Fertility patterns in Pakistan: a comparative analysis of family planning trends across different geographic regions.

INTRODUCTION: Family planning includes a wide range of services, such as counseling, contraception, and support to couples. Evidence shows that developing countries have a high degree of inequality in contraception use and prevalence. Reasons for these inequalities include cultural barriers such as traditional preferences and a desire for larger families and lineage, especially in rural areas. The primary objective of this research was to examine the updated contraceptive method preferences of couples in rural and urban regions of Pakistan and how these translate to family planning practices among the different provinces. METHODS: A secondary survey analysis using the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2019 survey data was conducted. The dataset included 15 143 women sampled proportionally from the provinces, including Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The unit of analysis was 'women' from the individual survey dataset. Age, type of residence (rural, urban), division, education level, and language were used to evaluate access to family planning and contraception services. The c2 test assessed the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was then performed to see the likelihood of contraceptive use among women. RESULTS: Of the women in the sample, 55% were from rural areas and 50% were without formal education; 51.7% of these women were using or practicing any form of contraception method. The most common method used was condoms (9.2%), followed by injectables (6.2%). Regression analysis showed that women aged 15-19 years were less likely (odds ratio (OR)=0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.51-1.01) to use contraception when compared to the reference group. The likelihood of contraceptive use was higher in urban areas (OR=1.53, 95%Cl=1.39-1.69). Noticeably, contraceptive use was less likely in uneducated women (OR=0.62, 95%Cl=0.56-070). Punjab province had the highest contraceptive prevalence (34.3%), whereas Baluchistan had the lowest (6.9%). The use of contraception in urban and rural populations was similar in all provinces except Sindh and Gilgit Baltistan. In urban and rural areas, women in the age group 30-35 years who use contraception show a prevalence of 21% and 22% respectively. CONCLUSION: The study highlights suboptimal use of contraceptives and the existence of high levels of inequalities among the regions. There is a need for the implementation of focused educational initiatives and counseling interventions along with prioritization of accessibility and affordability of contraceptive methods among women in lower socioeconomic regions.

The path to sustainability begins with going paperless: Antecedents of intention to use electronic wallet using serial mediation approach.

The expansion of E-wallet service providers in Indonesia is quite encouraging. In its report, Bank of Indonesia indicated that 48 E-wallet services are lawful. This is consistent with the number of E-wallet transactions, where USD 1.5 billion were recorded in 2018 and this number is expected to increase in 2023. This statistic increases the researcher's motivation to investigate E-wallet acceptability in Indonesia. The intention to use e-wallets among Indonesian adults must be studied in order to comprehend adoption factors, identify user preferences, inform marketing strategies, promote financial inclusion, and inform policy and regulatory decisions. This cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in Indonesia aimed to examine the factors influencing the formation of an intention to use electronic wallets (E-Wallets). It focused on perceived ease of use, perceived trust, perceived risk, perceived usefulness, social influence, compatibility, facilitating conditions, and perception of new technology. While previous studies have explored factors influencing users' intention to adopt electronic wallets, few have explicitly focused on mediating factors in the Indonesian context. This study fills this gap by investigating the mediating factors that affect Indonesian users' intention to adopt electronic wallets. It enhances the understanding of the direct factors influencing users' intention and sheds light on the complex relationships of other factors (mediators) that explain the underlying dynamics of this phenomenon. The study analyzed data from 384 valid participants using partial least squares and structural equation modeling with Smart PLS 4.0. The findings revealed that e-wallet facilitating conditions, perceived usefulness, perceived trust, compatibility, perception of risk, and perception of new technology positively and significantly influenced users' intention to use e-wallets in Indonesia. However, social influence and ease of use did not have a positive impact on e-wallet adoption intention among the Indonesian sample. The implications of this study suggest that e-wallet providers should prioritize balancing ease of use and security in their systems. If an e-wallet system is perceived as too easy to use, it may raise concerns about safety and unauthorized access, negatively affecting users' intention to adopt electronic wallets. Therefore, e-wallet providers should ensure user-friendly systems that address security concerns. Future research should explore other factors related to e-wallet adoption and assess their long-term effects on users' intention to use and adopt e-wallets. Despite its limitations, this study provides valuable insights for e-wallet providers, policymakers, and researchers in understanding electronic wallet adoption in Indonesia. It offers guidance for developing effective strategies and interventions to promote widespread adoption and use of electronic wallets.

Antecedents of Employee Green Behavior in the Hospitality Industry.

Organizations are increasingly adopting green human resource management policies to encourage environmentally friendly behaviors. Research shows that adopting green policies and procedures is beneficial for the hospitality industry. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the association between environmental-specific ethical leadership, psychological green climate, and employees' green behavior. Therefore, this study intends to examine psychological green climate (PGC) as a mediator between the relationship of environmental-specific ethical leadership (ESEL) and employees' green behavior (EGB), specifically in the hotel industry of Pakistan. Data from 224 non-managerial position employees in the understudy sector was collected using a convenient sampling technique. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to examine the direct and indirect effects among the variables using the Smart PLS 3.3.3 version. This study showed that ESEL is positively related to PGC and EGB. Moreover, PGC is positively associated with EGB, and PGC mediated in the relationship between ESEL and EGB. Thus, current research highlights the significance of environmental-specific ethical leadership behavior, which assists in establishing a green psychological climate, thereby fostering employees' green behavior in the hotel industry of Pakistan.

Targeting Women's vulnerable employment through social protection: A quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design.

In Pakistan, women face economic and social vulnerability, which keeps them underpaid even without social barriers. Government micro and macroeconomic policies are aimed at income generation rather than making women part of the economic mainstream. The cash transfer program is an essential component of social protection policy in the developing world, with one of its key objectives of raising women's financial autonomy. This research investigates the impact of Pakistan's first and largest cash transfer program, named Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), on women's vulnerable employment. BISP was initiated by identifying poor households based on poverty score cutoff, thereby exploiting Regression Discontinuity Design. The findings revealed that this program reduced vulnerable employment in the initial years of its inception. However, it does not impact the later follow-up years. Policymakers should take necessary measures so that women's non-vulnerable employment may improve.

The battle of health with environmental evils of Asian countries: promises to keep.

The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental indicators and health expenditures in the panel of five selected Asian countries, over the period of 2000-2013. The study used panel cointegration technique for evaluating the nexus between environment and health in the region. The results show that energy demand, forest area, and GDP per unit use of energy have a significant and positive impact on increasing health expenditures in the region. These results have been confirmed by single equation panel cointegration estimators, i.e., fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) estimators. In addition, the study used robust least squares regression to confirm the generalizability of the results in Asian context. All these estimators indicate that environmental indicators escalate the health expenditures per capita in a region; therefore, Asian countries should have to upsurge health expenditures for safeguard from environmental evils in a region.