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The Pashtun Jirga is a “tribal” conflict resolution method that has survived for centuries, with the Pashtuns, both in Afghanistan and Pakistan, still practicing it in rural communities. The chapter argues how the introduction and persistence of the Frontier Crimes Regulations, 1901, a colonial-era regulation, has undermined not only the traditional authority of the tribal elders but also diminished the importance of the Jirga. However, the tribal Pashtuns, through Jirga and Jirga-based Lashkars (tribal militias), have also occasionally supported the Pakistani military's actions against various militant groups operating in the Pashtun tribal areas, formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The chapter argues why, even with its positives, the Jirga still possess various loopholes that result in various gender rights violations in the Pashtun society. Finally, the chapter also discusses how recent developments in the Pashtun tribal areas, leading to their merger with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, along with the introduction of the country's judiciary present a challenge for the survival of the Jirga as a conflict resolution tool in the tribal areas. Moreover, the chapter also argues why the young Pashtuns from the tribal region are against the male-dominated nature of Jirga and want it to be replaced with modern judicial structures, presenting a challenge to the survival of Jirga in Pakistan.

The emergence of intrastate conflicts has not only laid bare the limitations of ‘liberal peace’ strategies but has also raised questions on the utility of such ‘top-down’ strategies in societies that use traditional methods for conflict resolution and transformation. Such limitations in liberal peace strategies have also generated interest in the utility of traditional conflict resolution and transformation methods, especially in the Global South. Using Volker Boege's framework of traditional conflict transformation and employing case studies from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Rwanda and Timor-Leste, this chapter argues why traditional methods of conflict resolution and transformation still bear relevance in societies where culture and custom play an important role in social harmony and peace. By discussing these cases and using the lessons learnt from their discussion, the chapter concludes that even with their apparent utility and use in ‘hybrid’ models of peace, such traditional methods should be employed with care and after understanding of various social, cultural and historical variables.

Drawing on affective events theory, the authors investigated whether exposure to abusive supervision triggers malevolent creativity among victims and the role of psychological contract violation (PCV) as a mediator in this relationship. The authors also examined the moderating effects of the Light Triad personality traits comprising Kantianism, humanism and faith in humanity.

The sample comprised 297 junior doctors working at various clinical departments of public sector hospitals in three major cities of Pakistan. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and the hypothesized model was tested using the covariance-based structural equation modeling in Mplus.

Results demonstrated that abusive supervision influences malevolent creativity directly and indirectly mediated through PCV. Further, results showed that individuals high on the Light Triad traits are less likely to engage in malevolently creative acts in response to abusive supervision and feelings of violation than those low on the Light Triad.

The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that exposure to abusive supervision influences the generation of malevolently creative ideas among subordinates. Further, the authors showed that subordinates high on the Light Triad handle abusive supervisory behaviors and negative emotional reactions more productively and are less likely to retaliate against perceived mistreatment compared to their counterparts.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the STOXX Europe Christian price index (SECI) follows the premise of efficient market hypothesis (EMH).

The study used daily data of SECI for the period of 15 years as its launch date i.e. 31 December 2004 to 31 December 2019. Data are analyzed by taking a full-length sample and fixed-length subsample. For subsample, the data are divided into five subsamples of three years each. Subsample analysis is important for analyzing time varying efficiency of the series, as the market is said to follow EMH if it is being efficient throughout the sample. Both type of samples is examined through linear tests including autocorrelations test and variance ratio (VR) test.

Tests applied conclude that SECI is weak-form efficient, which means that the prices of the index include all the relevant past information and immediately react to new information. Hence, the investors cannot earn abnormal returns.

Religion-based indices grasped the attention of investors, policymakers and academic researchers because of increased concern over ethics in business. Though the impact of religion on the economy have been studied in many ways but the efficiency of religion-based indices have been less explored. The current study is primary in its nature as it analysis the efficiency of SECI. This index is important to explore because Christianity is the world’s top religion with 2.3 billion followers around the globe.

Vaccine hesitancy is a long-standing issue among both the general population and health communicators. This study aims to ascertain the inclination and the reasons for vaccine hesitancy by conducting content analysis and sentiment analysis of the perspectives expressed in comments on videos related to vaccine hesitancy uploaded from India on YouTube.

The assessment of the sentiments of the vaccine-hesitant population is done using Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner sentiment analysis module implemented with Python’s NLTK library to automatically determine the sentiments of the comments. Manual content analysis was performed on 60.09% viewer comments randomly selected from the total comments in 238 videos on vaccine hesitancy originated from India and labelled each comment with labels “Anti”, “Pro”, “Confused”, “Not Applicable” and “Unrelated” labels.

The study found “Mistrust-Government policies”, “Fear-health related consequences”, “Mistrust-Scientific research”, “Vaccine effectiveness and efficacy” and “Misinformation/myths” as the top five determinants for vaccine hesitancy, whereas “Religious beliefs”, “Fear-Economic consequences”, “Side Effects- short-term” and “Fear-mode of administration” found to be the lesser cited reasons for vaccine hesitancy. However, the study also investigates changes in the inclination of Indian commenters towards vaccine hesitancy and revolving issues over time.

Public health policymakers and health communicators may find the study useful in determining vaccine hesitancy factors in India.

The originality of this study lies in its approach. To date, no sentiment analysis has been conducted on the content released on YouTube by Indian content creators regarding pro- and anti-vaccination videos. This inquiry seeks to fill this research gap.

The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of CSR as a mediator in the board diversity–FD relationship.

The study examined six board diversity dimensions – age, gender, nationality, education and tenure in 81 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. The CSR engagement of the sample firms is evaluated using a multidimensional financial approach and the likelihood of FD is computed using Altman’s Z-score. The system-generalized method of moments estimator is used to meet the study objectives. In addition, several tests are run to determine the robustness of the study’s findings.

Based on the procedure for mediation analysis outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), the authors found that CSR is significantly inversely associated with the likelihood of FD. Second, board diversity variables age, gender and national diversity were positively associated with CSR. Third, board age, gender and national diversity are significantly inversely related to FD. Finally, it was found that there is partial mediation between board age diversity and FD, whereas full mediation is shown between board age diversity and FD and between board nationality diversity and FD.

This study provides practical insights into PSX’s board diversity for companies, regulators and policymakers.

This research studies the connection between board diversity and FD. In addition, the current study extended the analysis by testing for the first time the mediating role of CSR in the diversity–distress relationship, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.

This study aims to investigate the impact of dividend policy on a firm’s participation in corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related activities in the context of Pakistani firms. Furthermore, the role of the board governance mechanism in dividend policy-CSR is investigated.

The study’s sample consists of 115 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. A multidimensional financial method is used to assess the firm’s CSR engagement, and dividend policy is assessed using the dividend payout ratio and dividend yield. The authors used the fixed effect model and the random effect model to fulfill the study’s objectives. Furthermore, the system-generalized method of moment estimation technique is used to test the robustness of the result. In addition, the authors perform reverse causality analysis and investigate the effect of financial constraints on the dividend policy–CSR relationship.

The authors find that dividend policy has a significant positive impact on CSR. The authors also find that dividend policy is significantly positively associated with components of CSR, i.e. donation, employee welfare and research and development. Furthermore, the authors find that the board governance mechanism strengthens this positive relationship between dividend policy and CSR.

The government and authorities must mandate or at least encourage enterprises to pay dividends as doing so not only keeps shareholders happy but also encourages firms to make CSR initiatives to balance stakeholders. Furthermore, the regulator should take steps to strengthen the board governance structure as it strengthens the positive dividend policy–CSR relationship.

Although little previous research has focused on the CSR-dividend policy link, the authors believe that this is the first study to look at the influence of dividend policy on CSR and the moderating impact of board governance mechanisms in an emerging country, namely, Pakistan.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure and firm-specific characteristics, i.e. firm size, leverage, growth opportunities, previous year dividend, firm risk, profitability, and liquidity on dividend behavior of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms.

Final sample of the study consists of 140 PSX-listed firms. The study covers a period of six years, starting from 2015 to 2020. Dividend payout dummy, dividend payout ratio, and dividend yield were used to assess the dividend behavior of the sample firms. The appropriate regression procedures (logistic, probit, ordinary least square (OLS), and fixed effect regression) are used to test the study hypothesis. To check the robustness of the result, a system GMM estimation technique is also used in the present study.

The study reveals that institutional ownership, foreign ownership, and individual ownership have a significant positive whereas managerial ownership has a significant negative impact on the dividend decision of sample firms. Among firm-specific characteristics, it was found that liquidity, profitability, and the previous year's dividend were significantly positive, while growth opportunities were significantly inversely associated with dividend payout decisions of PSX-listed firms.

This study sheds light on the relationship between dividend policy, ownership structure, and firm-specific factors in the context of an emerging market like Pakistan. The study's findings have important implications for managers, minority shareholders, lawmakers, and investors looking for guidance on the dividend policy of publicly-traded non-financial firms.

The literature lacks studies that together analyze the ownership characteristics and firm-specific variables on dividend decisions, particularly in the context of developing economies. The current study aims to fill this gap.