The exploration of appropriate career choice is an important landmark in the lives of secondary school students which determine their future occupations and career outcomes, having implications both for the individual students and society. The choice of careers in secondary schools is influenced by students’ personal, environmental and behavioral factors, therefore; the study aimed at the exploration of career choices of secondary school students, identification of factors affecting these choices, investigating the influence of specific career choice factors, i.e. personality, parents and family, school, socio-cultural and career outcomes on the career choice decisions of students and the development of effective strategies for career guidance ofsecondary school students. The study used Mixed methods explanatory sequential design for the collection and analysis of data. The population of the study was all the students, parents, teachers and heads of the 345 public sector, Higher secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A sample of 1220 research participants was selected through multi stage cluster sampling technique for the collection of large scale quantitative data and a sample of 50 respondents was selected through purposive sampling for the collection of small scale qualitative data. For the collection of quantitative data the researcher developed self-constructed Likert type questionnaires and validated them through pilot testing. The quantitative data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed through the use of percentages and Chi-square statistics with the application of Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The analysis of quantitative data provided the general description of the phenomenon and identified areas which needed further explanation; therefore, Semi-structured Interview guides were prepared and administered for further exploration of the specified themes through qualitative data. The qualitative data were analyzed through transcribing data from the data sheets and identification of themes for the interpretation. Then both the data sets were merged and interpreted together. The study explored, Medical, Teaching, Engineering, and Armed forces as major career choices of secondary schools’ students and identified parents, students’ personalities, socioeconomic status, families, society and its traditions as major factors affecting the career choices of students. Regarding the influence of specific career choice factors, the study further demonstrated the significant influences of personality, parents and family, school, socio-cultural and career outcome factors on the career choices of students at secondary level. The study revealed significant gender wise differences in career choices and the influence of career choice factors on the career choices of male and female students. Medical, Engineering, Teaching and Armed forces were found as prominent career choices of male and Medical and Teaching as prominent career choices of female students. Males were more influenced by the factors of personality and females by parents and family and sociocultural factors in the choice of their careers. The study highlighted the career guidance needs of secondary schools’ students, identified the non-availability of career guidance facilities in schools and established effective career guidance strategies for career guidance of secondary level students. Keeping in view the career guidance needs of secondary schools’ students, the study recommended the provision of career guidance facilities, appointment of trained career guides, mechanism for identification of students’ interests and aptitudes for integration with their career choice decisions, development of career guidance website, the use of social media for career guidance and the active role of policy makers for the provision of career guidance facilities in secondary schools as effective strategies of career guidance for students at this level. The study also provided practical and theoretical implications of the research and identified areas for future researches.
ڈاکٹر عبید اللہ فہد فراہی کی نظر میں بعض اوقات استفہام سےسوال کرنا مقصود نہیں ہوتا بلکہ تاکید کےلیے بھی یہ اسلوب استعمال ہوتا ہے ۔ قرآن پاک میں استفہام کایہ اسلوب تاکید وتعظیم کے معنی میں بہت استعمال ہوا ہے ۔ [[1]] سورۃ القیامہ میں مندرجہ ذیل آیات میں استفہام کا زور دیکھیے:
"کیا وہ ایک گاڑھے پانی کا قطرہ نہ تھا جو ٹپکایا گیا تھا ؟ پھر لہو کا لوتھڑا ہوگیا پھر اللہ نے اسے پیدا کیا اور درست بنادیا۔ پھر اس سے جوڑے یعنی نر مادہ بنائے۔ کیا (اللہ تعالیٰ ) اس (امر) پر قادر نہیں کہ مردے کو زندہ کر دے"۔
"انسان پر کبھی ایسا وقت آیاہے کہ نہیں جب وہ کوئی قابل چیز نہیں تھا) اس سورۃ کی ابتداء استفہام ،تاکید ،تقریر اورانسانی قلب کو ایک نرم لمس کے ساتھ ہوئی ہے "۔ (۲۷)
[[1]] فلاحی، ڈاکٹر عبید اللہ فہد، قرآن مبین کے ادبی اسالیب، دار التذکیر، لاہور، ۱۹۹۹ء، ص۱۳۱۔
It is widely recognized that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the major drivers of sustainable economic growth, sources of income generation and panacea for poverty reduction in developing countries. Unfortunately, they are faced with numerous challenges that threaten their existence and survival. This precarity of small entrepreneurial organizations in entrepreneurial ecosystem has prompted widespread attention by scholars and researchers. Hence, it is critical to take into consideration examining the performance of the enterprises. This study analyzed the effect of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions, personal and institutional characteristics on the performance of small and medium agro allied enterprises. Through the multistage sampling procedure, a total of 198 SMEs were selected for the study and data were collected with the aid of questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that among the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions, only risking taking and innovativeness significantly and positively affected the performance of SMEs agro allied enterprises. Furthermore, findings showed that except for size of business which was negatively related to the growth of SMEs, educational level of entrepreneurs, managerial and business experience positively and significantly impacted on the performance of SMEs. Policies to encourage SMEs invest in risky investments and create new product and services should be pursued.
This study attempts to evaluate the impact Karakoram Highway (KKH) on the socio-economic development of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is a vast, mountainous and remote area in the extreme north of Pakistan extend between 340 40’ to 370 0’ North latitude and 720 30’ to 780 0’ East longitude. Geographically, the study area (Gilgit-Baltistan) is bounded in the North-West by Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, China in the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir in the East, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the South-East, whereas the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan in the south and west. The climate of the region is characterized by warm/hot summer and cool/cold winter. The total area of Gilgit-Baltistan is about 72,496 km2. For the purpose of administration, it has been divided into seven districts i.e. Gilgit, Diamer, Hunza-Nagar, Ghanche, Ghizer, Skardu and Astore. Significance of the area is evident from its geographical location as it is the juncture of Central Asia, China and South Asia. However, this important area remained cut off from the rest of the country (Pakistan) until the inception of Karakoram Highway (KKH) in 1978. Their only source of livelihood was local agricultural production which was insufficient for the whole population. Due to scarcity of victuals large number of people faced starvation during the snowy winter season. The idea of constructing this gigantic highway was proposed after the boundary settlement with China in 1963. Construction of KKH started in 1966 aiming at two main objectives; to link the vast area of Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of Pakistan and to develop a land route to China. This study is an attempt to sort out impacts of KKH and to answer the question ‘what are the impacts of KKH on the socio-economic development of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan’. To achieve the task four objectives were designed. Primarily, to explore the growth and development of KKH, secondly, to assess the impact of KKH on the socio-economic condition of Gilgit-Baltistan, thirdly, to find out the future prospects of KKH for the socio-economic development of the study area. To carry out this study, six variables including population, land use and agriculture, education, health, trade and tourism were selected and tested. Keeping in view purpose of the study, it was essential to collect all the necessary data for the achievement of objectives. Data were collected both from primary and secondary sources. Data pertaining to selected variables were collected pre and post KKH as available for the whole area. The collected data were analysed and presented in the form of maps, statistical diagrams and tables. The analysis reveals that after the completion of KKH the inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan took a sigh of relief and positive changes occurred in the overall socio-economic sectors. It was explored from the analysis that the population of the districts along KKH has increased manifold. The agriculture and livestock sector was a traditional source of livelihood, but after the construction of KKH a paradigm shift has been recorded by introducing modern agricultural techniques and motivation for the farmers to cultivate more rewarding cash crops. The analysis further revealed that during 1996 to 2016 land use land cover in the three sample districts located along the KKH has shown radical changes. It was found that area under built-up environment was increased, contrary to this area under farmland decreased. Similarly, positive change has been noted in area under forest cover. It was found from the analysis that after the construction of KKH a rapid progress in education and health sector has been registered. The literacy ratio was rapidly increased from 14.7% in 1981 to 37.8% in 1998 and further increased to 52.0 percent in 2012. However, a recorded twelve-time increase is registered in women education, from 1981 (3%) to 2012 (36%). Nevertheless, the women literacy ratio is still very low in Diamer and Astore districts. Similarly, in Gilgit-Baltistan, the number of Government health institutions has increased. However, the limited number of trained doctors is still an issue to be overcome. The analysis revealed that the performance of maternal and child health services in Gilgit-Baltistan lags behind and appears to have been weak. The analysis revealed that there is expanding trade and commence potentials due to KKH and greater retention of economic value in the local economy is expected to further boost-up. However, it needs special attention of National Highway Authority to take care of its maintenance and to mitigate frequent landslides along the KKH. The study explores that prior to the construction of KKH the latitudes of trade between Pakistan and China through ancient silk route was negligible. However, after the inception of KKH, the trade between Pakistan and China has been boost-up. The recent development in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), where KKH is part of CPEC project provides a land route to China and Gilgit-Baltistan to warm-water of Arabian Sea and expected to further boost-up the trade between China and Pakistan in the years ahead. It was found from the analysis that KKH has opened avenues for the local population. It is high time that the ministry of tourism and culture needs to develop tourism sector on priority basis and un-earthen this precious treasury of Gilgit-Baltistan. It was found from the analysis that prior to the construction of KKH, poor road network, lack of transport facility, absence of hotels and restaurants had been hurdles in promoting tourism. This study, however, provides policy guidelines for promoting socio-economic development of this underdeveloped area.