Exploring the risk factors of suicide attempters among young individuals

Suicide has been described as the act of intentionally ending one’s own life. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death and major public health concern. The present study was designed to examine the potential causes of suicidal acts through qualitative research design.Sample includes 30 individuals admitted in Jinnah hospitalwho attempted suicide were selected by purposive sampling and the data were gathered by qualitative semi-structured individual interviews. Data were analysed by conventional approach of qualitative content analysis.Results indicate four main themes emerged from this current study which includes family factors, social factors, environmental factors and individual factors which leadto suicide attempts. These results have important implications for the prevention of suicide. Psychological clinics and prevention programs should include these factors in their assessment.

Developing Gwadar Port in Contemporary Blue Economy

Gwadar Port was inaugurated on 20 March 2007 and on 31 Oct 2016 first CPEC convoy consisting 95 trucks reached Gwadar Port from China. On 17 April 2020 Afghan Transit Trade started through Gwadar port. Presently Gwadar Port is functioning with three berths however it will be operating with 150 berths by 2045. As a Transshipment Port Gwadar will not only be supporting the Persian Gulf Region ports but also the ports around Horn of Africa and Bay of Bengal. It is appreciated that geo-political and military developments in Indo-Pacific Region will further add to influence Gwadar Port in Blue Diplomacy; however the regional and extra regional competition in Indo-Pacific Region combined with expanding Eurasian Trade links implies to develop Gwadar Port into a regional transshipment hub between Singapore and Rotterdam in an early time frame.

Store as a Brand and Its Impact on Consumer Purchasing Behavior

Objectives: Stores of Apparel brands consider a driving force in boosting business and shaping consumer buying behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of brand store image on consumer purchasing behavior in the Lahore district. Method: A mixed-method study design was used in this study. Two apparel brands of male and female’s were selected conveniently as a sample of this study. Interviews and focus groups were used for data collection, from managements and stores’ staff, which was later analyzed thematically. The qualitative results then used to generate a questionnaire for consumers. For this purpose, data were collected from the 216 respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed while using SPSS. Findings: Results revealed that different strategies used by brand stores for the attraction of their customers while the attributes of stores, elements of the brand, and customer-friendly policies were found important influential factors in determining the purchasing behavior of the customers in this study. Implication: The findings of this study can be a source of implications for new store brands and suggestions for further researches.

Income Diversification by agro- Pastoralists in Cholistan Desert Punjab, Pakistan

The pastoralists are economically depend upon livestock for their income which include their herds of livestock and the bi products produced and sold. The nomads keep moving in search of food and forage so they do not completely destroy the natural resource of a particular area. During their journey of searching water sometimes make them closer to the agriculture land near towns where they used to earn through off farm activities which include the income earned through their unskilled labour activities. The multinomial probit regression employed in this study for analysis revealed that many pastoralists adopt the income diversification strategies which are the coping strategies for other than livestock income to reduce the risks attached with livestock income. The role of Govt. and NGOs for improvement in infrastructure is envisaged to find the enhancement of livestock sector in the area is explored in this study. The study is unique in providing perspective on providing access to different facilities and the role of government in improving living of population.

Social development or marketing: A discourse analysis of female borrowers in Lahore Pakistan

The MFOs espoused marketing approach for financial sustainability over shadows development agenda. Originally community-based organizations were designed to bring lender-borrower closer for socio-economic development is now used to identify customers with repaying capacity. The MFOs derived international financial organizations’ financial sustainability discourse remains predominant and community organizations are means to develop relationship building for commercial goals. The interdisciplinary study uses interpretive methodology, discourse analysis and case method, interviewing 120 female borrowers individually and collectively in a more than 120 hours juxtaposing MFOs, and international financial organizations discourse with the borrowers’ text. The findings show there is a mismatch between stated social development goals and microloans only meet social and consumption needs. The study suggests MFOs dual strategy does not serve social development goals and there is need to pursue either goals.

Importance of Customer Perceived Value in Restaurant Businesses: Influence of Brand Experience on Brand Strength and Electronic Word of Mouth

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between brand experience, brand strength, and electronic word of mouth along with mediating role of perceived brand value. A total of 308 responses were generated, using an electronic questionnaire. The data was deductively analyzed using reliability, validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of this study indicate that brand experiences positively influence brand strength and electronic word of mouth. Moreover, the results revealed the partial mediation of customer perceived value in the relationship of brand experience and brand strength and also in the relationship between brand experience and electronic word of mouth. This study explains how restaurants can create electronic word of mouth and increased brand strength through memorable experiences. This study provides insight beyond marketing mix elements, and ad theatrical elements which provide evidence for positive customer value perception increased brand strength, and widely generated word of mouth. The theatrical elements of serving food studied in this research have not been studied before in the context of Pakistani restaurants. Therefore, this study bridges the gap between previous studies.

A Exploratory Factor Analysis, Validation and Reliability of the ‘Perceived Socio-Economic Sustainability’ Scale: An Entrepreneurship and Economic Corridors Perspective

This research aimed to develop & test the scale for perceived socioeconomic sustainability (PSES). Data was collected from 425 experienced industrial entrepreneurs by survey method of data collection. Findings suggested that the statistically tested form of the PSES scale has consisted of 11-items under single factor. Further, this study displays statistical process by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) technique to ensure validity and reliability as testimony for the instrument-development. The scale for PSES, developed by this study, will be helpful for scholars for measurement of ‘perception’ of different stakeholders of entrepreneurial ecosystem like financial institutions, media, Government, and service industry etc.

Green Spillover: Deriving Pro-environmental Behavior on job and Off-job through Environmental Specific Servant Leadership

The study was conducted to explore the role of environmental specific servant leadership to promote on-job and off-job pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, the study attempted to unfurl the mediating role of environmental passion linking environmental specific servant leadership to on job and off-job pro-environmental behavior. The study finally obtained data from 296 respondents who were employed in the service sector of Pakistan. The data analysis was carried out using PLS-smart and SPSS. Specifically, multiple regression and hierarchical regression were used to test the proposed structural model. The study found that environmental specific leadership is related to employees’ environmental passion, on-job, and off-job pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, environmental passion was found to mediate the relationship between environmental specific servant leadership and on-job and off-job pro-environmental behavior of the employees. This is the first study that examined the relationship between environmental specific servant leadership on on-job and off-job pro-environmental behavior jointly. Additionally, it is the first study that established the mediating role of environmental passion between environmental specific servant leadership with both the pro-environmental behaviors. Keywords – Environment specific servant leadership, Environmental Passion, Pro-environmental behavior, pro-environmental work behavior

The Role of University Preparation for Developing Students’ Employability and Professional Competencies

The present research examines the effects of professional competencies of the university on students’ perceived employability including the relationship between perceived employability and professional competencies of postgraduates from public and private universities. The study was carried out on a sample of 300 hundred postgraduates including males (n= 150) and females (n=150). Data was gathered through a survey using the multistage proportionate random sampling technique. Perceived employability scale (Rothwell and Arnold, 2007) and Gutierrez's community college student survey (Gutierrez, 2012) were utilized. Results indicating a significant positive correlation between perceived employability and professional competencies of university postgraduates. Furthermore, results demonstrated the positive effects of professional competencies on the perceived employability of university postgraduates. Key Words: Perceived employability, professional competencies, postgraduates.

Impact of workplace spirituality on employee attitudes and engagements

An important question in the field of spirituality at the workplace concerns the relationship of this construct with organizational outcomes. While recognizing that workplace spirituality is an abstract concept, this study attempts to empirically measure the relationship between spirituality at the workplace with employee attitude and engagement. Workplace spirituality has been measured through a combination of individual and organizational type variables whereas employee attitude was measured through five prevalent variables. Two variables were used to measure employee engagement. This study proved a positive association between spirituality at the workplace and employee attitude and engagement. PLS-SEM is used to test the developed research model and hypotheses on the collected data. In conclusion and recommendation, this paper presents numerous implications and research directions for both academics and the business world, moreover, the paper also justifies the need for a comprehensive investigation into the impact of workplace spirituality on employees and subsequently on organizational performance.