Public diplomacy lies at the heart of modern development of information age and shapes the concept of social and political thought. This paper analysis the concept of soft power vis-a-vis counter terrorism strategy of nation states and discusses the significance of the soft power and public/cultural diplomacy in building image, nation branding and ultimately building a narrative. It will bring the reference point of Pakistan on the issue of relevance with today's world at the same time carrying a negative image of terrorist state. This paper establishes co-relation between nation branding and public diplomacy. Since the hard power is meeting with failure in order to curb the terrorism, there is limitation of state capacity to use hard power in bringing the structural changes needed for curbing terrorism. The paper recommends that there is a great need for revisiting religious narrative that extremists invoke for justification of their acts.

The base of a successful university in providing quality education and practical knowledge for improving the lives of the youths in terms of social, economical and intellectual development are only possible through promoting research culture. Research conduct and writing is the most important tool for identifying remedial recommendations for education and related problems. This research presents comparative analysis of the research in Public and Private Universities in Pakistan. The research identifies current research practices, their strengths and weaknesses and provides recommendations for improvement. Research supervision and writing are two different parts but in reality these are parts of a single activity which is called thesis writing process. In Pakistan, research culture is considered very difficult and complicated activity because scholars do not accept challenges and the supervisors do not take the required interest. The study highlights the areas where scholars and supervisors need improvement, more struggle, and scientific as well as academic zest.

The paper focuses on the various aspects especially as globally accepted fact is that social and key economic indicators are influenced by the government activities. Public Sector Performance and efficiency reflect government priorities. The paper evaluates the public sector performance of Pakistan by calculating the Public Sector Performance Index based on seven indicators and these seven indicators are further classified into two broad groups. Many international studies have carried out the performance evaluation of public sectors of industrialized countries missing the public sector performance of Pakistan with other countries. With the aim, Public Sector Performance of Pakistan was compared with countries of South Asia and some developed countries. The research analyzes the public sector performance indicators of countries to calculate the overall performance. The paper aims to compare public sector performance of Pakistan with South Asian Countries and members of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which currently includes 34 Countries.

Recently, the Ministry of Health Pakistan decreed that disclosures of anti- smoking messages placement in the movies should be used whereby fear based cognitive anti-smoking message is shown. Consistent with the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) assumption that persuasion messages likely influence the attitude of the relatively unmotivated individuals. This study is the first which tests and compare the ability of anti-smoking persuasion messages presented in the Direct Anti-smoking public service Advertisements (DAA) and Anti-smoking messages Placement Disclosures in movies (APD) in determining viewer’s Attitude to Quit Smoking (AQS). Hence, this attempt overcomes deficient understanding about the effects of disclosing anti-smoking advertisement placement. In a between-subject experiment (N = 120), we measure the smokers’ attitudes in the result of the direct anti-smoking advertisements along with the APDs in movies. Results of the experiment show that attitude to quit smoking becomes stronger when a direct anti-smoking advertisement and anti-smoking disclosure is shown. However, analyses based on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) on Advanced Analysis for Composites (ADANCO) 2.0.1 (a new software for variance-based SEM) attitude to quit smoking is significantly higher when the anti-smoking message disclosure is shown during the movie scenes. These results have significant implications for persuasion theories and public policy about anti-smoking campaigns.

Esprit-De-Corps encompasses cohesion, loyalty and unity within an organization. The study is focused on the existing threads of EspritDe-Corps and its comparison in public and private sector universities. A sample of 533 faculty members was taken. The team STTEPS (T-TAQ) questionnaire was adapted for collecting the data. The data was analyzed through Percentage, mean and t-test. It was concluded that the strands of Esprit-De-Corps are more prevalent in private sector universities. It is recommended that faculty members may be involved in decision making process and trainings pertaining to leadership, communication and other live skills may be imparted.

This research analyzes the soft power and cultural diplomacy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over the years, the Kingdom has been using its cultural diplomacy as an instrument of foreign policy for the promotion of its soft power at regional and global level. The analysis suggest the use of soft power and cultural diplomacy are part of Kingdom’s foreign policy, bringing a wider gesture of aptness and goodwill. In this sense, the study of cultural diplomacy allows the understanding of new concepts and ideas of international insertion, with the participation of higher education institutions, research centers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. King Abdullah has pioneered this initiative of soft power projection of the Kingdom through cultural diplomacy. The study revolves around the era of King Abdullah (2005-2015) while significant reinforcement of this policy is undertaken by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS).

This study is intended to find out the effects of demographic variables on the perceptions of university administrators about the implementation of e-learning management and delivery practices. Simple Random Sampling technique was exercised to choose public and private sector universities which were functioning in Lahore and Gujranwala division, recognized by Higher Education Commission, Pakistan. The data was collected from university academic administrators. A pilot study was conducted to develop a questionnaire for administrators. Data were analyzed through SPSS-21. Findings were confirmed that the four demographic variables have a significant effect on the perceptions of university administrators about elearning management practices and delivery practices. Therefore, it is recommended that universities should focus on demographic variables on changing the perception of the administrators during implementing the e-learning infrastructure.

This study explores the purpose and role of public board meetings in the British National Health Service as an aftermath of public sector reforms. It deviates from the mainstream methodologies to study boards in action as it employs an ethnographic approach. Data has been collected through participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews from eighteen board members and members of the public, and documents in the form of board agenda and meeting minutes. Findings reveal that the purpose of the public board meetings is to manage their public image and to protect their reputation as rational actors and serve as a reporting function that excludes the public from active participation. Hence, this study asserts that public board meetings serve as a formal ritualized practice that performs board meetings. This study has practical implications as similar reforms have been introduced in other public organizations.

The Quran is a primary sacred text for all Muslims which provides a basic idea of Islamic legislation and women role in politics. There are numerous verses in the Quran that teaches the followers to understand and support the participation of women in politics in a given context. Hermeneutics of Quran and the gendered public sphere have complex and critical relationships with each other. The sacred religious text of the Quran is interpreted in multiple perspectives depending on socio-cultural and historical context. Society largely reconcile its intellectual tone through interpretation of text and knowledge production. The paper is an attempt to elaborate on the hermeneutics of the Quran in the context of women's politics. There is a contradictory hermeneutical debate on Quranic text on the issue of women existing in the political sphere. Interpretation is a continuous process and deeply embedded in socio-cultural dynamics. Based on a principles of hermeneutics, Quran is considered to be for all times and ages. As per the rhetoric of the 21stcentury, the contemporary hermeneutics of the Quran provides equal human space to all genders.

Higher education is considered to be the lifeline of the development of any nation. These institutions are not only engaged in disseminating knowledge but are also engaged in shaping human capital for todays knowledge-based economy. These higher learning institutions need to focus on their effectiveness if they want to be learning organizations. The present study focuses on organizational learning for attaining effectiveness. The sample of the study consists of 350 academic staff members of public sector HEIs belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province of Pakistan. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the data set. The overall results showed a significant direct effect of organizational learning upon organizational effectiveness. The results are significant for the top management.