Purpose-The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between various facets of job satisfaction among university academicians in Punjab Province, Pakistan, and how these differences affect overall job satisfaction of academicians in selected universities of Province Punjab.Design/ methodology/approach-The Population for this study comprised of academicians working in universities chartered by Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent to potential respondents chosen from 4 universities. A total of 108 usable questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 72 percent.Findings-Results of this study indicate that a pay differential does exist between private and public universities in Pakistan. Academicians in private sector universities were more satisfied with their pay, supervision, and promotional opportunities than the academicians of public university. On the other hand, academicians in public sector universities were found more satisfied with co-worker's behavior and job security.Research Limitations-This research is limited to the educational sector. Thus, the results cannot be generalized to other industrial sector of the economy. This study needs to be replicated in other industries using the same method.Practical implications-The study offers practical suggestions to the educational institutions and human resource manager on how to pay, promote, retain and maintain equity in the organizations.

BackgroundThe developing world is faced with a high burden of anxiety disorders. The exact prevalence of anxiety disorders in Pakistan is not known. There is a need to develop an evidence base to aid policy development on tackling anxiety and depressive disorders in the country. This is the first pilot study to address the prevalence of anxiety disorders and their association with sociodemographic factors in Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among people visiting Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), a tertiary care facility in Karachi, Pakistan. The point prevalence of anxiety amongst the sample population, which comprised of patients and their attendants, excluding all health care personnel, was assessed using the validated Urdu version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The questionnaire was administered to 423 people. Descriptive statistics were performed for mean scores and proportions.ResultsThe mean anxiety score of the population was 5.7 ± 3.86. About 28.3% had borderline or pathological anxiety. The factors found to be independently predicted with anxiety were, female sex (odds ratio (OR) = 2.14, 95% CI 1.36–3.36, p = 0.01); physical illness (OR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.06–2.64, p = 0.026); and psychiatric illness (OR = 1.176, 95% CI 1.0–3.1, p = 0.048). In the final multivariate model, female sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2, 95% CI 1.28–3.22) and physical illness (AOR = 1.56, 95% CI 0.97–2.48) were found to be significant.ConclusionFurther studies via nationally representative surveys need to be undertaken to fully grasp the scope of this emerging public health issue in Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the customer satisfaction of banking industry in Pakistan general, and Faisalabad particular, based on various levels of customer perception regarding service quality. This is an empirical study based mainly on primary data collected through a well-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire has been personally administrated on the a sample size of 132, chosen respondents on a convenient basis from four Pakistani banks, i.e. Alfalah Bank Limited, Faysal Bank Limited, National Bank Limited, and The Bank of Punjab. This paper makes a useful contribution as there are only few studies dealing with the assessment of service quality in conventional banking sector of Pakistan .The result indicates that customer perceive highest satisfaction in the responsiveness area and lowest in the tangibles area. In order to achieve higher levels of service quality, the bank managers should redesign their strategies about customer satisfaction with respect to service quality.

BackgroundEgo defense mechanisms (or factors), defined by Freud as unconscious resources used by the ego to reduce conflict between the id and superego, are a reflection of how an individual deals with conflict and stress. This study assesses the prevalence of various ego defense mechanisms employed by medical students of Karachi, which is a group with higher stress levels than the general population.MethodsA questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted on 682 students from five major medical colleges of Karachi over 4 weeks in November 2006. Ego defense mechanisms were assessed using the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) individually and as grouped under Mature, Immature, and Neurotic factors.ResultsLower mean scores of Immature defense mechanisms (4.78) were identified than those for Neurotic (5.62) and Mature (5.60) mechanisms among medical students of Karachi. Immature mechanisms were more commonly employed by males whereas females employed more Neurotic mechanisms than males. Neurotic and Immature defenses were significantly more prevalent in first and second year students. Mature mechanisms were significantly higher in students enrolled in Government colleges than Private institutions (p < 0.05).ConclusionsImmature defense mechanisms were less commonly employed than Neurotic and Mature mechanisms among medical students of Karachi. The greater employment of Neurotic defenses may reflect greater stress levels than the general population. Employment of these mechanisms was associated with female gender, enrollment in a private medical college, and students enrolled in the first 2 years of medical school.

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