Developing Country Pakistan Research Articles

Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy complicated by pre-existing lupus nephritis: Insights from a developing country Pakistan.

Pregnancy in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has remained a great challenge for clinicians in terms of maternal and fetal outcomes. The outcomes in women with pre-existing lupus nephritis (LN) are variable. The impact of different classes of LN on maternal and fetal outcomes during pregnancy is not well defined, as data is very scarce, especially from the developing countries. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 52 women with 89 pregnancies. All had biopsy-proven LN. Those women who conceived at least 6months after the diagnosis were included. The analysis was conducted between July 1998 and June 2018 at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), evaluating the outcomes for both the mother and the fetus with a minimum follow-up of 12months after child birth. The mean maternal age at SLE diagnosis was 21.45 ± 6years and at first pregnancy was 26.49 ± 5.63years. The mean disease duration was 14.02 ± 19.8months. At conception, 47 (52.8%) women were hypertensive, 9 (10%) had active disease while 38 (42.7%) and 42 (47.2%) were in complete and partial remission, respectively. A total of 17 (19.1%) were on mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), which was switched to azathioprine (AZA). Out of 89 pregnancies, 56 (62.9%) were successful, while 33 (37.07%) had fetal complications like spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, perinatal death, and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). There were more vaginal deliveries (33 [58.92%]) than caesarean sections (23 [41.07%]). Renal flare was observed in 33 (37.1%) women while 15 (16.9%) developed pre-eclampsia. Proliferative LN was found in 56 (62.9%) cases, but no significant differences were found in maternal and fetal outcomes in relation to LN classes (p = .58). However, disease outcomes at 12months were significantly poor in those with active disease at the time of conception (p < .05). There was only one maternal death. A total of 10 (11.2%) women showed deterioration in renal function and 5 (5.6%) were dialysis-dependent at 12months. The maternal and fetal outcomes in pre-existing LN depend on the disease activity at the time of conception. No correlation was found between International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) classes of LN and adverse disease and pregnancy outcomes.

Assessing the sustainable development of firms: The moderating role of transformational leadership and firm size

AbstractDue to escalating environmental problems and challenges, ensuring sustainable development (SD) has become a matter of concern for organizations worldwide at a precinct scale. This study aims to integrate the variables, which are antecedents of SD through direct and indirect paths. The managers as participants of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises have helped the researchers to explore the role of green knowledge management (GKM) and green dynamic capacity with the intervention of green innovation and competitive advantage in achieving SD. The results achieved through structural equation modeling revealed positive and significant direct and indirect relationships, however, the intervening role of green innovation and green competitive advantage between GKM and SD show insignificant results. Interestingly, we have also identified two significant moderators as a part of this study: large firm size and transformational leadership. This research has important implications and significant contributions to theory and practice. It can be considered innovative by using a range of antecedents in an integrated way, proposing and testing a theoretical model of SD in a developing country Pakistan, which is affirmed and committed to achieving SDGs by the year 2030.

An Exploratory Study on Job Satisfaction Factors among Journalists in Pakistan

The journalism is most sophisticated and sacred job in any corner of the world. News making and its disseminations is a typical profession. Being part of a developing country, journalists also suffer the challenges layered throughout the social settings. These challenges affect their professional life along with personal life. Ultimately their job satisfaction goes at stake. The researchers tried to dig out predicting factors of job satisfaction among the journalists in context of a developing country. Due to Time &amp; budget constraints, researchers applied purposive sampling technique and data was collected through survey from eminent journalists from a twin city of Pakistan. The data was collected from 108 journalists. Researchers aimed to study relationship of socioeconomic condition of journalists through the number of family members and the type of house ownership, job disloyalty in case of unsatisfactory salary, pride of association with organization and their job security under gratuity and provident fund with job satisfaction subsequently. The results revealed a significant relationship between socioeconomic conditions based upon a financial load of dependant family members and type of house ownership and job satisfaction, job disloyalty incase of unsatisfactory salary and other job seeking, pride of association with organization and Job satisfaction and finally job security and job satisfaction among the journalists. The study justified the relationship of socioeconomic condition, level of salary, job security and pride of association with job satisfaction among the journalists from a developing country Pakistan.

Impact of Attributes of Audit Committee on Productivity of Intellectual Capital (Empirical Evidence from Pakistan)

Aim of this research is to find whether there exists an impact of audit committee characteristics on the intellectual capital of banks in the developing country Pakistan. In this study the independent variable audit committee characteristics contain three components that are independence, size, and meetings while the dependent variable is efficiency of intellectual capital which is measured using modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) approach and the control variables utilized in the paper are bank specific. The sample contains 28 banks and total number of observations are 308 which contains data for time period 2010 to 2020. Audit committee helps in improving internal control by overseeing management decisions ultimately resulting in enhancing an institutions overall efficiency. The findings of the paper disclosed that there is a significantly positive influence of audit committee characteristics on intellectual capital efficiency of banks. The outcomes deduced from the research could provide further insights on the association between components of audit committee and intellectual capital efficiency which will be of significance for managers in making decisions regarding AC composition in order to increase IC in developing nations.

Internet of things in telecommunications: A technological perspective

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the role of telecommunications service providers in promoting connectivity among people and devices. Through its deployment, the IoT is fostering digitization, technological innovation, and advancement in the telecom industry. Telecom businesses are primarily engaging in IoT platforms through either international collaborations with cloud service providers or local infrastructure deployments. In developing countries, businesses are adopting IoT technology, which is a newly emerging phenomenon. From sim and data sales to new IoT-enabled offerings, telecoms are diversifying their businesses and services. Individuals and businesses can use their services to host IoT devices, applications, and solutions on the IoT platform. This paper discusses IoT technology in telecom in context of a Telecom Company “China Mobile Pakistan” in developing country Pakistan, who is boosting connectivity among people and devices through the deployment of IoT platform OneNET. Through qualitative case study, this paper documents ecosystem, value chain, features, architecture, and functions of IoT platform OneNET. It emphasizes the importance of an IoT platform that aids management, as well as university students, hardware providers, solution providers, equipment suppliers, local application developers, and incubators, in comprehending the complexities of IoT technology for telecoms.

Does social media usage boost career prospects of women: an exploratory study in the academia

PurposeThis paper draws on the affordance perspective, to explore the social media (SM) usage experiences that might render valuable for academic women professionals, for knowledge exchange, networking and success. Owing to the increased SM usage during COVID-19 pandemic, this paper tries to find out that in what ways do SM affordances facilitate the underprivileged group of women professionals to grow in their careers in a masculine, conservative society through knowledge exchange.Design/methodology/approachBy utilizing qualitative study design, the authors collected data from 31 women employed in Pakistani universities, through unstructured questionnaires. The responses were analyzed through Nvivo.FindingsThe generated themes suggested that women in Pakistan are aware of SM's potential for knowledge exchange among fellow professionals. They use it to aid them in communication, collaboration and networking. Additionally, they utilize it to share knowledge and build networks that are vital for career progression and success.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper concludes with the implications for practitioners that would aid them in boosting career prospects for women academicians through SM usage in a developing country Pakistan; where women's career outlooks are not as promising as for men; or as bright as for women working in the developed economies.Originality/valueThis a unique attempt to explore knowledge exchange dimensions with the help of SM in the context of working women by the deploying the phenomenological approach.

How Does the Accounting Conservatism Affect the Stock Price Crash Risk in Pakistan: The Complementary Role of Managerial and Institutional Ownership

Purpose: The conservatism of accounting and robustness of accounting information disclosure may restrain the irrational behavior of investors and help to reduce the risk of stock price crashes. This study aims to explore this in the context of developing country Pakistan. More specifically, this study investigates the effect of accounting conservatism on stock price crash risk. We also examine the complementary role of managerial and institutional ownership in strengthening this effect.&#x0D; Design/Methodology/Approach: This study conducts the panel data analysis of 155 nonfinancial firms listed in PSX from 2007 to 2019. This study calculates the C-Score to measure accounting conservatism. This study measures the firm’s stock price crash risk by calculating the DUVOL of weekly share prices.&#x0D; Findings: This study finds that there is a significant negative effect of accounting conservatism on firms’ stock price crash risk. This study also finds that managerial ownership enhances the stock price crash risk of the sample firms significantly as a moderator while there is no significant moderating influence of institutional ownership.&#x0D; Implications/Originality/Value: The competent authorities of Pakistan should consider agency conflicts. They should direct the firms’ management to share equal information in time regardless of whether the information is good or bad for stock prices.

Quality Deterioration of Postharvest Fruits and Vegetables in Developing Country Pakistan: A Mini Overview

Post-harvest losses relate to the degradation in the quantity and quality of the crop’s products from harvesting to consumer usage. In many developing countries, like Pakistan, the post-harvest loss is a problem of food security and is of concern to everyone. Inappropriate handling of agricultural products after harvest may cause quality and quantity losses. It also accounts for the increasing prices of agricultural products in Pakistan. The total production of vegetables and fruits in Pakistan is nearly 13.764 million tons, and it is estimated that 35% to 40% of vegetables and fruits were wasted after harvesting. Severe losses and deterioration of vegetables and fruits occurred mainly during harvesting, along with distribution, transportation, and storage. The important reasons for post-harvest losses include mechanical damage, poor handling, microorganisms (bacteria, fungi), unawareness and lack of modern technologies, time management, insects, and mites. Reduction of post-harvest losses is the main goal of the agricultural sector. Training and educational initiatives could be one of the best strategies for minimizing post-harvest losses. The main objective of this review is, to explain the major production, quality deteriorations of vegetables and fruits, and the causes of post-harvest losses in Pakistan. It can be applied as a positive indication because all bodies involved will strive to implement efficient and effective approaches and policies to address the existing problems.

STUDY OF WORKING – WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN SOUTH ASIA: CASE OF PAKISTAN

Women are the integral part of all societies no society can progress without the active participation of women. The involvement of women in decision making process is very important in every field of life. Like many other developing countries Pakistan has also patriarchal social set up where women take decisions under the dominance of their father, husband. Objective of the study was find out the factors influencing the decision-making power of women in family matters’ sample of 120 married universities teachers was selected from the three selected universities of Quetta city. Chi square analysis is used to see the influence of age and personal income on women decision making power. The result reveals that there is significant association between different basic scale and right to take decision as a wife(p&lt;0.020) or as a mother (p&lt;0.026), Married university teachers believe in husband seniority in age (r =0.111; p&lt;0.002) with their decision-making power. Furthermore, they achieve socio economic status (p=&lt;0.049) due to their personal income and their income play supportive role (p =&lt;0.014) in decision making process. 75% respondents free to spend their income on household expenditure(p=&lt;0.026) but have less authority over property related decisions. Overall women education, age, occupation and income has a significant effect on household decision making.

Compliance Rate of Surgical Antimicrobial Prophylaxis and its Association with Knowledge of Guidelines Among Surgical Residents in a Tertiary Care Public Hospital of a Developing Country.

IntroductionSurgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) means the administration of antibiotics in surgical practice, and it reduces the likelihood of surgical site infections (SSIs). Inappropriate SAP practice regarding the prescription, timing, and duration of antibiotic use prolongs the hospital stay of patients, increases patient morbidity (by exposing them to the adverse effects of antibiotics), promotes bacterial resistance, and puts an economic burden on health care.While developed countries regularly monitor and revise their SAP protocols, there are only a few such researches in developing countries, which is a major setback to proper surgical care.Objectives of the studyThis study aims to compare the practice of SAP in a tertiary health care hospital of a developing country Pakistan, with internationally recommended protocols and evaluate the impact of knowledge of international guidelines on SAP practice. The results of the study will highlight important shortcomings in prophylactic practice in the hospital and help develop recommendations to improve SAP practice and ensure better surgical care for patients.Materials and methodsAn observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in the general surgery unit of Holy Family Hospital (HFH), Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from March 2017 to November 2017 during which antimicrobial prophylaxis of 150 general surgery procedures was documented on the basis of six international SAP criteria, which were “indication for use of prophylaxis, timing of preoperative dose, choice of drug, route of administration, duration of postoperative prophylaxis, and the assessment of beta-lactam allergy.” The compliance rate (number of procedures following all the six criteria) was calculated for each operating surgical resident.A questionnaire was formulated that assessed the knowledge of 33 surgical residents working at that time regarding the above- mentioned six variables of SAP by six close-ended questions. Their responses were then compared to their compliance rate by chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression in SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, US). A p-value of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant.The required ethical approval was obtained from the departmental heads as well as institutional research forum.ResultsSeventy-four of 150 observed procedures followed all the six international criteria of SAP, giving a compliance rate of 49.33%. Seventeen out of 33 (51%) surgical residents were aware of the guidelines. A chi-square analysis revealed a highly significant association between the awareness of guidelines and the number of compliant procedures performed by a resident (p<0.000). Forty-five out of 74 compliant procedures were performed by residents who were aware of the guidelines (61% of compliant procedures). The odds ratio for awareness and correct prophylaxis was 4.064 (p<0.000).ConclusionsThe study indicates an overall low compliance rate of 49.33% regarding surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) practice in a public health care hospital of a developing country. The most common cause of non-compliance was prolonged postoperative prophylaxis. This study also shows that the knowledge of international guidelines significantly improves the prophylaxis practice by about four times. Hence, proper SAP compliance rate can be increased by actively educating and monitoring surgical residents.

Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan

Various fields of manufacturing, management, and business, including technology education, software development, and information communication technology (ICT), have espoused sustainability concepts. Including sustainability concepts in technology, education can help students learn how to implement the dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). Lack of awareness and education regarding sustainability among students can impact their competence to incorporate sustainability into technology development. Thus, the development of student competence across the curriculum of technology education for sustainability is crucial. This research aims to explore student competence development in technology education (IT, computer science, and software development) through investigating their awareness of sustainability, and to investigate how much sustainability is infused across the technology education curriculum. The case study for this research is taken from a very populous and developing country—Pakistan. First, an in-depth survey of higher education students is conducted to investigate their awareness level of sustainability. Second, qualitative document analysis is conducted, where the standard curriculum for technology education is taken and analyzed for its provision towards sustainability. A total of 159 students from various public-sector universities of Pakistan reported their awareness towards sustainability. The results show that 71% of them are unaware of the term sustainability in their respective fields, only 17% students know the basic definition of sustainability, and 12% of students have just an idea of how sustainability is related to technology education. It is also observed that the current curriculum of technology education does not sufficiently cover specific subjects or topics that can help students understand the concepts of sustainability. This study highlights the gaps in the offered curriculum for building the desired competence of students in technology education.

Exploring Types of Waste Generated: A Study of Construction Industry of Pakistan

The construction sector is responsible for providing fundamental physical structure required for living and survival of human life. Increased development works have led in resulting the massive amount of waste generation in developing countries. Due to poor management system on sites, it has become more crucial and exerts several negative impacts on society and the environment. This Unused waste material has a negative impact on the ecosystem and needs a considerable amount of money for recycling, reusing and disposal of the waste. Like other developing countries Pakistan is spending a significant portion of its GDP on handling construction waste. Among the several other factors, the key contributes are highlighted in this study. This study is exploratory work investigating the types of construction waste generated on site and their relative impact of the project cost in construction projects of Pakistan. Through questionnaire the opinion of clients, consultant and constructor have been taken to identify the major types of waste having more impacts on cost and time. Through Average index, severity index and importance index, the probability of occurrence of waste through different materials, severity level of waste production by these materials, and the overall effect of all waste generating materials have been found respectively. Among the materials sand, concrete, tile is the most common materials, which are responsible for a waste generation while time and cost are the two most common non-physical waste generating factors.

Pattern of bone marrow involvement in non Hodgkin's lymphoma classified according to WHO classification: Report of a developing country Pakistan.

BACKGROUND:Limited information is available from developing countries in patients of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Hence, we reviewed the demographical profile along with bone marrow infiltration pattern in patients with NHL presented at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this descriptive study, adult patients with NHL were enrolled from January 2011 to December 2015.RESULTS:One hundred and Eighty-four histopathologically confirmed cases of NHL were identified. There were 139 males and 45 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. The mean age was 48.5 ± 16.0 years with the median age of 50 years. B-symptoms were present in 80.4% of patients. Lymph node enlargement was present in 71.1% of the cases. One hundred and sixty-eight patients had B-cell lymphoma (91.3%) and 16 patients had T-cell lymphoma (8.6%). Overall 158 (85.8%) patients had aggressive lymphoma. The frequency of bone marrow infiltration in our NHL patients was found to be 31.5%. Pattern of infiltrate was diffuse (14.6%) predominantly followed by interstitial (6.5%) and paratrabecular (5.4%) types of infiltration. The least common was nodular infiltrate accounted in 9 (4.8%) patients.CONCLUSIONS:B-cell lymphoma is more frequent than T-cell lymphoma. Younger age, aggressive lymphoma, and predominance of B-symptoms are more frequently seen. Diffuse bone marrow infiltration is more common in our set up probably because of a relatively late presentation in our patients.

Severity of burn and its related factors: A study from the developing country Pakistan

BackgroundBurns are leading cause of fatal injuries and major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. The major obstacle in controlling severity is factors related to burn. This study determines frequency of burns and the factors related to it in Karachi, Pakistan. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted and 384 hospitalized adult patients with burns were consecutively interviewed during August 2013 to February 2014. Information was collected on socio-demographic profile, intent of burn, severity of burn, health hazards, physical and psychological characteristics. TBSA burn of >15% was considered as higher severity of burn. ResultsHigher severity of burns was found in 76.3% patients. Multivariate analysis showed that higher severity of burns were significantly associated with age less than 25 years (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.5–4.9), never had been to school (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.7–5.9) and intentional burn (OR 20.6, 95% CI 5.0–84.9). ConclusionMajority of patients had higher severity of burn. The intent of injury was intentional, age less than 25 years and no schooling were found significantly associated with higher severity of burns.

Violation of Women’s Rights the Most Devastating Dilemma of a Pakistani Society- A Case Study

This case study illuminates some common issues and dilemmas encountered by females of low socioeconomic status living in a developing country Pakistan.

Transportation Problems in Developing Countries Pakistan: A Case-in-Point

Identifying and solving transportation problems is one of the chief tasks confronting governments in developingcountries like Pakistan. Despite large expenditures on urban transport systems, the current transportationproblems in developing nations continue to worsen because of bad planning, lack of governance, and corruption.Therefore, developing countries like Pakistan, have a major crisis on their hands. Urban transport problems inPakistan are mostly managed by building larger and better roads, but building roads is not the solution. Roadprojects need to be part of an over-all transportation plan that includes traffic management and bigger and bettertransit systems and public transport. The principles of sustainable transport encourage utilization of low costpublic transport capable of performing well in mixed land use and densely–populated Pakistani cities. Thisarticle highlights the core problem of continuing failure by Pakistani government to develop and manage theirpublic transport systems to provide a high level of mobility, equity, and environmental sustainability.

Maternal Mortality: A Priority Issue In Reproductive Health

Maternal mortality is best defined as death of women during pregnancy or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from a cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental cause. Pregnancy is not a disease and pregnancy related morbidity and mortality are preventable. Despite that, more than half a million maternal deaths are reported worldwide each year, with vast majority of these deaths occurring in developing countries. 1 In Western hemisphere of world, maternal mortality ratio (MMR) remained disturbingly high form late nineteenth century till the mid 1930’s and then began to fall rapidly. A comparison of MMRs between 1870 and 1950 in certain European countries, especially Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, suggests that between 1870 and 1935, it was usually considered safe to be delivered at home by a welltrained midwife rather than by a doctor in a hospital but it was no safer to be rich rather than poor. 2 Canadian regional MMRs were also persistently high until 1939, then showed a declining trend. 3 Advances in obstetrics have contributed in declining these trends but compositional influences were also important. Favourable changes in mother’s age-parity distributions contributed upto 24% drop in MMRs between 19391960 and 1965-1969. Due to their continued efforts, now MMR from developed world is reported from zero to a maximum of 13/100,000 live births (LB). 4 In developed countries, MMR is now a forgotten chapter in the medical history mainly due to their high socioeconomic conditions, better education and advanced obstetric care. While in developing countries, situation in this regard is vice versa. Research reports reveal that majority of maternal deaths are preventable and maternal health depends strongly upon quality of health care, and maternal mortality acts as a litmus test of women, of their access to health care and response of health care to their needs. South Asian developing countries Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have major share in maternal deaths worldwide. These countries account for about 28% of total births and 46% of maternal deaths in the world. Latest available data from India and Bangladesh show that MMRs in these countries have significantly declined during last few years. 5-7 In rural India, MMR upto 260/100,000 LB has been reported. 6

Rehabilitation in Pakistan: Where there is nothing, where do you start?

Summary As in many developing countries Pakistan has a large population of disabled people. Many children who have developed major disabilities could have had much of their disability prevented. In Pakistan 70% of the population live in villages and find it impossible from both a physical and financial point of view to avail themselves of appropriate assistance. Following needs assessment in several areas of Pakistan, it was decided to develop a programme which would assist in some measure. The programme would incorporate motivation of the community, prevention of disability, delivery of appropriate rehabilitation, and the making of simple appliances. The programme is now in its third year and although there have been many problems there have been many areas of success and many lessons have been learned through the experience thus far.