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The present research aimed to explore the role of media consumption, governmental distrust, and psychological vulnerability in predicting the practical well-being of university students and healthcare professionals during COVID-19. Two correlational studies were conducted. Study 1 was conducted with 411 university students (206 Women; 205 men), and it was conducted during the first lockdown in Pakistan. Study 2 was conducted during the thigh-intensity phase he COVID-19, and the sample comprised 375 healthcare professionals (198 women; 177 men). Both studies showed that higher levels of media consumption, governmental distrust, and psychological vulnerability were associated with lower levels of well-being. Our path models in both studies (with students and healthcare professionals) indicate that during the pandemic, participants’ level of media consumption, trust in the government, and their personal vulnerability were negatively associated with their affective well-being. These findings have implications for individuals’ affective well-being during healthcare crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Plain Language Summary This research paper investigates the impact of media consumption and distrust in government on psychological vulnerability and well-being during times of stress, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic. Two correlational studies were conducted to examine this relationship. Study 1 involved university students, while Study 2 focused on medical professionals. The results from both studies consistently revealed that higher levels of media consumption and governmental distrust were associated with increased psychological vulnerability and were negatively linked to the well-being of both groups. These findings carry significant implications for individuals’ emotional well-being during challenging periods, as people often rely on media for information and look to the government for support.

Identities of religious believers can motivate believers’ passions, emotions, and action tendencies. Religious identity-based passion can, therefore, lead people to identify with certain kinds of movements, both peaceful and extremist. Around the globe, identities of religious minorities provide a compelling context for studying peaceful and extremist activism driven by passion. Building on previous literature on social identity theory, passion, and religious identity, it was hypothesized that religious identity predicts passion of both types: Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP). It was proposed that people who were harmoniously passionate about their religious identity would promote peaceful activism whereas people who were obsessively passionate would promote hatred and extremism. A sample of 221 devout Shias (a religious minority) from Pakistan participated in the survey-based experiment of this study (males = 108, females = 113; ages ranging from 19 to 38 years, Mage = 22, SD = 2.13; experimental condition = 111, control condition = 110). The results supported the key hypotheses of the study: identification with a minority (Shia Identity) leads to both Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP); when the Shia Identity was threatened, HP and OP scores were lower. Furthermore, HP predicted peaceful activism whereas, under a threat to identify, OP increased and showed a significantly higher violent stance, predicting religious extremism. These findings support the assumption that HP leads to Peaceful Activism, whereas OP is associated with increased support for Extremism and Hatred. The results of this study replicated existing theoretical and empirical predictions about passion pathways and threats to religious identity. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of contemporary identity threats and activism strategies among Muslim minorities in Pakistan.

Objective: To investigate the association between theory of mind, ability and forgiveness, along with the moderating role of various demographic influences. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of study: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad Pakistan, from May to Aug 2020. Methodology: Four hundred eighty-seven young adults with an age range of 20-30 years were included. Reading Mind in the Eyes test and behavioural measures of forgiveness were explored. Correlation and moderation analysis were performed. Results: Results presented that forgiveness and theory of mind were positively correlated (r=0.71, p<0.05) and also supported the established demographic influences, i.e., women (11.59±5.39) score more than men on the indicator of Theory of Mind (9.92±5.56). In addition, those who have interest in literature (11.30±5.56) tended reading others’ mental state to a greater extent than others (9.49±5.41). Several friends emerged as a moderator for the relationship between the theory of mind and forgiveness. In contrast, fewer friends depicted the best tendency to infer others’ mindsets or empathize, thus facilitating forgiveness. Conclusion: Our findings depict that the number of friends has a moderating role in the relationship between the theory of mind and forgiveness. It shows that an increase in forgiveness is associated with an increase in the theory of mind for all groups.

The study investigated the relationship among Achievement Goals, Learning Strategies, and Academic Achievement. Achievement Goals are reasons for engaging in achievement activities and Learning strategies through which learners acquire and learn new information and skills. Literature suggested that students’ Achievement Goals predict Learning Strategies but relationship between Achievement Goals and Academic Achievement was unclear (Atkinson, 1957). This study was carried out to explore the role of Learning Strategies as an explanatory mechanism between the relationship of Achievement Goals and Academic Achievement. A survey was conducted using Achievement Goals Questionnaire (AGQ), Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and actual semester scores as an Academic Achievement. The sample consisted of 321 students of University. The results showed that Achievement Goals are positively related with Learning Strategies. There was a significant relationship found between Mastery Approach, and Performance Approach Goals, and Academic Achievement. The results also revealed that Resource Management Learning Strategies fully mediated the relationship of Achievement Goals and Academic Achievement but Cognitive/Metacognitive Learning Strategies did not mediate the relationship between Mastery Avoidanceand Performance Approach Goals, and Academic Achievement. The differences in demographic variables were also discussed and explained in the light of literature.

This study was aimed at exploring the role of Fulbright program in building perception about U.S. and Americans among Pakistani Fulbright scholars. While a host of theory and research had been growing on contact theory (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2008), application of contact hypothesis to cultural exchange programs based on foreign policy intended to develop peace and affective ties between nations has been limited. Specifically, this research gap was filled by this study that focused on the impact of direct contact on perception and image of the U.S. in the context of the U.S. and Pakistan Fulbright program. Pakistani Fulbright scholars (81 men, 67 women; Mean age = 23 years; Range = 21-29 years), with low-contact and high-contact were compared with respect to their perceptions of a prototypical American and the United States as an international entity. Compared to participants with low-contact (n = 52), participants with high-contact (n = 96) had developed a higher positive perception of a prototypical American. Furthermore, compared to participants with low-contact, those with high-contact perceived the U.S. significantly more as an ally and less as an imperialist-enemy nation. Participation was controlled through selection for the Fulbright program and no previous visits to the U.S. Discussion has focused on possibilities for foreign policy and peace related implications of the Fulbright program.

The present study tried to address questions related to USA Pakistan being allied at different national and international fora but Pakistan being the victimised/suffering friend and USA being a powerful/dictating ally only. The quarries addressed were: If the members of victimized group expect mere acknowledgements of their suffering from their ally groups, or they are in need of action expressions or passive sorrows. This exploration was followed by which expressions offer higher hope, and satisfaction to the suffering group. The paper capitalized on experimental design using the condolence offered by the U.S. after the Peshawar School Massacre. Across conditions, recruiting between subjects design with 209 university students in Islamabad, experimental manipulation included: sorry-expressions (feel sorry), action expressions (actionexpressions: feel outraged/feel responsible), and sorrow expressions (sorrow-expressions: feel guilty/feel regret). Results suggest that statements with mere sorry expressions fall short of conveying much hope for change and pain shared by the ally; participants reported more satisfaction in response to action-expressions (outrage-responsibility) than in response to sorrow-expressions (guilt-regret).

The current study was conducted to explore the relationship between psychological capital and mental health of rescue workers. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect data from 502 male rescue workers with their age ranging from 22 to 44 years by using purposive-convenience sampling. Urdu versions of Mental Health Inventory (Khan, Hanif, & Tariq, 2015) and Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Self-Rater Short Form; Abbasi, 2015) were administered on the sample. Stress appraisal of the critical incidence was used as a control variable and measured through a single item. Findings revealed that among all dimensions of psychological capital that is, efficacy, resilience, hope, and optimism significantly positively predicted psychological well-being, a sub-dimension of mental health. For the psychological distress dimension of mental health, efficacy, resilience, and optimism appeared to be significant and negative predictors. Thus, results suggested that rescue workers high on personal resources are also having better mental health.

Intimate Partner Violence and its physical and psychological effects have been extensively studied. What the literature still lacks is the understanding of the role of Stockholm Syndrome in explaining the relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Distress, especially in a non-Western setting. Psychological Distress is considered as a natural consequence of Intimate Partner Violence, the present study explored victims choosing to justify the abuse they experienced, hence, diminishing the negative psychological effects. The current study undertakes Stockholm Syndrome as a mediator between Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Distress in a community sample of 212 individuals in married or dating relationships (from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan). The three aspects of Stockholm Syndrome; Core Stockholm Syndrome; rationalising abuse through distorted cognitions, Psychological Damage; negative effects of ongoing abuse, and Love-Dependence; the belief that survival is only possible through the love and compassion of the abuser, were tested as mediators. The analyses revealed that Core Stockholm Syndrome did not mediate the relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Distress. Although, Psychological Damage fully mediated the said relationship, and Love-Dependence partially mediated the direct effect of Intimate Partner Violence on Psychological Distress.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an innovative network architecture that splits the control and management planes from the data plane. It helps in simplifying network manageability and programmability, along with several other benefits. Due to the programmability features, SDN is gaining popularity in both academia and industry. However, this emerging paradigm has been facing diverse kinds of challenges during the SDN implementation process and with respect to adoption of existing technologies. This paper evaluates several existing approaches in SDN and compares and analyzes the findings. The paper is organized into seven categories, namely network testing and verification, flow rule installation mechanisms, network security and management issues related to SDN implementation, memory management studies, SDN simulators and emulators, SDN programming languages, and SDN controller platforms. Each category has significance in the implementation of SDN networks. During the implementation process, network testing and verification is very important to avoid packet violations and network inefficiencies. Similarly, consistent flow rule installation, especially in the case of policy change at the controller, needs to be carefully implemented. Effective network security and memory management, at both the network control and data planes, play a vital role in SDN. Furthermore, SDN simulation tools, controller platforms, and programming languages help academia and industry to implement and test their developed network applications. We also compare the existing SDN studies in detail in terms of classification and discuss their benefits and limitations. Finally, future research guidelines are provided, and the paper is concluded.