This paper investigates listed firm efficiency on Pakistan Stock Exchange by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The reason for application and calculation of the DEA score is to know how much the firms are efficient in utilizing their resources to be converted into output (sales/Net Income). An optimization technique (DEA) that helps calculate efficiencies of firm’s decision making Units (DMU’s) by taking different inputs and outputs variables. This paper uses DEA in measuring efficiency of 136 Pakistani firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Using secondary data set of 136 firms for the period 2008-2017, efficiency measurements are calculated by using financial ratios and financial indicators as input and output variables. Results show that some of the firms are efficient in utilizing their available resources in an efficient way to convert it into output, while some are inconsistent in efficiently utilizing their resources (inputs) to get the desired outputs.

Firm's business activities are focused on profit making. The cultural, technological, organizational, financial and operational challenges followed by different risks like market or credit risks make it difficult for firms to focus on their sole aim of earning profit. Previous studies have highlighted that market risk and credit risks have a significant influence on firm's performance. However, prediction of credit risk from market risk has not been explored in Pakistan which this paper attempts by investigating the impact of market risk on credit risk of the following period. For this study, a panel data of 30 manufacturing firms was collected through random sampling technique from period 2005 to 2016. A regression model was estimated in Generalized Method of Momments and used a Hausman test to select fixed or random effects. Results of this study show that firms have 30% more current liabilities as compared to current assets and experience volatility in stock prices which increases the credit risks. However, research findings shows that firms have reasonable growth opportunities and profitability they can be used to reduce stock volatility and attain confidence of creditors in firms. The increase in leverage due to creditor's confidence in firm indicates a decrease in credit risk. Overall the study shows the significantly negative impact of market risk on credit risk of the subsequent time period which specifies market risk may foresee credit risk of the following period and gives a new understanding for investors and policymakers to curb risks in investment decisions.

This paper aims to analyze the institutional framework in Pakistan for disaster management and specific disaster management policies. This paper is also designed to develop an in-depth understanding of the key challenges that the communities of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan face in the wake of constantly reoccurring disasters. House-hold survey, observations and key informant interviews were conducted to analyze the preparedness, both at community and organizational levels. The findings point out that disaster management policies and mechanisms regarding preparedness are not implemented by both federal and state authorities at local level. Further, the local communities of AJK, Pakistan are susceptible to different kind of hazards related to disasters. The paper reveals that available federal/state mechanism of disasters do not meet the needs of community. All of the stakeholders including federal government institutions, state government institutions and local communities are not prepared. Thus, communities are continuously getting affected by natural disasters. The paper suggests that there is a dire need to improve the coordination between state and national agencies. Further, there is need to enhance community preparedness specifically in AJK, Pakistan to upgrade community's defensive and awareness mechanism to safeguard citizens' lives in response to seismic emergency.

Language and advertising are interconnected and play a significant role in communicating a message directly or indirectly. Direct roles concern buying decisions of the consumers while indirect roles establish a lasting relation of consumer with the brand. This research studies the language of copywriting of advertising focusing its role in developing consumer-brand relationship. The research uses mix of quantitative and qualitative methods based on the framework of Laswells model of communication. The study uses content analysis for examination of the language of print advertisements and the consumer brand relationship. Survey is used as method of data collection from magazines including Akhbar e Jahan and MAG published by Jang group of newspapers. The study finds that figurative language style is used more in Pakistani print advertisements in comparison to literal language. Moreover, the results prove that the copy writing of print advertisements does play a significant role in developing consumer-brand relationship.

The study investigated family interference with work conflict (FIW) among female teachers based on selected demographic variables and its impact on their job performance; with job performance as the dependent variable and FIW the independent variable. The data was gathered from 295 female teachers from fifteen FEF girls’ degree colleges across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through a survey questionnaire of 42 closed-end items on five-point Likert scale. Of the total 295 teachers, 220 respondents including 177 married and 43 unmarried returned the questionnaire. The findings divulged that the teachers faced FIW with different magnitude based on various demographic factors and has an adverse impact on their job performance. The findings are useful for researchers, policy makers, teacher and employers as they give an insight into the female teachers’ problems in their efforts of balancing their roles in family and work domains.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a strategic game-changer development projects both for China and Pakistan with varying interests.For the successful implementation of CPEC, various cooperation mechanisms were signed between China and Pakistan. This cooperation mechanism has been perceived differently by different stakeholders. The mechanism of cooperation seems like a complex phenomenon due to the interest articulation and contradictions of the capitalist model of cooperation. Moreover, cooperation also needs adaptation to produce and reproduce capital in the case ofCPEC related projects. An attempt has been made in this paper to explore the mechanisms of cooperation on CPEC.Who is benefiting from this cooperation? And how this cooperation mechanism is being translated into a project of game-changer.' In a capitalist structure, the control over means of production and private ownership creates a nature of competition protected by existing institutional arrangements to strengthen a structure of profiteering.Cooperation is totally opposite to competition, and primarily it depends on the socialistic principle of sharing and caring.

China-Pakistan's economic corridor provides a strategic link to Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) and its global outreach. The infrastructural connectivity between China and Pakistan is primarily focused on the trade route to get access in the markets of theMiddle East, Europe, and Africa. In the context of CPEC,what does infrastructure mean? What does it reflect/represent? And to whom is it? Are the major questions that have been explored in this paper.Infrastructural development encompasses a holistic social sphere that relates to physical and institutional structures. It also facilitates the flow of commodities, including capita land sources of production. After the 9/11 incident, Pakistan became a front line state against the war on terror; then, its internal and external factors compelled Pakistan towards Chinese-led infrastructural development to consolidate State power. This paper is an attempt to explore the politics of infrastructure development in the context of CPEC. The findings are based on empirical evidence with strong insights from a theoretical framework. Positivist, post positivist, and critical approaches have been used to explore the relationship between CPEC and the politics of infrastructural development.

The study was based on the investigation and validation of the association between the most emerging traits of human capital in the organizations i.e. Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Organizational Learning Capacity (OLC) and further testing the moderating role of Individual Innovation among the faculty and staff of Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in Pakistan. The results show that EI has a significant contribution towards the OLC and when measured together with the trait of Individual Innovation the results significantly improved which suggest that individual innovation positively and significantly affect the relationship between EI and OLC. The study has implication for policymakers for the enhancement of EI traits in their employees and also for the individuals to focus and improve the value of EI in their personality to gain the benefits of their innovation and organizational learning capacity.

This article focuses on analyzing essential ingredients to initiate and sustain a successful anticorruption strategy. The basic objective of this policy paper is to recommend a set of policies based on the lessons drawn from the success of anti-corruption strategies in other countries. Taking Pakistan as the test-bed, it relates to the design, initiation, and pursuit of anti-corruption activities. The article elaborates a six-step anti-corruption strategy suggesting that to eradicate corruption effectively, the country must initiate these preconditions. It should: (1) restore the public confidence by showing political will to fight corruption; (2) restructure its main anti-corruption agency; (3) establish an anti-corruption inter-agency coordinating board; (4) reform the police, (5) initiate programs and curriculum for anti-corruption awareness; (6) establish a watchdog from the civil society with an advisory role. The strategies suggested in this article are based on the successes of anti-corruption agencies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Georgia.

Merger and acquisition is the strategy used by banks to expand its development process. In the current study operating and market performance has been assessed of the Banks exercised the M&A by taking the data from 2005-17. The main focus of the study is to evaluate the Banks performance using data collected from nine banks gone through the merger and acquisition strategy with the help of ordinary least square model. The results show significant relationship operating performance but insignificant relation with market performance. Findings provided an opportunity for the Banks to study and utilize the M&A strategy for capturing market share and further development in the competitive market. Furthermore, a glimpse for potential investors has been provided who want to create a profitable portfolio according to market concentration. The implications demands that proper improvement should be considered for the mechanism and regulatory policies to ensure the security of Banks.