Relationship Between Level of Educational Attainment and Employee Performance: Mediating Role of Individual Religious Affiliation

Purpose: This study empirically investigates the relation between education level and employees’ performance working in public sector universities from the viewpoint of Islamic religiosity when religious affiliations play mediating role. It has been experienced that more educated people are found to be more involved in performing tasks related to the religious affiliations. Due to the fact that people with higher education found less time to complete their religious obligations, they are more involved in alternative arrangements like charity and donations to fulfill the hunger of religious attainments. Therefore, in order to satisfy themselves religiously, they are more involved in religious affiliations. This high involvement in fulfilling religious arrangements impacts their individual job performance which is necessary to explore. Research Methodology: Data was gathered from the public sector university employees of Pakistan. Out of 900 distributed questionnaires, 520 were received with response rate of 73.65%. Regression analysis is performed in order to determine the association between level of education and individual performance. Further, in order to determine the mediating role of religious affiliations, the Barren and Kerry (1984) model is applied. Findings: Using questionnaire survey the results of the study showed that level of education significantly impacts the religious affiliations in positive manner and high religious affiliations increase the individual job performance. The results at this point indicated that an unobservable indicator, like propensity for logical rationale induces individuals for higher education and ultimately high religious affiliations. Recommendations: Based upon the results, it is recommended that religiosity and ethical values in management set up are need to be escorted by public reforms to let the identification of employees to their work values and their obligation to the performance of work-related tasks. Originality: This study would be a clear contribution in the field of human behavior towards making alternative arrangements in order to fulfill religious obligations and at the same time identifying the mediating role of religious attainments in determining their individual performance.

Genetics of Physio-Agronomic Traits in Maize under Water Deficit Conditions

Fifty inbred lines of maize acquired from various sources, were screened in the wirehouse for seedling traits under both normal and water deficit conditions. Six inbred lines were earmarked on the basis of various agronomic and physiological traits under water deficit condition. The inbred lines were sown in the field for making all possible crosses in diallel mating fashion. The F 1 crosses and their reciprocals alongwith the parents were sown in the field under normal and water stress environment using Randomized Complete Block Design in three replications. Normal irrigations were applied to one set of experiment, whereas 50% of the normal irrigation was applied to water stress experiment. Data for various morpho- physiological characters were recorded at different growth stages of the crop and then subjected to statistical analysis. Co-efficient of variability was found to be greater under water stress than under normal condition for majority of the seedling traits. Significant mean squares for all the parameters under normal and moisture deficit conditions depicted the presence of considerable genetic variability. Scaling tests were performed to check the adequacy of the data for analyzing additive-dominance model. The results showed that additive-dominance model was fully adequate for the traits like kernels per row, 100-kernel weight, grain yield per plant, cell membrane thermostability, stomatal conductance and canopy temperature under normal condition while plant height, ear height, days to silking, kernels per ear, 100-kernel weight, grain yield per plant, leaf temperature and canopy temperature depression under water stress condition. The data were partially adequate for the traits like ears per plant, days to tasselling, anthesis-silking interval, kernels per row, cell membrane thermostability and stomatal conductance under moisture deficit condition. Additive gene action for number of days to silking under normal water condition changed to non-additive gene action under water deficit condition. All other traits exhibited additive gene action under both conditions. Heritability estimates for yield related traits revealed maximum ability to transfer the desirable genes to the next generation. Estimation of components of variation exhibited greater estimates for GCA variance ( б 2 g) than SCA variance ( б 2 s) for majority of the traits under both conditions depicting the predominant role of additive genetic component except for days to silking and number of kernels per row under water deficit condition which displayed greater SCA variance ( б 2 s) than GCA variance ( б 2 g). Under water stress condition, the best performing crosses were NCIL-20-20 x D-109, NCIL-20-20 x OH-8 and D-114 x NCIL-20-20 and their reciprocals. Inbred lines NCIL-20-20, D-157 and D-114 proved to be high yielder parents under both normal and moisture deficit conditions. The information regarding results obtained during the current study may be used to evolve better parental inbred lines for developing various cross combinations which will be helpfull in maintaining yield sustainability in water deficit areas.