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Based on the service eco-systems perspective, this paper evaluates the strategies and actions adopted by the Government of Pakistan to handle the COVID-19 crisis with the involvement of multiple actors including public, private, third-sector organizations and civil society.

The paper is based on an in-depth analysis of secondary sources including research articles, policy documents, policy briefs, governmental reports, third party evaluations/reports and media publications.

A multi-stakeholder approach was evident during the pandemic with an effort to better manage the crisis which has exerted immense social, cultural, economic and political impacts on the lives of the citizens. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders (government, private and third sector) were witnessed, resulting in a coherent response. The successful management of COVID-19 in Pakistan is attributed to multiple factors including the formation of a specialized public organization which effectively and proactively took data-driven informed decisions and aggregated the efforts of the federal and provincial governments for a timely response.

This paper gives insights for policymakers to create a sustainable post-pandemic socio-economic environment by building resilient structures across the government while promoting cooperation and collaboration. It suggests strategies for policymakers responsible for providing sustainable societal solutions to combat the social, economic and administrative challenges under the pandemic. As Pakistan has managed and contained the pandemic in a relatively efficient way, it is hoped that this paper can provide a learning experience for other countries with similar national contexts.

This study investigated the relationship between generalised trust and psychological well-being in college students, considering the social support obtained from their social networks via Twitter and face-to-face (FTF) interactions. Initially, the authors planned to collect data at the beginning of the first semester in 2019 for fine-tuning the model as a pilot study, and in 2020 for the main study. However, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the data helped authors to analyse changes in young people's psychological situation before and during the pandemic in Japan.

The study conducted a self-report survey targeting college students in the Kanto region in Japan. Data were collected from mid-May to the end of June 2019, as well as in early to mid-June 2020, with 304 and 584 responses, respectively. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling and a multiple regression analysis.

The findings using the 2019 data set indicated that (a) students mostly used Twitter for information gathering and sharing of hobbies, and they received both informatics and emotional support from Twitter, and from FTF interactions; (b) there were direct positive effects of generalised trust and social skills on their psychological well-being; and (c) students with lower levels of generalised trust tended to interact with very intimate individuals using Twitter to obtain social support, which did not have any effects on their improvement of psychological well-being. From the 2020 data set, the authors also found that, like 2019, generalised trust and social skills had direct effects on the improvement of psychological well-being. Additionally, we observed that students spent more time using Twitter and received more emotional support from it, as most people tried not to meet other people in person due to the first State of Emergency in Japan. Similarly, the authors found that in 2019, only social support from very intimate partners via FTF communication had slightly significant effects on improving their psychological well-being, whereas in 2020, their expectation for social networks via FTF had decreased their levels of psychological well-being, but their social support from Twitter had slightly significant effects on their improvement of psychological well-being. One of the main reasons for this might be due to the challenge of meeting with others in person, and therefore, social support from Twitter partially played a role that traditionally was only beneficial through FTF communication.

We understand that this is one of the few social psychological studies on social media that collected data both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides unique evidence in demonstrating how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed college students communication behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the flow of a nanofluid over a porous moving wedge. The passive control model along with the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects is used to formulate the problem. Furthermore, in energy equation, the non-linear thermal radiation has also been incorporated. The equations governing the flow are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations by using suitable similarity transforms. The reduced system of equations is then solved numerically using a well-known Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method coupled with a shooting technique. The influence of parameters involved on velocity, temperature and concentration profiles is highlighted with the help of a graphical aid. Expressions for skin-friction coefficient, local Nusselt number and Sherwood number are obtained and presented graphically.

Numerical solution of the problem is obtained using the well-known Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method.

The analysis provided gives a clear description that the increase in m and magnetic parameter M results in an increased velocity profile. Both these parameters normalize the velocity field. Radiation parameter, Rd, increases the temperature and concentration of the system so does the temperature ratio θ_ω reduces the heat transfer rate at the wall for both stretching and shrinking wedge.

In the study presented, the flow of nanofluid over a moving permeable wedge is considered. The solution of the equations governing the flow is presented numerically. For the validity of results obtained, a comparison is also presented with already existing results. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this investigation is the first of its kind on the said topic.

Particular attention is given to the viscous damping force parameter, stiffness parameter, rigidity parameter, and Brinkman number and plotted their graph for thermal distribution, momentum profile and concentration profile.

In the field of engineering, biologically inspired propulsion systems are getting the utmost importance. Keeping in view their developmental progress, the present study was made. The theoretical analysis explores the effect of heat and mass transfer on non-Newtonian Sisko fluid with slip effects and transverse magnetic field in symmetric compliant channel. Using low Reynolds number, so that the authors neglect inertial forces and for keeping the pressure constant during the flow, channel height is used largely as compared to the ratio of wavelength. The governing equations of fluid flow problem are solved using the perturbation analysis.

Results are considered for thickening, thinning and viscous nature of fluid models. It is found that the velocity distribution profile is boosted for increasing values of the Sisko fluid parameter and porous effect, while thermal profile is reducing for Brinkman number (viscous dissipation effects) for all cases. Moreover, shear-thicken and shear-thinning behavior of non-Newtonian Sisko fluid is also explained through the graphs.

Hear-thicken and shear-thinning behavior of non-Newtonian Sisko fluid is also explained through the graphs.

Based on trait activation theory, the purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between the antecedents and outcomes of informal learning with the moderating effect of supervisor feedback environment (SFE) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Data (n = 388) were gathered from middle managers of Pakistan’s SME sector by following the purposive sampling technique. The proposed model was examined by means of structural equation modeling analysis with AMOS 24.

The study results delineate that middle managers with high-level self-efficacy and motivation to learn more actively participate in informal learning activities. The study also found that the SFE is a strong contextual moderator between the nexus of personal factors and informal learning. In addition, informal learning also has significant and positive effect on work engagement.

Human resource practitioners and organizational leaders of small businesses can use informal learning to improve employees’ skills and knowledge with less cost. For instance, management should use different strategies to enhance the effectiveness of informal learning by providing SFE.

There are numerous recent calls for research to ascertain the interaction of individual, contextual factors and outcomes of informal learning. The study addresses these voids by empirically examining antecedents and outcomes of informal learning simultaneously through the person–situation interaction perspective. It demonstrates that informal learning at the workplace becomes more effective in SFE.

This paper aims to provide a literature review on the cloud-based platforms for the education sectors. The several aspects of cloud computing adoption in education, remote/distance learning and the application of cloud-based design and manufacturing (CBDM) have been studied and theorised.

A four-step methodology was adopted to analyse and categorise the papers obtained through various search engines. Out of 429 research articles, 72 papers were shortlisted for the detailed analysis.

Many factors that influence cloud computing technology adoption in the education sector have been identified in this paper. The research findings on several research items have been tabulated and discussed. Based on the theoretical research done on cloud computing for education, cloud computing for remote/distance learning and CBDM, cloud computing could enhance the educational systems in mainly developing countries and improve the scope for remote/distance learning.

This study is limited to papers published only in the past decade from 2011 to 2020. Besides, this review was unable to include journal articles published in different languages. Nevertheless, for the effective teaching and learning process, this paper could help understand the importance and improve the process of adopting cloud computing concepts in educational universities and platforms.

This study is a novel one as a research review constituting cloud computing applications in education and extended for remote/distance learning and CBDM, which have not been studied in the existing knowledge base.

Career choices and selections are amongst the most important predictors of a person’s perception of life satisfaction. Pursuing entrepreneurship as a career may arise as a result of psychological adaptation of career choices in addition to societal role specifications. Therefor, this study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of potential predictors which can intervene in the entrepreneurial intentions and its progression for an important group of the society.

Using semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study attempts to illuminate existing and emerging trends, barriers and future orientation of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Nvivo 12 was used for thematic analysis to drive specific themes of entrepreneurial regret in Pakistani women entrepreneurs.

The findings revealed multilevel themes influencing women’s choices of entrepreneurship as a career, including intrinsic, extrinsic and interpersonal factors. All of these factors shared the feature of social segregation and socially developed role categorisation. The findings revealed that gender roles and segregation in societies play a significant role in influencing women’s career choices.

Though similar narratives have been presented in previous studies in the context of career selection. This study, on the other hand, makes a unique contribution by identifying relative factors as determinants of regret and counterfactual thinking in Pakistan’s socially constrained culture.

This study aims to investigate the comparative importance of factors influencing the customer shift behavior from conventional to Islamic banking for consumer finance in Pakistan.

First, a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature was conducted to identify a broad range of factors related to customer shift behavior. Through an expert sampling, 14 essential factors were chosen for further investigation. Second, a questionnaire was developed using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). This questionnaire was then distributed among customers who had previously been using conventional banking services but had made a shift toward Islamic banking. The purpose of this questionnaire was to gather data and insights regarding their motivations and decision-making process behind the shift, and a sample 215 customers are taken in the study.

The results of AHP depicts that the religiosity is a most important factor influencing customers to shift from conventional to Islamic banking, and the second most important factor is pricing. The other subsequent important factors are reputation of the bank, marketing and promotion, service quality, behavior of banks staff, Shariah compliance, management, convenience, fastness and charges/fees. Whereas documentation, ambiance and recommendation are found least important factors to patronize Islamic banking.

The study recommends Islamic banks to create awareness, concentrating on religious factor to have a greater impact on growth of Islamic banking and shrinking of conventional banking. Further, it suggests Islamic banks to apply Shariah-recommended approach of doing business, to help community in best possible way and to launch differentiated marketing techniques to attract customers. It also proposes regulatory authorities to provide facilitation to Islamic banking business by providing level playing field similar to conventional banking, tax equality and conversion of public financing from conventional banking to Islamic banking.

The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive analysis of factors influencing consumer shift behavior from conventional to Islamic banking in the context of consumer finance in Pakistan. By using the AHP, the study provides a structured approach to understanding the relative importance of these factors. This is the uniqueness of the paper that it applies the AHP for the analysis. Furthermore, the study offers practical implications for Islamic banks and regulatory authorities to effectively address and capitalize on this consumer shift trend.

This paper aims to explore the intention to adopt Islamic finance (ItIF) through the mediation of attitudes towards Islamic finance among microbusiness owners of Pakistan.

The study is co-relational and based on cross-sectional data. The authors gathered the data from microbusiness owners through a survey questionnaire. The authors used 236 valid cases to assume the outcomes.

The results through structural equation modeling reveal a significant positive effect of the perception of Shariah compliance (PoSC), knowledge of the Islamic financial system (KoIF), religious preferences (RP) and loyalty on ItIF. Furthermore, attitude towards Islamic finance (AtIF) is a potent factor in developing the relationship between PoSC, KoIF, RP, loyalty and ItIF.

The study’s findings would be helpful for planners and policymakers in developing policies that favourably enhance the attitudes and intentions among individuals towards Islamic financing. The results would inspire readers to go to Islamic finance and an interest-free financial system enriched with Shariah law or Islamic obligations. The study would provide implications for the financial institutions in Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim world.

The study offers an apparent thoughtfulness of the empirical evidence from microbusiness owners of Pakistan. The study would provide a plausible mediating contribution of AtIF.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent bank manager's coaching, a managerial relationship behavior based on mutual trust, openness and quality of exchanges, affects front-line employee's performance through the mediating effect of salesperson's customer orientation.

The paper conducted a non-experimental, cross-sectional study; a Canadian bank agreed to participate in the study and 122 financial advisors with sales responsibilities answered a web-based survey; data were analyzed using structural equation modelling.

The paper found support for the hypotheses that managerial coaching behavior can help bank employees develop their customer orientation and increase their performance, as well as reduce opportunistic behavior (sales orientation). The paper found that the direct link between coaching and performance, plus the mediating effect of sales orientation and customer orientation (SOCO) can potentially explain a significant variation in employee's performance (r2=0.23). The paper also found that the hypothesized model provided better explanations of the phenomenon when compared with two rival models, one considering SOCO as a full mediator between coaching and performance, and the other one considering only the effect of coaching on performance.

In the banking sector, practitioners and scholars are paying increased attention to the role of trust and relationship behaviors in the development of market orientation and customer relationships. The paper identified a key relationship behavior (customer orientation) and tests its impact as a mediator between a relationship managerial behavior (coaching) and business outcomes (performance) in an international banking setting (Canada).