JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEVELOPMENT

VILLAGE INSTITUTIONS, COMMUNAL RESOURCES AND PASTORAL LIFE IN TANGIR VALLEY, GILGIT-BALTISTAN: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents an ethnographic study of village institutions, communal resources and pastoral life in Tangir Valley, Diamer District, Gilgit-Baltistan. It draws on repeated ethnographic fieldwork beginning in 2000, supplemented by follow-up telephone interviews conducted in 2025 and 2026. The study includes key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, informal conversations, and visits to villages, nullahs and pastures. It documents the division of Tangir into Roms and villages and discusses local institutions and functionaries, particularly the Jirga, Justero (Yustero), Kul, Zaitu and Wai Segalo. It also considers customary distinctions between ownership and use rights and the indigenous distribution of communal resources through Dookar and Dalo. Pastoral practices, including the seasonal movement of livestock to nullahs (side-valleys) and pastures and the celebration of Gape Khushle on the safe return of shepherds and their herds, further reveal the close relationship between livelihood and collective village life. The paper argues that village institutions, customary authority, communal resources, and pastoral practices in Tangir Valley are interconnected parts of a locally rooted system through which communities have traditionally organised village affairs, managed shared resources, and maintained their relationship with the surrounding landscape.

DOES RENEWABLE ENERGY RESHAPE THE RESOURCE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION NEXUS? EVIDENCE FROM RESOURCE INTENSIVE ASIAN ECONOMIES

Ayesha Siddiqui, Rizwan Ullah, Barera Arshad, Muhammad Muneeb Ali — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Are the adversative environmental impacts of natural-resource reliance being reduced by renewable energy? The present study investigates the linkage among natural-resource rents, renewable-energy, and CO₂ emissions in the nine resource-intensive Asian economies in the period 1995–2022. The analysis uses balanced panel data, and fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors as the main estimator and CS-ARDL as a robustness framework are employed. The outcomes show that the relation between renewable-energy and CO₂ emissions is still strong. In contrast, emissions are not significantly influenced by natural-resource rents directly. More crucially, natural resource rent–renewable energy interaction is statistically unimportant, which suggests that there is no strong evidence that renewable energy declines the natural resource rent–emissions relationship. The CS-ARDL results support an adjustment process; the long-run coefficients are not statistically significant. Overall, the outcomes indicate that renewable energy makes a direct contribution to the reduction of emissions, and that there is still a need for larger structural transformation to achieve a separation between the resources and their impact on the environment.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND JOB EMBEDDEDNESS: THE MEDIATION OF ROLE AMBIGUITY ACROSS INDIVIDUAL, GROUP, ORGANIZATIONAL, AND INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS

Kamran Naeem, Amjad Khan, Nidal Fawwaz Al Qudah, Imran Naeem — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Organizational learning has allied with employee and organizational performance, but limited attention has given to the processes through which organizational learning processes contribute to employees’ job embeddedness. This study examines the relationship between organizational learning and job embeddedness and explains the mediating role of role ambiguity. Organizational learning studied on four levels: individual-level learning, group-level learning, organizational-level learning, and inter-organizational-level learning. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design used for study, and data collected through a structured questionnaire from 245 employees working in service-sector organizations in Pakistan. Regression analysis and bootstrapping was used to test the proposed relationships and mediation effects. The findings reveals that organizational learning and sub levels are positively related with job embeddedness and negatively with role ambiguity. Whereas role ambiguity is negatively related with job embeddedness. The study explores that role ambiguity significantly mediates the relationships between organizational learning (and each of its four levels) with job embeddedness. The findings suggest that organizational learning helps employees’ job embeddedness by creating opportunities for knowledge acquisition, social connection, reducing uncertainty regarding roles, responsibilities, authority, and performance expectations.

ROLE OF SPORTS NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE IN SHAPING EATING BEHAVIOR AND FITNESS PERCEPTION OF ATHLETES

Abdul Basit, Gulshan Tahira, Muhammad Ijaz, Amna Zafar, Tawab Hafiz — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sports nutrition knowledge is an important component of athletic preparation because appropriate dietary decisions support training demands, recovery, health, and sustained participation in sport. This study examined the relationship of sports nutrition knowledge with eating behavior and fitness perception among male club-level athletes in District Dera Ismail Khan. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used with 221 male athletes participating in cricket, football, and badminton. Data were analyzed in SPSS Version 29 using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. Participants reported mean scores of 3.48 ± 0.60 for sports nutrition knowledge, 3.40 ± 0.57 for eating behavior, and 3.55 ± 0.59 for fitness perception, all within the moderate range. Sports nutrition knowledge was positively correlated with eating behavior (r = .47, p < .01) and fitness perception (r = .54, p < .01), and eating behavior was positively correlated with fitness perception (r = .50, p < .01). Regression analysis showed that sports nutrition knowledge significantly predicted eating behavior (β = .44, t = 5.80, p < .001) and fitness perception (β = .52, t = 6.45, p < .001). The findings indicate that greater nutrition knowledge is associated with healthier reported eating behavior and more positive perceptions of physical fitness, and these findings highlight the value of structured nutrition education and professional nutrition support for club-level athletes.

EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NURSING STUDENTS

Rohit Zion, Nargis Abdul Rahman, Roin Shahzad, Mehran Shakeel — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Social media is now a part of everyday life for university students. It gives students opportunities to learn new things and connect with people. However, social media can also be a distraction for students and can pull them away from their studies. Many students have difficulty managing their time, do not get enough sleep, and have trouble focusing. All these factors can affect how well students perform academically. Social media can be a problem for university students because excessive or inappropriate use can negatively affect their academic performance. Therefore, university students need to be careful about how they use social media. This study examined how social media use affects the academic performance, specifically the grade point average (GPA), of nursing students enrolled in private nursing colleges. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 107 undergraduate nursing students selected through purposive sampling, using a structured, self-administered questionnaire comprising the Social Media and Academic Performance of Students Scale (Osharive, 2015) and the Social Media Addiction Scale–Student Form (Cengiz, 2018). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test in SPSS Version 26. Participants spent an average of 4.83 hours (SD = 3.77) per day on social media, and the mean social media addiction score was 86.40 (SD = 13.78). No statistically significant association was found between overall social media usage and GPA (χ², p = .223). However, students who used platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp more frequently tended to report lower GPAs, whereas social media use for academic purposes was not associated with poorer academic performance. The effect of social media on students' academic performance therefore depends largely on how it is used. When students use social media appropriately and focus on academic activities, it can support their learning. On the other hand, excessive use for non-academic purposes can negatively affect their academic performance. Academic performance is strongly influenced by how students manage their time. When students use their time effectively for academic activities, their academic performance can improve. However, when they spend excessive amounts of time on non-academic activities, their academic performance may suffer. Therefore, nursing institutions should help students develop a healthy balance between social media engagement and academic responsibilities.

SIKH HERITAGE IN GUJRANWALA: HISTORY, PRESERVATION, AND TOURISM POTENTIAL OF A SHARED CULTURAL LEGACY

Madiha Abbas, Dr. Muhammad Kashif Ali, Ume Raqia — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The city of Gujranwala in Punjab Province of Pakistan holds a unique and relatively neglected position in the history and heritage of the Sikhs. Being the birthplace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the founder of Sikh Empire and the place of significant holy places visited by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, this city houses a great number of heritage places for the Sikh faith, culture and architecture. Following the Partition of India in 1947 and subsequent near total relocation of Sikhs from this region, there has been left behind a considerable amount of heritage material, which, since then, has been neglected, encroached upon, repurposed or deteriorated. Based on field observations of 12 principal Sikh heritage sites of the contemporary Gujranwala district, supplemented with interviews of site caretakers, construction workers and locals and research of primary and secondary sources, this research explores historical significance, present state and preservation problems of the Sikh heritage in this region. It suggests that these heritage sites should be considered not only the religious heritage of Sikhs but also the cultural heritage of Punjab. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the role that these places could play in terms of heritage and pilgrimage tourism provided there is better conservation, interpretation, accessibility, and institutional coordination. The conclusion drawn from this research is that it would be necessary for the conservation of the Sikh heritage of Gujranwala to adopt an integrated approach in which the state institutions, local community, and diaspora of Sikhs should be involved.

SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT AND BRAND LOYALTY IN DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER BRANDS: A MODERATED MEDIATION MODEL

Maida Shafiq, Maryam Saleem, Sadaf Noor, Riffat Gill, Aisha Saleem — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Direct-to-Consumer brands are using social media as a vital avenue to connect, engage, and create enduring connections with customers in today's quickly changing digital marketplace. This research investigates how consumer’s attitude towards direct-to-consumer brands is shaped by social media engagement which therefore affects brand loyalty. Drawing upon, Theory of Planned Behavior this study tests an empirical model in which the relationship between social media engagement and brand loyalty is mediated by attitude towards direct-to-consumer brands, while the relationship between attitude towards direct-to-consumer brand and brand loyalty is moderated by brand trust. An online survey was used to collect primary data (N=337) in three waves from a sample of direct-to-consumer -versed Pakistani social media users. Time-1 respondents were asked to rate their attitude towards direct-to-consumer brands. Social media engagement (mediator) was tapped at time 2 while study’s moderator (brand trust) and dependent variable (brand loyalty) were measured at time 3. The PROCESS Macro in SPSS by Hayes was used to examine mediation and moderation effects. The results show that social media engagement influences the consumer's attitude towards direct-to-consumer brand, which results in brand loyalty over time. Furthermore, the relationship between brand trust and loyalty is qualified by brand trust, highlighting the importance of brand trust in sustaining customers' relationship in the direct-to-consumer market. By offering actual data on the behavioral and psychological processes via which social media interaction fosters brand loyalty, this research adds to the expanding corpus of expertise in digital marketing. The findings offer valuable insights for direct-to-consumer marketers aiming to improve customer relationships by targeting engagement strategies and building trust.

BUILDING A GREEN DIGITAL ECONOMY: HOW FINTECH STRENGTHENS GREEN FINANCE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The research methodology used in this study was quantitative research design, which aimed at studying the role of fintech in strengthening the financial performance of green finance in the framework of a green digital economy. The study employed panel data of 30 countries in developing and emerging economies from 2015 to 2024, data was drawn from World Bank and IEA, financial and environmental databases. The indicators used to assess the development of fintech were digital financial services, digital payments and the adoption of financial technology, while green finance indicators were green investment, green credit and financial flows oriented towards the environment. Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were used to determine financial performance. The concept of green finance was considered as a potential intervening variable that affects the financial performance of financial institutions. The controlled variables were the economic growth, inflation, foreign direct investment, financial development, and renewable energy consumption. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were conducted followed by panel regression analysis to evaluate the direct connection between fintech development and financial performance, while a mediation analysis was used to test whether green finance was a mediator to enhance the direct relationship. The diagnostic tests for multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, cross sectional dependence and serial correlation were performed and robust standard errors were used as appropriate. The results showed that the relationship between fintech development and financial performance was positive and significant, while green finance played the role of a mediator, but it did not completely mediate the relationship between fintech development and financial performance. Green finance was shown to be a significant and partial mediation variable, and fintech development was significantly and positively associated with green finance. These results were validated in robustness tests based on alternative indicators of financial performance and fintech. These findings highlight that fintech can have an impact on the financial performance, but also through greater access to green finance channels via the allocation of funds to green activities, making green finance a potential meaningful supplement to fintech-related financial development. Policy implications are discussed.

ENSEMBLE LEARNING FOR HEART DISEASE PREDICTION: A NOVEL APPROACH USING ACCURACY-BASED WEIGHTED AGING CLASSIFIER ENSEMBLE

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The early detection of the risk for heart disease is crucial for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases which is still the leading cause of death globally. This paper introduces an ICIT2F mean partitioning-based CART model for heart disease classification if integrated with four others models. In this method, the entire dataset is divided into smaller chunks, and a CART classifier is trained on each chunk. Then, an Accuracy Based Weighted Aging Classifiers Ensemble (AB-WAE) is used to combine the classifiers, individually, creating a homogeneous ensemble with high prediction power. Proposed approach is tested on the Cleveland and Framingham heart disease databases with 93% and 91% classification accuracy respectively. A comparison with other state-of-art popular machine learning algorithms such as random forest, gradient boosting, and support vector machine shows that the proposed method outperforms existing classical methods. Further ROC curve analysis confirms its robust discriminative ability. In conclusion, the present work provides a solid and accurate tool for heart disease risk prediction which could assist clinicians in early diagnosis, timely intervention and better patient management.

PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY AND COPING, AND MODERATING ROLE OF CHILD'S THERAPY STATUS

Zarnish Akhtar, Bisma Ayub, Shahzadi Iram Amin, Faisal Khan, Eiman Fatima — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Childhood with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with significant psychological distress in parents, but the effect of perceived social support in buffering the distress remains ambiguous, especially in Pakistan. The present study investigated the mediating role of psychological flexibility and coping styles (problem and emotion focused, avoidant) between perceived social support and psychological distress, as well as the moderation of this relationship by the child's therapy status. Twenty-five hundred (168 mothers and 82 fathers) parents of children who have ASD were recruited using purposive sampling, consisting of 119 children receiving therapy and 131 children not receiving therapy in a cross-sectional design. Parents filled out the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Psy-Flex, the Brief COPE, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Over half of the parents (54.8%) had very high distress. There was a strong, negative correlation between perceived social support and distress (r = −.90, p < .001). Psychological flexibility, problem-focused coping and avoidant coping partially mediated this relationship in PROCESS Model 4, while emotion-focused coping did not. Therapy status moderated the support–distress relationship (ΔR² = .007, p = .003) with a stronger relationship in the parents of children not on therapy, and with no differences in distress or flexibility between the two groups. Support networks, psychological flexibility, and adaptive coping should be reinforced, particularly in families lacking therapy access, as interventions.

CASTE, CLASS, CONTINGENT LABOR: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF WAGE DISCRIMINATION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN SUKKUR’S INDUSTRIAL LABOR FORCE

Muhammad Zulfiqar Pathan, Shahid Hussain Jalbani — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: This study examines how caste, class, and exploitative employment practices affect temporary industrial workers in Sukkur, Pakistan. Previous studies have focused on caste-based differentials in Pakistan and India. However, they have not highlighted the actual ground situation in rural and urban areas such as Sukkur. The study fills this gap by conducting primary research on layered social identities and contractual stability in the Sindh economy. Methodology: The researcher used a qualitative and phenomenological approach. The study is largely qualitative and subjective in nature. Therefore, the researcher has selected 350 temporary laborers working in the industrial zones of Sukkur. The researcher collected data through open-ended and closed-ended questions and transcribed them. Findings: temporary contracts have increased the economic and social vulnerability of laborers. This exploitative employment practice has eroded the job security of laborers and suppressed their productivity and performance. The exploitative nature of contracts has deepened communal disharmony in Sukkur. The study findings have highlighted the inherent drawbacks in the current labor practices and how they exacerbate caste-class biases. Value: This study urges all stakeholders to perform their roles effectively. Regulators, policymakers, factory owners, union leaders, and laborers must perform their related roles. For instance, factory owners must ensure safe and secure workplace conditions for laborers.

DIGITAL FINANCIAL LITERACY AND FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: A PRISMA BASED SYSTEMATIC SYNTHESIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND INCLUSIVE PATHWAYS

Saira Hanif, Muhammad Hafeez, Faisal Wali — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The use of banking, payments, saving and credit is becoming increasingly prevalent on a mobile and online setting, making digital financial literacy a critical factor in financial well-being. However, the processes linking digital competence with subjective economic security are still fragmented across subjects and settings. This study is a systematic synthesis of literature that maps the relationship between digital financial literacy and financial well-being through a systematic synthesis of the relevant psychological, behavioral, and structural pathways, and was guided by the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, while using only peer-reviewed and institutional literature from 2015 to 2025. After performing a structured search in Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, the list of records was further refined by using pre-registered inclusion/exclusion criteria for population, construct focus, publication window, language, and study design, followed by grey-literature screening and citation tracking. A final narrative corpus was created around six themes: (1) direct association between digital financial literacy and financial well-being; (2) financial self-efficacy as a psychological pathway; (3) financial behavior as a behavioral pathway; (4) financial stress as a countervailing emotional pathway; (5) financial inclusion as a moderating and facilitating condition; and (6) moderating and facilitating demographic variables such as age, gender, education, and income. Convergent evidence from the synthesis highlights that while both paths are significant, digital financial literacy seems to have a stronger direct pathway to financial well-being, mediated mostly through self-efficacy-behaviour chains, and an indirect pathway, which operates through the alleviation of financial stress, with financial inclusion and socio-demographic characteristics affecting the intensity of these pathways. The review also shows that there is a lack of studies that model behavioral and psychological mediators together, and there is a focus on a few national contexts. The design of financial education and the governance of fintech products are discussed, as well as potential confirmatory research in the future.

PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF AI-ENHANCED TEACHING AND RESEARCH: A GENDER-BASED COMPARISON AMONG STUDENT OF TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

Nadia Razzaq, Muzammila Akram — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is penetrating our environment and education as well, resulting in potential benefits for teaching preparation and research activities. Therefore, this study aimed to help investigate the perceived benefits by student-teachers towards an AI for teacher training and how perceptions may be different from each other based on gender. The methodology, which includes the target population, participants, sampling method and data collection procedure with instrument details consisting of a self-developed questionnaire was made up of two dimensions: AI-enhanced teaching benefits and AI-enhanced research benefits that were collected from student-teachers. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The results indicate that student-teachers generally perceived AI positively for research and teaching purposes but more so concerning research activities. In teaching, the highest perception of benefit was for developing assessment questions and feedback; whilst in research, it was speeding up access to academic information. The results also highlighted some notable gender differences across both domains, with female student-teachers perceiving greater potential benefits of AI-enhanced teaching and research compared to male student-teachers. Overall, the study anticipates that AI is considered an entry point for assisting student-teachers in term of professionalism and academic works. It advises on embedding applied AI training into teacher education programmes, especially regarding lesson planning, literature reviews and the critical evaluation of information provided by AI tools as well as responsible use of these technologies. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening AI literacy to prepare future teachers for the responsible and effective integration of AI into educational practice.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-WORTH AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION: MODERATING ROLE OF FOMO AND ANXIOUS OR PREOCCUPIED ATTACHMENT

Shehzadi Tooba, Dr. Shagufta Parveen, Umza Hafeez — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Social exclusion is one of the sturdiest known predictors of low self-worth, but people do not all respond to exclusion in the same way. The present study tested a moderation model in which Fear of Missing Out and preoccupied attachment work as parallel moderators of the association between social exclusion and self-worth. Using a convenience sampling technique, a sample of 380 university and college students was selected from Haripur, Mansehra, and Abbottabad. Data were collected using the preoccupied-attachment subscale of the Fear of Missing Out Scale Attachment Style Questionnaire–Short Form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem, and the Social Exclusion Scales. Preoccupied attachment and Fear of Missing Out were positively associated with social exclusion and were negatively linked with self-worth. Hierarchical regression showed social exclusion and preoccupied attachment significantly and negatively predicted self-worth, and adding the Social Exclusion, Preoccupied Attachment, and FoMO interaction terms significantly improved the model, indicating that preoccupied attachment and FoMO each moderate the social exclusion and self-worth relationship. Self-worth also differed by age, gender, peer support, and social media use. The design was cross-sectional; moderation effects were interpreted as concurrent associations, and the findings carry implications for counseling students who are relationally anxious or digitally overexposed.

PREVALENCE OF TEACHER’S BULLYING AMONG MALE AND FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND THEIR USE OF COPING STRATEGIES IN RESPONSE TO TEACHER’S BULLYING

Hafsa Tahir, Dr. Anila Mukhtar, Sarah Khan — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most of the existing literature on bullying has focused on peer-on-peer school bullying or workplace bullying. Bullying by teachers has received little attention. The present study aimed to: 1- explore the prevalence of bullying and its types by university professors among male and female university students. 2- Find the gender difference with reference to use of coping strategies as a response to Teacher’s bullying Survey method was applied. Through multistage sampling including stratified and convenient sampling method a total of 240 students as target sample, (M=120, F=120) were recruited from all faculties of University of Karachi. As a research tool two standardized scales were used, namely, “Student Perception of Professor Bullying Questionnaire” (SPPBQ) and “Coping Inventory Stress Scale (CISS-21)”. The calculations of ANOVA indicated that the mean score for Academic bullying (M = 14.40, SD = 7.34) was significantly higher than that of Personal bullying (M = 9.03, SD = 6.82). Furthermore, both Academic and Personal bullying occurred at significantly higher frequencies than Physical bullying, which recorded the lowest overall mean score (M = 2.96, SD = 4.16). Contrary to previous research, males and females were found to be equally bullied. Lastly, no gender difference was found in coping strategies of bullied victims.

WHICH RISKS, WHICH BENEFITS, AND FOR WHOM? A MULTI-GROUP TEST OF THE RISK–BENEFIT FRAMEWORK AMONG USERS AND NON-USERS OF DIGITAL FINANCE IN PAKISTAN

Narender Kumar, Dr. Samina Riaz — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Digital finance is the key enabler of financial inclusion in developing economies but in Pakistan, even after the availability of instant-payment infrastructure free at the point of use, digital finance is the second lowest in South Asia. The questions in this study are which perceived risks and benefits influence attitudes towards digital finance. Do those risks and benefits differ for digital transactors and non-digital transactors, and does financial literacy dictate the translation of attitudes into intentions? A model of seven risk dimensions and seven benefit dimensions was estimated based on survey data from 485 bank account holders in Pakistan (276 users and 209 non-users) using the PLS-SEM, with measurement invariance verified via MICOM prior to a permutation-based multi-group comparison, which incorporated the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the risk–benefit framework. All fourteen dimensions are important to users, with psychological risk providing the most powerful deterrent and convenience with the most powerful driver. Among non-users, financial risk, social risk, relative advantage and ease of use are not significant and financial literacy does not moderate the attitude–intention path. Attitude is a much stronger predictor of intention among users than among non-users and eleven out of sixteen paths are significantly different between users and non-users. Thus, experience not only reinforces perceptions, but it also renders those perceptions evaluable—and the users and non-users are not merely two points on a continuum of adoption; they are two populations with differently structured processes of evaluation.

THE ROLE OF MOSQUES AND RELIGIOUS CENTERS IN COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES FROM TWO CITIES OF PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Dr. Hassam Ahmad Hashmi — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Religious institutions are frequently called into preventative work on the basis that they are trusted, but little is known about how the individuals who attend them, operate them, or teach in them perceive that position. In Lahore and Multan, we interviewed 32 respondents, including eight young persons, eight community members, eight religious scholars and eight shrine caretakers or Auqaf workers. Interviews were recorded, translated and analyzed using basic inductive topic analysis based on the six stages outlined by Braun and Clarke. Four themes emerged: institutions as a trusted sanctuary that cannot function alone; credibility acquired through behavior; education and hospitality as daily prevention; limits that reside mostly outside the pulpit. The respondents did not discount the preventative significance of the mosques and shrines. They asked whether sermons, leader-dependent on donors, and the administratively strained shrines could tackle the issues that young people truly face. In Punjab, the ability to prevent seemed less about religious preaching and more about leadership integrity, youth relevance, inter-sect collaboration, and institutional autonomy.