gross Sales Revenue (Sales), Income before Tax (IBT) and Net Income (NI). Overall technical efficiency was calculated through DEA for selected non-financial firms. In the second stage, the association between firm efficiency measured through DEA and corporate governance estimated by Corporate Governance Index has been fully confirmed in selected firms. Firm size, growth, dummy variable for financial crises 2007-09, GDP growth, and operating cash flows (OCF) were used as control variables. The results show that better implementation of CG practices by the firms will help in increasing their efficiency. In other words, better CG practices help firms to utilize their resources in the better way to produce firm outputs (sales/Profit)
Teacher in Promoting Quality Education: Head Teachers Perception
Get PDFThis research was carried out to study the head teachers’ perception in terms of teacher in the promotion of quality education and about those characteristics which make them different from other facilities that bring quality in education. Quality of education is the major concern of any country and preparing quality teachers is the prime importance in many countries. In this connection quality of teacher cannot be ignored. This study explores the quality characteristics of teachers through literature review that influence the quality of education. In response to the need of quality teacher, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa review and developed Teacher Education Strategy (TES 2013-2018) to improve the quality of teacher in the province. In this regard two districts were taken to know the perception of head teachers of primary public schools in the province. A five point likert scale questionnaire was developed to know the perception of 108 head teachers in two districts Swat and Tank of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan
Use and Utility of Teacher Guides for Primary School Teachers in Punjab
Get PDFThis study is aimed at soliciting pubic primary school teachers’ viewpoints on use and utility of teacher guides, an initiative of government of the Punjab. Data were collected through focus group discussions of male and female teachers from District Sargodha. Teachers were asked to discuss need, importance and use of teacher guide and to suggest ways to improve. Focus group discussions were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed for extracting themes. It was found that teachers acknowledged the need and importance of teacher guide for better teaching. It was noted from their discussion that teachers used Guides for lesson planning and activities but use of teacher guide was not optimal. Some of the teachers were using it in best possible way, while majority were using it occasionally. They highlighted difficulties and challenges like high workload, language of teacher guides and lack of learning material required for suggested activities. The y suggested revising guides for language, removing inconsistencies with respect to schedule of guide and academic calendar. They also suggested lower workload of teachers by recruiting new teachers, providing teachers with training to use guides and making monitoring and supervision more rigorou
Delivery of Health Care Service in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States and Regional Diversity: A Bootstrap DEA Analysis
Get PDFFor the last few decades, demographic changes require new and expensive medical innovations, which ultimately put the health care system under financial pressure. Therefore, provision of efficient services for the sustainability in health care system is mandatory. The objective of this study is to explore the performance of health care services provided in 55 OIC member countries during 2011 and 2015.The bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis and Truncated regression approach have been applied to observe the health system and estimate the efficiency score in 55 OIC member countries. The findings of DEA show that cost efficiency (CE), technical efficiency (TE) and allocative efficiency (AE) of health care system of OIC member countries on average are 0.52, 0.72, and 0.70, respectively. It indicates that OIC countries are not good at selecting cost efficient input mix. The results of truncated regression approach indicate that out-pocket health expenditures is the most important determinant relative to other indicators. It is suggested that it is hard to improve the overall health system at most efficient level. For this purpose there is a need to educate the mass and provide the better opportunities so that people can earn handsome amount, through which they may have better health care
Managing Turnover Intentions among Faculty of Higher Education Using Human Resource Management and Career Growth Practices
Get PDFAcademic institutions cannot survive and perform well without competent and committed academic staff. Therefore, it is important to address the issue of faculty members’ turnover. Focus of this study is to investigate the impact of human resource practices (salary, performance appraisal, training and development) and career growth (career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion speed, and remuneration growth) on faculty members’ turnover intention. The study has used a cross sectional survey data from a sample of 270 full time faculty members of universities in Pakistan. The Partial Least Square (PLS) two step path modeling was used to test the direct and indirect hypotheses. The results indicate that salary and performance appraisals are significantly and negatively related to turnover intention. Besides, it was found that out of four dimensions of career growth, only promotion speed and remuneration growth have significant direct relationship with turnover intention. With regards to mediated relationships, it was found that organizational commitment mediates the relationships between career growth (career goal progress, promotion speed, remuneration growth) and turnover intention. These findings suggest that in order to reduce turnover intention among faculty members, the higher education institutions must institutionalize human resource policies and practices that enhance career growth and employees’ development
Making Foreign Aid Work: Issues of Cost Effectiveness of Educational Aid in Pakistan
Get PDFThe quality of inclusive and accountable institutions in a donor-recipient country determines the effectiveness of foreign aid. This study examined whether the role of donor agency or the implementing agency was more helpful in the successes of two foreign-funded educational interventions in Northern Pakistan. The two interventions, each focusing on teachers’ development program and the capacity development of principals, were funded by two different international donors. The study also provided a comparison of the two international donors working styles and their strategies applied for the execution of their respective projects. The findings of the study, which were generated through qualitative methods, noted wide variations not only in the working strategies of the two donors, but also the role of the executing agency. It was noted that multiple factors determined the productivity of the two projects; one of the elements that contributed the success or failure of the two project was their design or road map. Based on the findings of this study, it was maintained that a proactive role of both the entities is crucial for the success of such interventions.