Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact and interrelation between positive psychological capital and occupational burnout among faculty associates of technical and professional training institutions. Design/methodology/approach In total, 282 faculty members from 17 technical institutions were selected from the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Results were drawn using bivariate correlation and linear regression on the data that were collected through adopted questionnaire. Findings Results of the study revealed that occupational burnout is significantly related to the performance of the faculty of technical institutes and that psychological capital moderates this relationship. Practical implications Conclusions from this research suggested that the personality trait of a psychological capital is an essential determinant of job burnout and performance among faculty members; therefore, it must be considered as an essential part of the selection criteria and job-assessment process. This is important, since psychological capital reduces the detrimental impact of occupational burnout on performance outcomes. Further the faculty members with higher psychological capital should be retained to create positive work environment which can be an inspiration for others. Originality/value The research provides important information about the impact of personality traits upon the performance of a faculty member who joins an educational institution coming from an industrial environment. Although having similar technological skills required for the position, still the effects of a new environment can cause performance issues, the research insisted that positive personality traits like psychological capital can help in gaining required confidence to perform in a changed environment.

This study discusses quality practices in Pakistani Petrochemical sector to understand TQM practices and their implementation in Pakistan. It helps to understand the role of leadership, vision & plan statement, employee participation and education & training as important constructs of TQM. It shows how these constructs help to speed up the TQM implementation in petrochemical sector like other constructs of TQM and finally company moves towards quality approach. The responses of executives, managerial staff and workers were received using questionnaire and online surveys which are sent through Google Drive. Data of 106 respondents was taken in this study and analyzed by SPSS18. Study shows that Total Quality Management culture is less understood by employees, thus less adopted and implemented in Pakistan. Petrochemical companies fail to adopt the TQM philosophy and processes, hence reducing productivity and profits. This research paper is very helpful for executives for TQM implementation in petrochemical sector.

This study aims to identify factors that can improve the cultural and academic experiences of East Asian PhD students attending Australian universities. We focus on two key aspects of students’ academic performance in Australia: a sense of belonging and learning strategies applied by international students in Australian higher education. A systematic literature review is conducted to design a framework that can be applied to better understand the cultural and academic experiences of students from the two regions. The application of this framework highlights, how students from these regions are better equipped to succeed in research degrees in Australian universities when they know and understand the culturally appropriate learning strategies applied in the Australian higher education context and when they are supported to develop a new sense of belonging within the academic and wider culture. Paper concludes that a sense of belonging with Australian culture helps international to attain good cultural and academic experiences. In terms of learning strategies, a scientific learning strategy is more effective for East Asian PhD students from Chinese and the Indian sub-continent than participative learning strategies, adaptive learning strategies, and artistic learning strategies. This study suggests the Australian research supervisors must communicate East Asian PhD students to attain a sense of belonging with Australian academic culture and to follow the scientific learning strategy. Future East Asian PhD students should understand the Australian academic culture to avoid cultural shock during PhD candidature. Future researchers should verify the theoretically designed through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method research design.

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This article documents the development of a questionnaire designed to measure the cultural and academic experiences (CAEQ) of East Asian research students enrolled at Australian universities. The CAEQ comprises three subscales: sense of belonging, learning strategies and perception of progress. The scale was designed based on literature studies and ideas from previous scales. The target groups were doctoral students from Bangladesh, China, India, and Pakistan enrolled at Australian universities. Initially, 295 students responded to an online survey and 211 research students completed it. A factor analysis was conducted to explore the components of each scale. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that there are 2–4 significantly correlated components of each subscale. The developed scales in this study can be used by universities to monitor the academic progress and research progress of their international students from the East Asian region, along with ensuring that these students have improved cultural and academic experiences in the Australian higher education sector.