Vol. 5 No. 8 (2026): Issue 8 (August Issue)

Discipline: Social Sciences (Miscellaneous)

Published: 2026-08-30

Articles

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Terrorism in Pakistan after 2021 Emerging Threats, Hybrid Security Challenges and Counter Terrorism Responses

Dr. Syed Rizwan Haider Bukhari, Rizwan Anwar Gujjar, Furqan Ullah

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.376
Overall, terrorism remains a serious threat to the national security of Pakistan despite the achievements and promises made via the military actions, intelligence-led operations and institutionalization efforts. The security environment of the country has significantly changed since 2021, owing to the resurgence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), presence of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), ongoing insurgency in Balochistan and a rise in the intersection of terrorism and digitization, with transnational criminal networks. This paper looks at the dynamics of terrorism in Pakistan and its changing nature and evaluates the emerging threats, facilitating socio-political factors and state responses to terrorism. The study employs a qualitative methodology using data from secondary sources including scholarly papers, government documents, and international publications on security issues, to explore counter terrorism policies, counter terrorism measures based on intelligence, border management, legal reforms, and regional cooperation. The results suggest that modern-day terrorism is becoming more decentralized, technologically flexible, and ideologically heterodox, arguing for more concerted strategies to censor the virus effect that combines security measures with better governance, socioeconomic development, institution coordination and regional cooperation to guarantee a sustainable security in the nations.
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1-20
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From Cash Transfers to Integrated Development: A Comparative Study of Pakistan's Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and China's Jingzhun Fupin Program

Layba Fatima, Dr. Urooj Aijaz, Dr. Hassan Daud Butt

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.377
Poverty is one of the most enduring challenges to sustainable development, social inclusion and economic resilience in developing countries. Many governments have framed social protection policies aimed at addressing poverty and vulnerability, yet there are variations in policy design, mechanisms of implementation and long-term effects. The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), launched in Pakistan in 2008, has been designed to provide Unconditional and Conditional Cash Transfers to socially and economically vulnerable households, especially women. BISP has made significant strides in improving household consumption, food security and educational participation, but its sustainability in supporting beneficiaries to sustain themselves remains a concern. On the other hand, the Jingzhun Fupin (Precision Poverty Alleviation) Program in China, launched in 2013, took a comprehensive and household-centric strategy, integrating income support, job creation, industrial development, education and health care, infrastructure, relocation and institutional responsibility. The program has been highly credited for achieving the target of eradicating extreme rural poverty by 2020. This study is a qualitative comparative review of both programs, based on peer-reviewed journal articles, government documents and reports from international bodies. It uses a thematic comparative approach to examine variations in policy goals, governance, targeting and implementation approaches, investment in human capital, livelihoods development, monitoring, and poverty reduction results. The paper concludes that while BISP has been effective in alleviating income deprivation in the short term, Pakistan needs to move towards an integrated development approach that goes beyond social protection and provides productive employment, rural transformation, digital governance and institutional coordination.
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21-38
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Impact of Social Media Usage on Marital Conflict and Mental Well-Being Among Married Adults: Role of Social Comparison

Areeba Nadeem

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.375
The present study included 330 married individuals, aged 20 and above, from Islamabad & Rawalpindi using social media and were selected to explore the relationship between social media usage, marital conflict, and the mental well-being of the married individuals, wherein social comparison is hypothesized as a mediator. The following scales were used to collect data: a Demographic Sheet, the Social Media Use Scale, Social Comparison Scale, Relationship Dynamics Scale, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the use of social media and social comparison. Both were, in turn, related to marital conflict positively and to mental well-being negatively. The results of the regression showed that social media use positively predicted social comparison and marital conflict, in addition to predicting negative mental well-being, which was the same. Additionally a mediation model showed that social comparison mediated the relationship between social media use and marital conflict and mental health. An independent-samples t-test indicated that men used social media more than women, while a one-way ANOVA showed no differences across age groups. Length of marriage significantly affected only social media usage, with those married 6–8 years reporting higher use. Few socio-demographic differences were found overall. Lower socio-economic groups used social media more and experienced greater marital conflict. These findings emphasize the importance of raising awareness about social media use and digital skills to protect marital relationships and psychological well-being.
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39-59
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From Shadow War to Hybrid Confrontation: The Transformation of Iran Israel Rivalry in the Middle East

Arooj Fatima, Aneeza Fatima, Muhammad Usman Ikram

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.381
One of the oldest and complicated wars in the Middle East is war between Iran and Israel with the ultimate causes of Political, Religious and Territorial Quibbles. The geopolitical balance in the Middle East was altered after the 2025 Iran-Israeli war, and it became evident that international diplomacy is fragile and the liberal process of diplomacy in dealing with the nuclear issue is weak. The war, which lasted for twelve days, also reintroduced the question of anticipatory self-defense to discussion and also resulted in doubts about the viability of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as the model for preventing any nuclear activity because of Israel's Operation Rising Lion and Iran's Operation True Promise 3. The paper reflects the impact of the conflict on the natural nature of the relations between regional actors, and how it has questioned the pertinence of international institutions created to advance peace, in the context of liberal institutionalism. Other powers, such as the United States, Russia and China, also played a role and the possibility of escalation created by the nuclear ambitions of Islamic Iran is also discussed. The basics of the conflict and stability to the region are to be achieved through further diplomatic efforts and improved regional cooperation as underscored in the paper.
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60-69
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Economic Development and Breadth of Outreach as Contextual Conditions for Financial Self-Sufficiency: A Configurational Analysis of Microfinance Institutions

Rikza Sarosh, Dr. Safdar Husain Tahir, Dr. Rizwan Kamran, Syed Ahmad Hassan Gillani

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.386
This research uses an asymmetric configurational approach to analyse outreach breadth and economic development, considering contextual inputs that shape pathways to financial self-sufficiency among microfinance institutions. Panel data cover 1,295 microfinance institutions from 2009 to 2019 and are sourced from the World Bank (MIX Market) database. The study uses contextual conditions, including breadth of outreach, portfolio at risk, management inefficiency, active borrowers, capital structure, and economic development. The analysis of necessary conditions reveals that no individual condition is sufficient to produce a high level of financial self-sufficiency, indicating that financial self-sufficiency cannot be attributed solely to any single condition. However, sufficiency analysis suggests that outreach breadth is an important core condition for financial self-sufficiency, while economic development is not. None of the individual conditions—breadth of outreach, portfolio at risk, management inefficiency, active borrowers, capital structure, or economic development—met the threshold for a high Financial Sustainability Score (FSS), emphasising that sustainability cannot be sufficiently explained by a solitary factor. From 2009 to 2019, BOTR remained a core condition in the sufficiency analysis. In 2009, 2014, and 2019, active borrowers, outreach scope, and management inefficiency were among the most significant factors across most pathways, underscoring their vital role in underpinning MFI performance. Capital structure, portfolio at risk, and economic development were context- and time-dependent, with their effects being core conditions in some configurations and absent in others. In conclusion, the findings support equifinality and causal asymmetry, as different combinations of institutional and contextual factors can lead an MFI to achieve high financial self-sufficiency.
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70-81
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Middle Power Agency Under Strategic Constraint: Pakistan’s Mediation Potential in US–Iran Negotiations

Ahmed Osama Tahir, Ayesha Mubeen

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.388
In the contemporary international system, middle powers increasingly exert influence beyond their traditional material constraints. As great powers remain dominant in shaping international security architecture, the rising power of emerging powers is using mediation, strategic balancing, and niche diplomacy to shape regional outcomes. The case of Pakistan is very special as it has a unique geopolitical position and, at the same time, has a dual relationship with the USA and Iran. The literature on Pakistan is primarily security-based, alliance-oriented, and/or regionally oriented and insufficiently theorises the capacity of Pakistan's diplomacy to become a middle power. This article contends that Pakistan's mediation effectiveness is not only determined by its status as a 'normal' middle power but also depends on its ability to institutionalise strategic neutrality and sustain credible diplomatic autonomy amidst conflicting system pressures. The study draws on a combination of Middle Power Theory and Neoclassical Realism to analyze and explore the mediation potential of Pakistan in key diplomatic moments and processes using qualitative process tracing and policy-oriented analysis. The article shows that mediation effectiveness is not necessarily the result of strategic geography. Instead, diplomatic credibility, domestic political unity, and apparent neutrality among competing forces are the three factors that are essential for a successful mediation. Pakistan has good diplomatic opportunities in terms of communication and regional legitimacy, but weak internal stability, dependence on outside powers, and multiple geopolitical differences limit its role as an intermediary. This article contributes to middle-power scholarship by advancing an agency-centred framework for understanding how developing states transform strategic positioning into diplomatic influence.
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82-95
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The Green Enigma: How Taxes, Technology and Growth Outline Carbon Emissions in Malaysia

Dr. Anam Qamar, Zoya Hanif, Syed Aamir Alam Rizvi

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.394
This study examines the repercussion of environmental taxes, technological innovation, and economic augmentation on carbon emanation in Malaysia during 1990–2021. The study applied a deductive research approach and used annual time-series data attained from secondary sources. Econometric analyses were carried out using EViews. To check the homogeneity of variables, the unit root test is employed, and to determine long-run relationship of variables, Johansen cointegration test is executed, after obtaining the relationship Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to examine the long-run causality and short-run dynamic linkage. Empirical results prove that environment taxes play significantly and positively on carbon emission and it can significantly reduce carbon emissions. However economic growth and technological advancement had no significant and positively related on carbon emissions. Long-run relationship also proved by VECM test and the speed of convergence to long-run equilibrium was determined.
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96-114
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Weaponizing Winter: Energy Infrastructure, Coercive Strategy, and Civilian Vulnerability in the Russia-Ukraine War

Ameena Shahid, Abu Baker

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.389
In the Russia-Ukraine war, energy infrastructure has emerged as a prominent arena for coercion, civilian security and resilience, and has been the target of repeated Russian attacks against Ukraine. This Article discusses the different types of seasonally concentrated attacks and clarifies the strategic aim behind them and their impact on IHL at stake if there are attacks on interconnected energy systems that leave civilians affected. The study utilises a qualitative approach using an embedded single-case design from February 2022 to 31 August 2026, combining peer-reviewed scholarship with the official documentation of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission (UHR) in Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Criminal Court, and the ICRC treaty database. Three embedded sub-units are analysed (attacks on electricity and heating power stations in Ukraine, nuclear safety and legal issues at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil power stations). The results show that the line of reasoning about Ukraine's energy system is a punishment/attrition/leverage line instead of capitulation. Official reporting reveals that attacks against power and heating systems enhance civilian impact, particularly during the winter season. The study establishes that the term “dual-use” should not substitute the Article 52 military objective test and that Article 56 precautions should be more specifically considered for nuclear facilities. It concludes that direct comparison of Russian and Ukrainian energy-targeting campaigns is challenging due to differing targets, civilian exposure, and assessment standards. Strategic and IHL assessments are strongest when viewed cumulatively rather than as substitutes for strike-specific legal analysis.
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115-129
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Geoeconomic Fragmentation and FDI Reallocation in Emerging Economies: The Role of Political Alignment

Muhammad Islam, Syed Adeel Ahmad Bukhari, Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Saleem, Ahmad Waleed

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.393
This study investigates whether the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and political alignment between countries has changed due to geoeconomic fragmentation in emerging market and developing economies. A source-host-year panel combines United Nations General Assembly ideal-point distances with the International Monetary Fund Direct Investment Positions by Counterpart Economy dataset. The main sample spans 2010-2024 and includes 125,239 annual observations, 86 emerging/developing host economies, 192 investor economies, and 12,787 bilateral dyads. The preferred specification transforms officially reported inward FDI positions using an inverse hyperbolic sine transformation and includes dyad, host-year, and investor-year fixed effects. The post-2022 marginal effect is estimated imprecisely but is statistically significant and negative (beta = -0.0536; clustered p = 0.037), and it captures the incremental interaction between political distance and the post-2022 period. In 2024, FDI inflows and announced greenfield capital expenditure (capEX) followed a similar trajectory of selective reallocation, though not deglobalization, with India reporting a 13% increase in FDI, China a 29% decrease, and ASEAN a record US$235 billion. Digital-economy investment reached US$360 billion globally during 2020-2024, with India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Mexico, Brazil and Thailand among the top developing-country destinations. A connector screen highlights economies where weak bilateral FDI exposure converged with high geopolitical distance after 2022 among emerging economies. The evidence is descriptive, not causal. Overall, findings support a qualified fragmentation interpretation: productive investment remained driven by market fundamentals, sectoral opportunities and connection roles, while political alignment grew in significance after 2022.
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130-145
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Special Education Teachers' Perceptions of Video Modeling for Enhancing Cognitive Skills in Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Evidence from Faisalabad, Pakistan

Bisma Yousaf, Muhammad Usman Zia, Bilal Munir

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.392
Video modeling is a well-established evidence-based practice for teaching skills to learners with intellectual disability, yet most evidence derives from well-resourced Western settings, and little is known about how teachers perceive it in low-resource contexts. This descriptive cross-sectional survey examined the perceptions of 50 special education teachers in Faisalabad, Pakistan, using a validated 20-item questionnaire organised into four subscales. All items were endorsed above the scale midpoint, with traditional video modeling rated highest for gaining attention. Crucially, perceived benefits and perceived barriers were endorsed at almost equal strength, differing by only 0.124 scale points. Apparent differences by qualification disappeared once response style was controlled, and barrier perception did not vary by sector. Findings suggest that the principal constraint on adoption is structural rather than attitudinal, implying that resourcing, not persuasion, is the more effective lever for supporting implementation.
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146-158
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Perceived Environmental Unpredictability and Strategic Flexibility among Entrepreneurs: A Cross-sectional Correlational Study

Sumayya Shakir, Qurat ul Ain Aslam Khan, Farhia Jabbar

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.396
The study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived environmental unpredictability and strategic flexibility among entrepreneurs in Pakistan, addressing a gap in the existing literature within the Pakistani cultural context. Data were collected from Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, with inclusion criteria of a minimum age of 25 years and at least one year of business experience. The study utilized standardized questionnaires to measure the variables. The correlational analysis revealed a significant positive association between perceived environmental unpredictability and strategic flexibility. The independent-samples t-test for gender revealed no significant mean difference in perceived environmental unpredictability, whereas women scored significantly higher on strategic flexibility than men. The findings suggest that strategic flexibility is associated with entrepreneurs’ perceptions of environmental unpredictability and may be relevant to their responses to changing business conditions. The study recommends collecting data from other cities in Pakistan, such as Karachi, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta, and Multan, and using a stratified sampling technique to improve the generalizability of the findings.
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159-167
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Oil Wealth and Politics, Comparative study of the Middle East. (Saudia Arabia, UAE and Qatar)

Amna Nawaz, Tallat Yasmin, Irha Fatima

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.404
This article will analyse how the wealth of petroleum has influenced the construction of rentier-state structures and the way they have exercised their power within the Arab Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar). In response to their discoveries of great oil and gas reserves; each of these countries created a rentier economy, in which an overwhelming majority of revenue generated by the government is received directly from petroleum exports, with little or no reliance on taxes paid domestically. These new forms of economic activity had profound impacts on state-society relations, systems of governance, and the means of exercising political authority. The theory upon which this research is founded a Rentier-State Theory. According to this theory, states relying on the revenues produced from oil sales can provide for their citizens economically by distributing income and other benefits, providing subsidies and social welfare programs to help reduce the amount of pressure placed upon them by their citizens demanding greater political rights and freedoms. In addition, this paper seeks to explore how oil wealth affects a state's foreign policy decisions, its relationships with neighbouring states, and how it exercises its influence in terms of geopolitical power politics throughout the entire Gulf region.
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168-179
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Six-Factor Asset Pricing versus LSTM Forecasting in the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Malaika Nisar, Dr. Muhammad Naveed Jan, Dr. Usman Ayub

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.406
This research examines whether the six-factor asset pricing model or Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network is better suited to forecasting the portfolio excess return in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which is a frontier market with relatively less history. The data used is monthly for 300 PSX companies classified into 30 factor sorted portfolios (Jan 1999 – Dec 2025, 312 months), where a six-factor time-series regression with Newey-West HAC errors is estimated, followed by joint pricing error significance test using Gibbons-Ross-Shanken (GRS) statistic. A portfolio-specific LSTM is trained on the same six factors using a fixed chronological split (196 training, 42 validations, 42 test months) and compared with the regression on an identical 42-month out-of-sample window using RMSE, MAE, out-of-sample R², hit rate, and three formal tests. The six-factor model explains substantial return variation (mean in-sample R² = .758), but the GRS test rejects the null of jointly zero pricing errors (F = 12.251, p < .0001; mean |α| = 0.749%). The LSTM shows no systematic incremental forecasting value: the regression achieves lower RMSE on 28 of 30 portfolios and a higher out-of-sample R² (.590 vs. −.022), with all three formal tests rejecting equal accuracy at p < .0001. The LSTM's limited value concentrates in momentum-sorted portfolios, consistent with permutation importance ranking momentum as the dominant learnable input. We interpret this as evidence that algorithmic flexibility does not automatically yield forecasting gains under limited training data and noisy returns, not as evidence against machine learning generally.
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180-193
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Workplace Democracy and the Pursuit of Well-being: Reimagining Organizations Through Participation and Equality

Muhammad Arshad, Hina Mehmood Cheema, Umar Akbar, Ezzah

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.409
Modern organizations are increasingly aware of the need to adopt management methods where the employees are the central actors, implementing participation, equity and welfare. This study looks at the link between employee well-being and workplace democracy through the lenses of employee involvement in decision making and workplace equality. The study utilizes quantitative research approach, and cross-sectional survey design. A structured questionnaire is used for gathering data from 300 public and private sector employees of Pakistan. The collected data is analyzed by SPSS with reliability test, correlation test and regression test to test the hypotheses that have been proposed. The results indicate that there is a strong positive association between workplace democracy and employee welfare. The findings also showed that employee involvement in decision making in the organization leads to an improvement in employee psychological well-being, and that equality in the workplace leads to an improvement in employee job satisfaction and overall workplace experiences. The study emphasizes that democratic working methods establish positive working conditions through higher employee autonomy, engagement, fairness and organizational belonging. This research is useful to the organizational behavior literature because it highlights the need to focus on participative and inclusive management styles. The results indicate that fostering employee voice, openness in decision-making and equal opportunities in building sustainable workplaces have the potential to enhance employee satisfaction and psychological health.
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194-208
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Students' Attitude towards Sports and Games at the Primary Level in Rawalpindi

Maheen Sehar, Dr. M. Imran Yousuf, M. Adnan Riaz, Gulnaz Hameed

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.413
The present study focuses on the attitudes of primary school students towards sports and games and the sports facilities available in government primary schools to provide a healthy, interactive, and supportive learning environment. The goal of this study was to explore students' perceptions of physical activity and the reality of infrastructure to support physical activity in schools. The research design used was a descriptive survey using a quantitative approach with an observation checklist. The test population comprised Government Primary Schools of Rawalpindi District. A cluster sampling of five Government Primary Schools (GPS) was carried out, and information from 167 kindergarten V pupils in the selected schools was gathered. Structured questionnaires and classroom/field observation checklists were used to collect data. Results showed that the attitudes of the majority of primary pupils towards sport and games are very positive, and they see the importance of sport and games in maintaining and supporting pupils' health, happiness, and socialising. However, huge constraints were noted in the school infrastructure; for e.g. there were playgrounds in only three schools, Sports equipment in two schools and Marked play areas in two schools. Factors like school resource allocation and institutional support played an important role in physical activity involvement. The study overall found that student motivation for sports is good, but for effective engagement, facilities provision should be adequate, which indicates a great need to improve facilities in primary schools.
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209-219
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A Study of Economic, Institutional, and Family Factors Associated with Migration Intentions in Final-Year University Students in Pakistan

Ahsan Haider Shehzad, Faiza Waseem, Ayesha Iqbal, Laiba Ashraf, Muhammad Aleem Ilyas

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.417
One of the major challenges facing Pakistan is brain drain, as an increasing number of university graduates consider pursuing education and employment opportunities abroad. This study aimed to examine the associations of perceived economic opportunity, institutional trust, household income, and parental migration status with migration intentions among final-year university students in Pakistan. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed, and data was collected from 200 students using standardized self-report questionnaires. The findings indicated that perceived economic opportunity was positively associated with migration intentions, whereas institutional trust showed a strong negative association with intentions to migrate. Household income was also positively associated with migration intentions. Parental migration status did not significantly moderate the examined relationships. Furthermore, migration intentions varied across academic fields. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening institutional trust, expanding viable employment opportunities, and promoting transparent and merit-based systems to reduce graduate’s intentions to migrate and support the retention of skilled human capital in Pakistan.
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220-237
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Nepotism, Cronyism, and Organizational Commitment among Rescue Workers: A Comparative Analysis of Contractual and Regular Employees

Ishtiaq Ahmad, Dr. Sumaira Naz, Dr. Shagufta Parveen

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.419
This study focused on the relationship between perceived nepotism, organizational cronyism, and organizational commitment among Rescue 1122 workers, while comparing the relationships between these factors among workers with different types of employment (contractual and regular). The design used was quantitative and correlational, in which 400 rescue workers were selected from Pakistan with one year of work experience. Standardized self-report measures of nepotism, organizational cronyism and organizational commitment were used to gather data. Pearson product–moment correlations and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) were used to examine the hypothesized relationships. The results revealed that nepotism and cronyism negatively correlated with organizational commitment. Based on the structural model, organizational commitment was also found to be significantly positively predicted by job type (β = .127, p < .05). Organizational commitment was partially transmitted, as nepotism and cronyism were negatively related to commitment. The results show the importance of organizational experiences of emergency workers as a function of employment status. The available study results, however, do not report separate 'contractual' group-versus-'regular' group means, standard deviations, independent-samples tests, or effect sizes for the variables of interest, meaning that these statistics should be computed from the original data prior to making direct comparisons between groups.
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238-245
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The Four Pillars of Teaching: How Self-Efficacy, Burnout, and Attitude Shape Teacher Effectiveness at the Secondary School Level

Syed Amjad Ali Shah, Liaquat Hussain, Sadia kanwal, Amber Rehman

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.412
This study examined the association between secondary school teachers’ self-efficacy, burnout, attitude, and teaching effectiveness. This research used a descriptive, correlational design and a survey method. The study population comprises 1,768 secondary school educators, including 404 from urban areas and 1,364 from rural areas. Using stratified random sampling, the researchers determined a statistically adequate sample of 314 teachers based on Krejcie and Morgan (1970), and distributed approximately 450 questionnaires to account for non-response and incomplete responses. The study used four standardized questionnaires (5-point Likert scale) to collect data on teaching effectiveness, self-efficacy, burnout, and attitude toward teaching. The instruments were expert-validated. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regression in SPSS (V26). Results showed strong correlations between teachers’ self-efficacy, burnout, attitude, and teaching effectiveness. The study also examined the relationships among self-efficacy, burnout, attitude, and secondary school teachers’ teaching effectiveness. The results showed that teachers’ psychological and attitudinal attributes empirically affect effective teaching at the secondary level.
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246-259
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Role of Russia and China in the World’s Politics through SCO

Zumar Zaman, Seerat Batool, Dr. Imran Wakil

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.421
The study details how the current international order is shifting from the previously unipolar form to a more multipolar form in which Russia and China have become the key players in international politics. The role of both Russia and China in the transformation of world politics will be explored, making a special focus on the interaction between them and cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It looks at Russia's attempts to hold on to its influence in Central Asia, foster regional security and multipolarity, and challenge western influence, alongside China's increasing economic, military, technological and diplomatic strength, and its world-class initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The study also examines aspects of the stances of Russia and China of cooperation and competition in the SCO. This study adopts the qualitative approach, which is a case study method, in which it is uses secondary, documentary and published works such as academic book, journal articles, research reports, and official documents. The primary goals include an analysis of the strategic role and cooperation of the two Asian giants (Russia and China) in the SCO, examining their competition in this space, as well as assessing the impact of these two countries on the change of power relations in the world. Emphasis is placed on the political, diplomatic, economic and security aspects of Russia-China relations, especially in Central Asia and Eurasia. The research posits that since Russia and China share security and geopolitical concerns they are on good terms within the SCO, and the fact that both have economic power and compete for influence in Central Asia instigates tensions. Overall the partnership provides a contribution to making the world be a multipolar world order.
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260-273
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Narrative Disruption as Learning Tool: Teaching Slavery, Memory, and identity through Octavia Buttler’s Kindred

Dr. Sadia Siddiq, Tooba Ilyas, Dr. Saima Shaheen

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.395
In a fluid sociological and cultural landscape, where the dimensions of geography and time are in a permanent state of flux, the destabilisation of personal identity has become a critical concern. The theme of identity crises in literature has been widely studied, but there is little research on the psychological crises caused by environmental and chronological change in Octavia Butler’s Kindred. Hence, the qualitative research, within the general paradigm of the Narrative Identity Theory, by using Roland Barthes’ textual analysis framework, explores the particular processes of identity fracturing due to spatial and temporal changes in the characters of the novel. The analysis argues that Kindred cheapens Dana’s affective attachments, moral values, and cultural attachments by placing her in a spatial dislocation between her modern home in California and the antebellum American South. Historically, this spatial dislocation is compounded by the dislocating system of chattel slavery. The protagonist is caught between two different temporal and spatial realities, and has no stable identity, which leads to the maximum of internal alienation.
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274-280
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Stigmatic Beliefs about Depression and Attitude toward Seeking Professional Help among Doctors: Mediating Role of Depression

Rubab Rasheed, Dr. Hina Ghafoor

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.397
Doctors are often known for the stressful nature of their work, particularly when they have to frequently provide best care for their patient while working in high stress environments. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between stigma beliefs and attitudes to seeking professional help, controlling for depression. 200 samples were taken from the targeted population of nine hundred doctors in public sector hospitals of Rawalpindi. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between depression and self-stigma (.242). There was a low correlation between depression and perceived stigma (.078). Self-stigma was found to be significantly negatively correlated with attitude toward seeking help (-.454) and depression was slightly negatively correlated with attitude toward seeking help (-.232). The study focused on depression as a mediator between self-stigma, perceived stigma and attitudes towards the use of professional help. The results showed that self-stigma significantly affected depression and attitudes toward seeking help but not so much for predicting depression and attitudes toward treatment. Finally, the study concludes that the three factors, i.e., stigma, depression and attitudes towards seeking help, are interrelated among doctors in the tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi.
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281-293
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Why Do Megaprojects Underperform? A Systematic Literature Review of the Causes of Poor Performance and Strategies for Improving Project Outcomes

Ayesha Nazish Butt, Sadia Bint Raza , Tasaddaque Hussain

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.411
Large-scale capital projects that typically cost over $1 billion are called megaprojects and can have a significant impact on the economy, the landscape, and entire societies. While most of these projects have not met their cost, benefit, or schedule goals, they continue to grow in number and size. This persistent gap between ambition and delivery is usually referred to as the “megaproject paradox”, and is what drives this present review. The study was conducted using a systematic review protocol that was developed in accordance with PRISMA principles, and used the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) framework to assess the quality of the 37 peer-reviewed articles identified between 2014 and 2024 in Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, and analyzed them thematically to address two questions: why do megaprojects underperform and what can be done to improve their delivery? This integrated view of the causes of underperformance, condensed into seven themes, is set to define the problems. There are seven themes with interrelated causes of underperformance, and they will be problem definitions. A set of evidence-based improvement strategies derived from the literature reviewed is mapped to each of these. The results suggest that the failure of megaprojects is rarely a simple matter of one isolated cause; instead, it is an outcome of a combination of technical, organizational and institutional factors, and thus, for lasting improvements, a coordinated approach is needed for governance, cost control, stakeholder engagement and leadership development, but not a combination of isolated fixes. These results are compared with the more recent systematic reviews of megaproject performance, with their theoretical and managerial implications, and an agenda of future empirical research is outlined.
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294-309
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The Interplay Between Academic Resilience and Demotivation Among English Language Learners

Dr. Zahid Hussain Pathan, Irum Fatima, Muhammad Imran Bhatti

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.415
English learning demotivation is a salient phenomenon that debilitates students’ learning motivation. Although a plethora of research has tried to discover possible factors leading to students’ ESL/EFL demotivation, few research studies have attempted to investigate the interaction of academic resilience with English learners’ demotivation. To close this lacuna, the present quantitative research studied 234 college students' academic resilience and its interaction with their English learning. To collect the data, two closed-ended questionnaires on English learning demotivation and academic resilience were adopted from studies by Kikuchi (2011), and Wagnild (2009), respectively. All participants' responses were analyzed in SPSS through correlation and a series of simple linear regressions. The results showed that academic resilience had a significant and negative interaction with English language learning demotivation. These results support the stance that fostering students' resilience can enable them to bounce back in the face of academic setbacks. These findings imply that EFL/ESL teachers should help their students focus on building resilience against the forces that diminish their L2 learning interest. English language teachers can enhance learners' persistence (i.e., perseverance) by encouraging them to set clear learning objectives and engage in self-regulated learning. English language learners should also be assisted in enhancing their problem-solving skills, which can promote their self-reliance. Besides, learners' own awareness of the practical importance of English in the context of Pakistan can also provide them with a reason to study the English language.
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310-320
Full Open Access
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Financial Decision-Making in Project Management Evidence from Large Infrastructure Projects

Maleeha Tarique, Naveed, Rao Muhammad Haris, Syed Ahsan Hussain

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.351
Large-scale projects involve numerous decisions under uncertainty, including cost estimation, contingency planning, vendor selection, cash flow planning, and managing emerging cost risks. By analysing project data, artificial intelligence (AI) can identify trends and provide predictions and recommendations. This quantitative study investigates relationships among AI utilization, data quality, data integration, AI capability, trust and transparency, financial decision quality, and project financial performance. A 27-item questionnaire and a synthetic cross-sectional dataset of 320 project professionals were developed to demonstrate an analytical workflow using SPSS. Reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlation, hierarchical multiple regression, one-way analysis of variance, and bootstrapping mediation analysis were conducted. All six scales demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha = .849–.899). The KMO value was .927, and Bartlett’s test was significant, χ²(351) = 4,986.53, p < .001. Six factors explained 70.1% of the total variance. Data quality (beta = .287), trust and transparency (beta = .266), AI utilization (beta = .254), and AI capability (beta = .204) significantly predicted financial decision quality. The relevant dimensions explained 53.1% of its variance. Financial decision quality strongly predicted project financial performance (beta = .434) and partially mediated the relationship between AI adoption and financial performance. These simulated findings suggest that AI’s financial value depends not only on tool utilization but also on data integration, competent application, explainability, governance, and human accountability. Since the dataset is synthetic, the results illustrate a research design and do not constitute empirical evidence or support generalizable claims.
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321-335
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Career Advancement, Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction: A Phenomenological Study of Visually Impaired Employees

Neelam Niaz, Dr. Irfan Bashir

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.435
This study examines the lived experiences of visually impaired employees in Lahore who work in the public and private sector and how they tackle the challenges they face, the strategies they employ, and the support system they have. Although there is growing awareness and policies encouraging workplace inclusion, people with visual impairments still encounter serious obstacles including inaccessibility and accommodation and poor attitude of the society. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 participants selected using purposive and snowball sampling. The results indicate that not only are workplace challenges structural but also strongly social since many of the participants indicated that they have faced experiences of exclusion, undervalued abilities, and limited career advancements. Nevertheless, the study also reveals the strength of these people, who proactively pursue self-advocacy, use assistive technologies, and draw on personal and professional networks of support to overcome the challenges at work. The access to fair praise and conducive organizational behaviours was also identified to contribute greatly to job satisfaction and productivity. The research highlights the importance of organizations to go beyond policy-level inclusion and implement more realistic and people-focused strategies that would provide access and equal opportunities. Since it captures real life experiences, this study offers helpful data to policy makers, employers, and support organizations to develop more inclusive, equitable and supportive workplaces that accommodate the visually impaired.
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336-350
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Mapping Organizational Noise and Communication Reliability in a Mega Open University

Dr. Sidra Rizwan, Samiya Ashfaq

doi https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.441
Open and distance learning (ODL) is delivered through institutional communication, yet the dependability of that communication is rarely studied as a property of the system. Research tends to treat platform usability, administrative service and language accessibility as separate concerns, so their combined effect on a single learner is seldom examined. This study specifies “organizational noise” as interference distributed across environmental, technological, cultural and linguistic domains to map communication reliability in a mega open university. A convergent mixed-methods design was implemented at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Pakistan, a distance-mode teaching institution enrolling more than one million students annually across 56 regional campuses. Survey data were collected from 480 undergraduate ODL students through stratified random sampling across three faculties, while six students, two from each faculty, participated in semi-structured interviews. Survey responses were summarised descriptively, interview data were analysed thematically, and findings were integrated at the interpretation stage. The findings indicate that students experienced official institutional communication as generally present but unevenly dependable. Notifications could be timely or delayed, platform usability ratings could be highly positive despite serious congestion during peak submission periods, parallel authentication systems could fail to grant access, digital access remained uneven between urban and rural students, and formal English created difficulties for students requesting clarification in simpler terms. These disruptions tended to accumulate rather than occur as individual technical failures. The study concludes that communication reliability in institutions of this scale is a condition of access rather than merely a service supporting it.
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351-367

Vol. 5 No. 8 (2026): Issue 8 (August Issue)

Articles

Terrorism in Pakistan after 2021 Emerging Threats, Hybrid Security Challenges and Counter Terrorism Responses

From Cash Transfers to Integrated Development: A Comparative Study of Pakistan's Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and China's Jingzhun Fupin Program

Impact of Social Media Usage on Marital Conflict and Mental Well-Being Among Married Adults: Role of Social Comparison

From Shadow War to Hybrid Confrontation: The Transformation of Iran Israel Rivalry in the Middle East

Economic Development and Breadth of Outreach as Contextual Conditions for Financial Self-Sufficiency: A Configurational Analysis of Microfinance Institutions

Middle Power Agency Under Strategic Constraint: Pakistan’s Mediation Potential in US–Iran Negotiations

The Green Enigma: How Taxes, Technology and Growth Outline Carbon Emissions in Malaysia

Weaponizing Winter: Energy Infrastructure, Coercive Strategy, and Civilian Vulnerability in the Russia-Ukraine War

Geoeconomic Fragmentation and FDI Reallocation in Emerging Economies: The Role of Political Alignment

Special Education Teachers' Perceptions of Video Modeling for Enhancing Cognitive Skills in Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Evidence from Faisalabad, Pakistan

Perceived Environmental Unpredictability and Strategic Flexibility among Entrepreneurs: A Cross-sectional Correlational Study

Oil Wealth and Politics, Comparative study of the Middle East. (Saudia Arabia, UAE and Qatar)

Six-Factor Asset Pricing versus LSTM Forecasting in the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Workplace Democracy and the Pursuit of Well-being: Reimagining Organizations Through Participation and Equality

Students' Attitude towards Sports and Games at the Primary Level in Rawalpindi

A Study of Economic, Institutional, and Family Factors Associated with Migration Intentions in Final-Year University Students in Pakistan

Nepotism, Cronyism, and Organizational Commitment among Rescue Workers: A Comparative Analysis of Contractual and Regular Employees

The Four Pillars of Teaching: How Self-Efficacy, Burnout, and Attitude Shape Teacher Effectiveness at the Secondary School Level

Role of Russia and China in the World’s Politics through SCO

Narrative Disruption as Learning Tool: Teaching Slavery, Memory, and identity through Octavia Buttler’s Kindred

Stigmatic Beliefs about Depression and Attitude toward Seeking Professional Help among Doctors: Mediating Role of Depression

Why Do Megaprojects Underperform? A Systematic Literature Review of the Causes of Poor Performance and Strategies for Improving Project Outcomes

The Interplay Between Academic Resilience and Demotivation Among English Language Learners

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Financial Decision-Making in Project Management Evidence from Large Infrastructure Projects

Career Advancement, Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction: A Phenomenological Study of Visually Impaired Employees

Mapping Organizational Noise and Communication Reliability in a Mega Open University

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